This has always been one of my weakest areas. I am simply trying to put a "universal" sub that declares the variables and then passes them to the sub(s) needing them. I am doing this so that these variables are at the top of the code page so that others can see them easily and change them as needed. here is the code I am using:

Public AdobeReader As String
Public Helpfile As String
Public Staff As String
___________________________________________________________

Sub DeclareVariables()
'-------- change to reflect YOUR adobe Reader path ------------------
AdobeReader = "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 11.0\Reader\AcroRd32.exe"
'-------- change to reflect the path to this report ------------------
Helpfile = "C:\Reports\ReportHelpFile.pdf"
'-------- change emaill addresses as corporate dictates ------------------
Staff = "someone@somewhere.com"
End Sub
_____________________________________________________________

Sub EmailOpeningReport(AdobeReader, Helpfile, Staff)
            Dim RetVal
            RetVal = Shell(AdobeReader Helpfile, vbNormal)

'---------------- as part of the email routine -----------------------
.To = Staff
End Sub
When I run EmailOpeningReport I get
Argument not optional

ANY help appreciated.
Hope everyone had a good weekend