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Hack 83 Launch Applications with Command-Line Shortcuts
Launch applications quickly and customize what
they do when they run, by using command-line shortcuts, parameters,
and switches.
Windows is a graphical operating
system, but a lot of times all these pretty icons, menus, and
clicking get in the way of getting work done. That''s
particularly true when you want to launch applications.
I started computing in the days of DOS, when real men and women
didn''t use mice and icons. (Sometimes because it
wasn''t an option.) So, I look for any chance I can
get to use the command line, particularly when doing so saves me time
and lets me take more control of my computer.
That''s why I frequently launch applications using
command-line shortcuts, along with parameters and switches.
Parameters and switches let you customize the way programs launch.
They''re usually specific to each individual program,
though some work on many or all programs.
An even bigger time-saver is to use the command line along with
keyboard shortcuts. That way, you can press a key
combinationsuch as Ctrl-Alt-W, for exampleand launch
Microsoft Word with a new document open, based on a specific
template.
9.5.1 Create Keyboard Shortcuts for Running Applications
You''ll first,
create a desktop shortcut to the application, and then
you''ll customize the shortcut so that it launches
when you use a specific key combination. Right-click on the Desktop
and choose New
Shortcut. Enter or browse to the filenameof the application for which you want to create a shortcut, including
its path and surrounding it by quotation marks, such as
"C:\Program
Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE".
Click Next; then, in the "Select a name for the
shortcut box," type the name of your new shortcut
(such as Basic Word), and click Finish.
Right-click on the shortcut you just created and choose Properties.
In the Shortcut Tab, shown in Figure 9-5, put your
cursor in the "Shortcut key" box
and press the key combination you want to use to start the program.
It has to be a combination of Ctrl-Alt, Shift-Alt, or Shift-Ctrl,
plus a letter key, such as Ctrl-Alt-A, Shift-Alt-A, or Shift-Ctrl-A.
In our instance, we''re using Ctrl-Shift-W. Click OK.
The program will now launch whenever you press the shortcut key
combination.
Figure 9-5. The Shortcut Properties dialog box
There are a variety of entries on the Shortcut tab that let you
customize how the program launches when you use the shortcut. The Run
drop-down list lets you start the program minimized, maximized, or in
a normal window. The "Start
in" box lets you determine the start location for
the application. You can even customize the ScreenTip that appears
when you hover the mouse over the shortcut. In the Comment box, type
the text you want to appear as a ScreenTip. Figure 9-6 shows how such a customized ScreenTip looks
like when a mouse hovers over it.
Figure 9-6. A customized ScreenTip
9.5.2 Customizing Shortcuts with Switches and Parameters
Launching applications with a
keyboard shortcut is a time-saver, but there''s still
a lot you can do to customize those shortcuts. For example, you can
set up a number of separate keyboard shortcuts for Wordfor
example, to launch Word with new documents based on a different
templates, or to open Word to specific already-created documents.
For example, let''s say you want to launch Word and
have it automatically open a specific document, one called
chapter 9.doc in the C:\Hacks
directory. Type this (all on one line) in the Target box
displayed in Figure 9-5:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" "C:\Hacks\chapter 9.doc"
Doing this gives you much more control that double-clicking on the
document or creating a shortcut to the document, because, in addition
to launching individual files, you can use a variety of switches to
customize how you launch those files. For example,
let''s say you want to launch Word without the splash
screen. Use the /q switch, like this:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" /q
You can then combine switches with opening individual files, like
this:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" /q "C:\Hacks\chapter 9.doc"
This command opens the file and bypasses the splash screen. Use
keyboard shortcuts along with these switches and syntax to create as
many customized versions of Office applications as you like. Tables Table 9-1, Table 9-2, and Table 9-3 list switches for
Microsoft applications Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint, respectively.
Switch | What it does |
|---|---|
/a | Stops add-ins and global templates, including the Normal template, from being loaded automatically. It also locks Word''s settings so that they cannot be read or modified. |
/l addinpath | Loads a specific Word add-in. |
/m | Starts a new instance of Word without running AutoExec macros. |
/m filen | Opens the file specified by number on the File menu''s Most Recently Used list. |
/m macroname | Runs a specific macro and prevents Word from running any AutoExec macros. |
/n | Starts a new instance of Word without opening a document. Documents opened will not appear as choices in the Window menu of other Word instances. |
/t templatename | Starts Word with a new document based on the specified template. |
/w | Starts a new instance of Word with a blank document. Documents opened will not appear as choices in the Window menu of other Word instances. |
/r | Opens Word, reregisters it in the Registry, and then quits. Use this switch if there have been problems with Word''s settings and you want to reregister it. At times, certain Registry keys associated with Word can get corrupted. If you use this switch, you''ll delete the corrupt Registry keys and recreate them from scratch. Your problems should then go away. |
/q | Starts Word without the splash screen. |
Switch | What it does |
|---|---|
/r workbook path/file name | Opens the specified workbook as read-only. |
/e | Opens Excel without a startup screen and without a new blank workbook. |
/m | Opens Excel with a new workbook that contains a single macro sheet. |
/p workbook path | Opens Excel and uses the specified path as the active path instead of the default path |
/o | Opens Excel and then reregisters it in the Registry. Use this switch if there have been problems with Excel''s settings and you want to reregister it. |
/regserver | Opens Excel, reregisters it, and then quits. |
/unregserver | Opens Excel, unregisters it, and then quits. |
9.5.3 See Also
[Hack #22]
