That really depends on what you want to do with it after you got it opened. If you want to continue to manipulate it in KiX after you opened it, then COM is the way to go but if you simply want to open it and move on, just do:
Run '%comspec% /c start c:\kixs\LeaveRequest.doc'
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Give a man a fish and he will be back for more. Slap him with a fish and he will go away forever.
