Frequently asked questions about the Office 2000 shortcut (OSA9.exe) in the Windows Startup menu (210875)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office 2000 Premium
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Standard
  • Microsoft Office 2000 Developer
This article was previously published under Q210875
For a Microsoft Office XP version of this article, see 290144.
For a Microsoft Office 97 version of this article, see 165071.

SUMMARY

This article answers some of the frequently asked questions about the Microsoft Office shortcut (OSA9.exe) in the Windows Startup menu. This article is divided into the following sections:
  • What Is the OSA9.exe File?
  • What Does the OSA9.exe File Do?
  • What Are the Advantages of Running the OSA9.exe File?
  • Can I Remove the OSA9.exe File?
  • Additional Information

MORE INFORMATION

What Is the OSA9.exe File?

The Office Startup Assistant (OSA9.exe or OSA9) is a program that improves the performance of Office 2000 programs. Office 2000 Setup places a shortcut to the file OSA9.exe in the Windows StartUp folder with a name of Microsoft Office.

What Does the OSA9.exe File Do?

The OSA9.exe file does the following:
  • Initializes Automation
  • Initializes some of the common fonts installed by Office 2000
  • Handles certain commands (New Office Document, Find Fast, Open Office Document, Help, and Screen Saver) on the Start menu and on the Office Shortcut Bar
  • Displays Microsoft Outlook notifications when the Office Assistant is available

What Are the Advantages of Running the OSA9.exe File?

The OSA9.exe file initializes the shared code that is used by the Office 2000 programs. The benefit of using the OSA9.exe file to initialize shared code is that the Office 2000 programs start faster. If the Office 2000 programs initialize shared code (instead of OSA9.exe), the time it takes for the program to start increases.

Can I Remove the OSA9.exe File?

You can safely remove the OSA9.exe file without causing the Office 2000 programs to fail. However, if you remove OSA9.exe, you no longer benefit from the performance advantages that are provided by running OSA9.exe. Also, the Office Shortcut Bar (OSB) and Find Fast may not longer automatically start if you configured the OSB and Find Fast to start when Windows starts (see the notes for the command-line switches later in this article).

Additional Information

You can use the following command-line switches with OSA9.exe:
  • -b
    This switch starts the Office Shortcut Bar when it is used with the "-l" switch.*
  • -f
    This switch opens the Open Office Document dialog box at startup.
  • -n
    This switch opens the New Office Document dialog box at startup.
  • -s
    This switch starts the specified screen saver at startup. Note that if there is no screen saver selected under Display in Control Panel, you receive a message stating this.
  • -o
    This switch starts the Office Shortcut Bar.
  • -l
    Starts Find Fast.**
*OSA9.exe starts the OSB if the following registry setting is present:

Registry Path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Shortcut Bar
Name: AutoStart
Value: 1
Type: DWORD

**OSA9.exe starts Find Fast if FindFast.exe is present and the following registry setting is not present:

Registry Path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Osa\Autostart
Name: NotFindFast
Value: 1
Type: DWORD

Typically, when OSA9.exe is present in the startup folder, it has the -b and -l switches set (osa9.exe -b -l).

REFERENCES

To download the Readme.doc file for the Microsoft Office 2000 Resource Kit, please browse to the following ORK Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/appndx/toolbox.htm#readme

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:4/17/2006
Keywords:kbhowto kbinfo KB210875
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