To modify how Microsoft Office Word starts on a one-time basis, you can add switches to the Microsoft Windows Run command (Start menu). If you plan to use a modified startup method frequently, you can create a shortcut on the Windows desktop.

Note To suppress automatic macros without using switches, hold down SHIFT while you start Word.In this article

Introducing commands, switches, and parameters

Each time you start Word, you are actually running the Winword.exe command, although you do not usually type the command or even see it. You can change certain aspects of how the program starts by adding subcommands called switches to the Winword.exe command.

A switch appears after the main command, following a space and a forward slash (/). Sometimes, the name of the switch is followed by another space and then one or more specific instructions called parameters, which give the program additional information about how to execute the Winword.exe command.

For example, the following command instructs Word to start and immediately open a file named MyDocument.

Winword.exe /f MyDocument.docx

Use a switch once by adding it to the Run command

First, you must verify the location of the Winword.exe file on your computer. If you accepted the default folder locations when you installed Word, the Winword.exe file is probably located at:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Winword.exe

If you do not find the Winword.exe file at that location, search for the file and make a note of the full path.

  1. Do one of the following:
    • Microsoft Windows Vista Click the Start button button image, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run.
    • Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Click the Start button, and then click Run.
  2. In the Run dialog box, type the full path for the Winword.exe file (including the file name), or click Browse to locate it.
  3. At the end of the path, type a space, and then type the switch and any parameters. For example, you can type:

    "c:\program files\Microsoft Office\office12\winword.exe" /f c:\MyDocument.docx

The next time that you start Word, the program returns to its previous defaults. To make your customized startup available for repeated uses, see the next section.

Notes:

Make a switch available for reuse by creating a shortcut

First, you must verify the location of the Winword.exe file on your computer. If you accepted the default folder locations when you installed Word, the Winword.exe file is probably located at:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Winword.exe

If you do not find the Winword.exe file at that location, search for the file and make a note of the full path.

  1. Right-click the Windows desktop, point to New, and then click Shortcut.
  2. In the Type the location of the item box, type the full path for the Winword.exe file (including the file name), or click Browse to locate it.
  3. At the end of the path, type a space, and then type the switch and any parameters. For example, you can type:

    "c:\program files\Microsoft Office\office12\winword.exe" /f c:\MyFile.docx

  4. Click Next.
  5. In the Type a name for this shortcut box, type a name for the shortcut, and then click Finish.

    The shortcut appears on the desktop.

  6. Whenever you want to start Word in this particular customized way, double-click the shortcut.
  7. To add the desktop shortcut to the Start menu in Windows, right-click the shortcut, and then click Pin to Start menu on the shortcut menu.

You can create a variety of shortcuts, each of which applies different switches and parameters to the program at startup.

Notes:

Available switches and parameters

Switch and parameter Description
/safe Starts Word in Safe Mode.
/q Starts Word without displaying the Word splash screen.
/ttemplatename Starts Word with a new document based on a template other than the Normal template .

Example To start Word with a document based on a template called Myfax.dotx, stored on the C drive, type the following at the command prompt:

/tc:\Myfax.dotx

Note There must not be a space between the switch and the name of the template file.

Security Because templates can store macro viruses, be careful about opening them or creating files based on new templates. Take the following precautions: run up-to-date antivirus software on your computer, set your macro security level to high, clear the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box, use digital signatures, and maintain a list of trusted sources.

/t filename Starts Word and opens an existing file.

Example To start Word and open the template file Myfax.dotx, stored on the C drive, type the following at the command prompt:

/t c:\Myfax.dotx

Example To start Word and open multiple files, such as MyFile.docx and MyFile2.docx, each stored on the C drive, type the following at the command prompt:

/t c:\MyFile.docx c:\MyFile2.docx

/f filename Starts Word with a new document based on an existing file.

Example To start Word and create a new document based on file MyFile.docx, stored on the desktop, type the following at the command prompt:

/f "c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop\MyFile.docx"

/h http://filename Starts Word and opens a read-only copy of a document that is stored on a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services site. The site must be on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Windows SharePoint Services 2.0.

Example To start Word and open a copy of file MyFile.docx, stored in a document library at the URL http://MySite/Documents, type the following at the command prompt:

/h http://MySite/Documents/MyFile.docx

/pxslt Starts Word and opens an existing XML document based on the specified Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) .

Example To start Word and apply the XSLT MyTransform, stored on the C drive, to the XML file Data.xml, also stored on the C drive, type the following at the command prompt:

/pc:\MyTransform.xsl c:\Data.xml

/a Starts Word and prevents add-ins and global templates (including the Normal template) from being loaded automatically. The /a switch also locks the setting files.
/ladd-in Starts Word and then loads a specific Word add-in.

Example To start Word and then load the add-in Sales.dll, stored on the C drive, type the following at the command prompt:

/lc:\Sales.dll

Note There must not be a space between the switch and the add-in name.

Security Use caution when running executable files or code in macros or applications. Executable files or code can be used to carry out actions that might compromise the security of your computer and data.

/m Starts Word without running any AutoExec macros .
/mmacroname Starts Word and then runs a specific macro. The /m switch also prevents Word from running any AutoExec macros.

Example To start Word and then run the macro Salelead, type the following at the command prompt:

/mSalelead

Note There must not be a space between the switch and the macro name.

Because macros can contain viruses, be careful about running them. Take the following precautions: run up-to-date antivirus software on your computer; set your macro security level to high; clear the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box; use digital signatures; maintain a list of trusted publishers.

/n Starts a new instance of Word with no document open. Documents opened in each instance of Word will not appear as choices in the Switch Windows list of other instances.
/w Starts a new instance of Word with a blank document. Documents opened in each instance of Word will not appear as choices in the Switch Windows list of the other instances.
/r Re-registers Word in the Windows registry. This switch starts Word, runs Office Setup, updates the Windows registry, and then closes.
/x Starts Word from the operating system shell so that Word responds to only one Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) request (for example, to print a document programmatically).
/ztemplatename Visibly behaves exactly like the /t switch. However, you can use the /z switch with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Microsoft Office System to generate both a Startup and a New event, whereas the /t switch generates only a Startup event.