Command line switches for microsoft visio 2010

This article describes the command-line switches that you can use to start Visio.

In this article

• Use a switch once by adding it to the Run command

• Make a switch available for reuse by creating a shortcut

• Visio startup switches

Use a switch once by adding it to the Run command

1. Do one of the following:

   • In Windows Vista or Windows 7    

     • Click the Start button , and in the Start Search box, type Run, and then press ENTER.

2. Click Browse to locate the Visio.exe file.

   By default, the Visio.exe file of Microsoft Visio 2010 is located in the following folder:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14.

3. Click the Visio.exe file, and then click Open.

4. Place the cursor to the right of the closing quotation mark at the end of the path statement.

   Note: Enclose the statement in quotation marks if they aren't already there.

5. Type a space followed by the switch that you want to use.

   For example, if you want to start Microsoft Visio 2010 and prevent the splash screen from appearing, type the following in the Open box:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14" /nologo

6. Click OK.

   Note: If you put the switch inside the closing quotation mark and then click OK, an error message appears indicating that the file can't be found.

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Make a switch available for reuse by creating a shortcut

To create a shortcut to start Visio from the Windows desktop, do the following:

1. Right-click the Windows desktop, point to New, and then click Shortcut.

2. Click Browse to locate the Visio.exe file.

   By default, the Visio.exe file of Microsoft Visio 2010 located in the following folder:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14

3. Click the Visio.exe file, and then click OK.

4. Place the cursor to the right of the closing quotation mark at the end of the path statement.

   Note: Enclose the statement in quotation marks if they aren't already there.

5. Type a space followed by the switch that you want to use.

   For example, if you want to start Visio and prevent the splash screen from appearing, type the following in the Type the location of the item box:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14" /nologo

6. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, click Next.

   Note: If you put the switch inside the closing quotation mark and then click Next, you receive an error indicating that the file can't be found.

7. In the Type a name for this shortcut box, type the name of the new shortcut, and then click Finish.

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Visio startup switches

Switch	Description
/safe	Starts Visio in Safe Mode. Safe Mode includes bypassing files that are in Startup directories and resetting registry values to their defaults for the current session.
/nonew	Choose Getting Started page is not shown on startup.
/nologo	Splash screen is not shown on startup.
/p filename	Print dialog box is shown so that you can quickly print a file.
filename	Opens a Visio file. The file has to be in the Drawings file path in the File Paths dialog box. To access the File Paths dialog box, on the Tools menu, click Options, click the Advanced tab, and then click File Paths. Alternatively, you must specify an absolute path.
/1, /2, /3, .../9	Opens one of the last-opened files. The numbers represent the file on the Most Recently Used (MRU) list on the File menu.
/noreg	Prevents Visio from registering itself.
/u	Unregisters Visio.
/r	Registers Visio.
/s	Silently registers Visio.
/pt filename,[printername,drivername,portname]	Directs file to print on a particular printer.
::ODMA	Visio opens a file by using ODMA.

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