Outlook 2010: Executable Switches

Microsoft Office Outlook has a number of command-line switches that allow you to perform a variety of actions. One very useful example of this is the /recycle switch, which was introduced as a default in Outlook 2010. In previous versions, if a user already had an instance of Outlook open and clicked the Outlook icon again, it would open another instance. With the /recycle option, it checks for a current instance of Outlook and if it exists, brings it to the front instead of opening another. Below you will find a number of other useful switches that can be used for efficiency or troubleshooting.

Available switches

Switch	Description
/a	Creates an item with the specified file as an attachment. Example: "c:\program files\microsoft office\office14\outlook.exe" /a "c:\my documents\labels.doc" If no item type is specified, IPM.Note is assumed. Cannot be used with message classes that are not based on Outlook.
/altvba otmfilename	Opens the VBA program specified in otmfilename, instead of %appdata%\microsoft\outlook\vbaproject.otm. Note This command line switch is only available if the following Windows registry DWORD value is set to 1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security\EnableAltVba
/c messageclass	Creates a new item of the specified message class (Outlook forms or any other valid MAPI form). Examples: /c ipm.activity creates a Journal entry /c ipm.appointment creates an appointment /c ipm.contact creates a contact /c ipm.note creates an e-mail message /c ipm.stickynote creates a note /c ipm.task creates a task
/checkclient	Prompts for the default manager of e-mail, news, and contacts.
/cleanautocompletecache	Removes all names and e-mail addresses from the Auto-Complete list.
/cleancategories	Deletes any custom category names that you have created. Restores categories to the default names.
/cleanclientrules	Starts Outlook and deletes client-based rules.
/cleanconvongoingactions	Deletes the Conversations Actions Table (CAT). CAT entries for a conversation thread usually expire 30 days after no activity. The command-line switch clears all conversation tagging, ignore, and moving rules immediately stopping any additional actions.
/cleandmrecords	Deletes the logging records saved when a manager or a delegate declines a meeting.
/cleanfinders	Resets all Search Folders in the Microsoft Exchange mailbox for only the first profile opened.
/cleanfreebusy	Clears and regenerates free/busy information. This switch can be used only when you are able to connect to the server that runs Exchange.
/cleanfromaddress	Removes all manually added From entries from the profile.
/cleanmailtipcache	Removes all MailTips from the cache.
/cleanreminders	Clears and regenerates reminders.
/cleanroamedprefs	All previous roamed preferences are deleted and copied again from the local settings on the computer where this switch is used. This includes the roaming settings for reminders, free/busy grid, working hours, calendar publishing, and RSS rules.
/cleanrules	Starts Outlook and deletes client-based and server-based rules.
/cleanserverrules	Starts Outlook and deletes server-based rules.
/cleansharing	Removes all RSS, Internet Calendar, and SharePoint subscriptions from Account Settings, but leaves all the previously downloaded content on your computer. This is useful if you cannot delete one of these subscriptions within Outlook 2010.
/cleansniff	Overrides the programmatic lockout that determines which of your computers (when you run Outlook at the same time) processes meeting items. The lockout process helps prevent duplicate reminder messages. This switch clears the lockout on the computer it is used. This enables Outlook to process meeting items.
/cleansubscriptions	Deletes the subscription messages and properties for subscription features.
/cleanviews	Restores default views. All custom views that you created are lost.
/embedding	Used without command-line parameters for standard OLE co-create.
/f msgfilename	Opens the specified message file (.msg) or Microsoft Office saved search (.oss).
/finder	Opens the Advanced Find dialog box.
/hol holfilename	Opens the specified .hol file.
/ical icsfilename	Opens the specified .ics file.
/importNK2	Imports the contents of an .nk2 file which contains the nickname list that is used by both the automatic name checking and Auto-Complete features.
/importprf prffilename	Starts Outlook and opens/imports the defined MAPI profile (*.prf). If Outlook is already open, queues the profile to be imported on the next clean start.
/launchtraininghelp assetid	Opens a Help window with the Help topic specified in assetid displayed.
/m emailname	Provides a way for the user to add an e-mail name to the item. Only works together with the /c command-line parameter. Example: Outlook.exe /c ipm.note /m emailname
/nopreview	Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off.
/p msgfilename	Prints the specified message (.msg).
/profile profilename	Loads the specified profile. If your profile name contains a space, enclose the profile name in quotation marks (" ").
/profiles	Opens the Choose Profile dialog box regardless of the Options setting on the Tools menu.
/promptimportprf	Same as /importprf except that a prompt appears and the user can cancel the import.
/recycle	Starts Outlook by using an existing Outlook window, if one exists.
/remigratecategories	Starts Outlook and starts the following commands on the default mailbox: Upgrades colored For Follow Up flags to Outlook 2010 color categories. Upgrades calendar labels to Outlook 2010 color categories. Adds all categories used on non-mail items into the Master Category List Note This is the same command as Upgrade to Color Categories in each Outlook mailbox properties dialog box.
/resetfolders	Restores missing folders at the default delivery location.
/resetfoldernames	Resets default folder names (such as Inbox or Sent Items) to default names in the current Office user interface language. For example, if you first connect to your mailbox in Outlook by using a Russian user interface, the Russian default folder names cannot be renamed. To change the default folder names to another language, such as Japanese or English, you can use this switch to reset the default folder names after you change the user interface language or install a different language version of Outlook.
/resetformregions	Empties the form regions cache and reloads the form region definitions from the Windows registry.
/resetnavpane	Clears and regenerates the Navigation Pane for the current profile.
/resetquicksteps	Restores the default Quick Steps. All user-created Quick Steps are deleted.
/resetsearchcriteria	Resets all Instant Search criteria so that the default set of criteria is shown in each module.
/resetsharedfolders	Removes all shared folders from the Navigation Pane.
/resettodobar	Clears and regenerates the To-Do Bar task list for the current profile. The To-Do Bar search folder is deleted and re-created.
/restore	Attempts to open the same profile and folders that were open prior to an abnormal Outlook shutdown.
/rpcdiag	Opens Outlook and displays the remote procedure call (RPC) connection status dialog box.
/safe	Starts Outlook without the Reading Pane or toolbar customizations. Both native and managed Component Object Model (COM) add-ins are turned off.
/safe:1	Starts Outlook with the Reading Pane off.
/safe:3	Both native and managed Component Object Model (COM) add-ins are turned off.
/select foldername	Starts Outlook and opens the specified folder in a new window. For example, to open Outlook and display the default calendar, use: "c:\program files\microsoft office\office14\outlook.exe" /select outlook:calendar.
/share feed://URL/filename /share stssync://URL /share web://URL/filename	Specifies a sharing URL to connect to Outlook. For example, use stssync://URL to connect a SharePoint list to Outlook.
/sniff	Starts Outlook, forces a detection of new meeting requests in the Inbox, and then adds them to the calendar.
/t oftfilename	Opens the specified .oft file.
/v vcffilename	Opens the specified .vcf file.
/vcal vcsfilename	Opens the specified .vcs file.