Guest Author - Chris Curtis

Suppressing the Word startup splash screen requires a command line switch. You can insert the command line switch using the Run command or by changing the properties on your desktop or quick launch shortcut.

Existing Shortcut
• Right click on the shortcut icon for Word
• Click on Properties
• Select the Shortcut Tab in the Properties window
• Locate the "Target" field in the Properties window. Note the path to WinWord.exe is enclosed in quotes
• Click in the "Target" field to the right of the closing quotation mark
• Type a single space; then type /q. The q should be lower case
• Click on OK


Run Command
By default, winword.exe is located: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office. For XP users, Winword.exe is located in essentially the same place but the final folder may be Office10 depending on your installation.

• Click on Windows | Start
• Select Run from the Start Menu
• Click on the Browse button
• Navigate to the above referenced folder and locate the Winword.exe file
• Click on Open. Note the path to winword.exe is enclosed in quotes
• Click inside the open box and position your insertion point to the right of the closing quotation mark.
• Type a single space; then type /q. The q should be lower case
• Click on OK

When you use this method, Word will launch when you click on OK

After setting the switch, be sure to go back and test your launch from your shortcut. The splash screen should be eliminated.

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