HOW TO: Suppress the Word Startup Splash Screen When You Start Word 2002 (291139)

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use a command-line switch to suppress the Word startup splash screen when you start Microsoft Word. To do this, use either of the following methods.

NOTE: If you place the switch inside the closing quotation mark of either of the following methods and then click OK, you receive the following error message: back to the top

Method 1: Use the Run Command

To start Word with the /q command-line switch from the Start menu, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Click Browse.
3. Browse to the Office folder, click Winword.exe, and then click Open.
   
   By default, the Winword.exe file is located in the following folder:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10

   NOTE: The path to Winword.exe is enclosed within quotation marks.
4. Click anywhere in the Open box, and then reposition the insertion point outside (to the right of) the closing quotation mark at the end of the path statement.
5. Type a space, followed by the switch that you want to use.
   
   For example, type the following in the Open box:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Winword.exe" /q

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Method 2: Create a New Shortcut on the Windows Desktop

To start Word with the /q command-line switch by using a new shortcut on the Windows desktop, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Windows desktop.
2. On the shortcut menu that appears, point to New, and then click Shortcut.
3. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, click Browse.
4. Browse to and then click Winword.exe.
   
   By default, the Winword.exe file can be found in the following folder:

   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10

5. Click Open to close the Browse dialog box.
6. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, the Command line box should look similar to the following:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Winword.exe"

7. Click anywhere in the Command line box, and then move the insertion point to the right of the closing quotation mark. Type a space, and then type /q.
   
   The Command line box should now look similar to the following:

   "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Winword.exe" /q

8. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, click Next.
9. In the Select a name for the shortcut box, type the name that you want for your new Word shortcut, and then click Finish.

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