8th August 2001

Microsoft Word is an extremely functional Word processor, as we all know, and it might not surprise you to find that there are options available that extend the functionality. Passing command line switches via the shortcut or command prompt allow you to control how Word starts up. Some of these are of great value in troubleshooting launch problems because you can effectively disable features that might be the culprit. Check 'em out (sans quotes): "/a" Prevents add-ins and global templates from being loaded automatically; "/m" Disables AutoExec macros during startup; "/n" Starts Word without creating a new document, as it normally would; "/w" Starts a new instance of Word that runs in a separate process from existing Word sessions; "/c" Launches Word, then invokes NetMeeting; and "/q" Starts Word without displaying the splash screen. Again, just add these switches (one or more) to the end of your Word shortcut(s) without the quotes. I suppose you could even make several different shortcuts to Word, depending on how you wanted it to launch at the time.