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70+ Outlook Command Line Switches you Should use Right Away

Command-line switches will help you automate Outlook

11 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Outlook is a top-notch email client used by professionals and IT admins. Behind just the normal use of sending and receiving emails is the ability to customize and simplify tasks.

One of the tools you can use to ease your tasks is a command-line switch. These commands allow you to perform a series of tasks withoutaccessing Outlook.

In this guide, we will detail everything you need to know about command-line switches and how to take advantage of them.

What are switches in command line?

Command-line switches are modifiers added to the end of the .exe file of anOffice programfor automation purposes. They can also be used for troubleshooting, like clearing error messages.

They are only used in the startup of Outlook and any other Office files where they are needed. A standard command-line switch format should be made up of a forward slash and a word showing what the switch does.

An example is the Outlook command-line switch below:outlook.exe /nopreview.

With the switch above, Outlook will open without the Reading pane. Also, there are times when the switch will have additional instructions called parameters to provide detailed information on how the Office program will be opened.

How do I use Outlook switches?

1. Using Run to use a switch once

With the Outlook command-line switch above, you can open Outlook without showing the Reading page. Note that this works just once, and Outlook will normally open the next time you open it.

To keep using the switch, you will have to repeat the steps above.

If you ever encounter anOutlook script error, follow the solutions in the highlighted guide to fix it.

2. Creating a custom switch

With this, you should be able to repeatedly use this custom command-line switch to open Outlook without the Reading page.

Here are some important things you need to know about command-line switches:

Knowing all that, let’s see the complete list of command line switches you may apply to Outlook.

Comprehensive list of command line switches

Other important command line switches

There you are! Now you have a complete list of Outlook command line switches you may use to configure the app to start exactly as you want to.

You may also be interested in reading our guides onhow to remove external tags in Outlookor how toremove RSS feeds from Outlook.

IfOutlook is now showing the subject, the highlighted guide will help you fix the problem quickly.

For any other questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a message in the comments section below.

70+ Outlook Command Line Switches you Should use Right Away#

What are switches in command line?#

How do I use Outlook switches?#

1. Using Run to use a switch once#

2. Creating a custom switch#

Comprehensive list of command line switches#

Other important command line switches#