Outlook Command Lines
A command is simply an argument that we specify for a software, based on which it responds accordingly. For example, if you go to command prompt in Windows, you can type in “Start Outlook.exe,” where ‘start’ is a command that will open Outlook. But it does not specify more parameters about how to start Outlook. In the previous article, we learned the multiple ways to add a command line argument while starting Outlook. You can do it manually in command prompt, type in the command inside the “Run” dialog box, or even create your custom Outlook shortcut with whatever command-line you want.
Now that we have learned what Outlook commands are and how you can apply them, now is the time to see some more examples of what these commands could be.
Outlook Commands
Here are some examples of useful Outlook commands that you can use.
Safe:
This is the most used command line switch that is helpful in many scenarios. There are also variants of the same command, such as safe:1 (turns off reading pane), safe:2 (turns off reading mail at startup), safe:3 (turns off extensions), and safe:4 (turns off Outcmd.dat file for customized toolbars and .fav file for favorites).
Select <foldername>:
Starts Outlook with the specified folder in a new Window. For example “Outlook.exe /select Travel” will open the folder named ‘Travel’ in a new window.
Cleanrules:
This is self-explanatory; it will turn off all the rules that you may have setup.
v <vcffilename>:
Opens Outlook with the specified VCF file (contact file)
vcal <vcsfilename>:
Opens Outlook with the specified VCS file (virtual contact file)
profilesmanager:
Opens the profile manager for the Outlook, where you can add, edit, delete, or modify the profiles related to Outlook.
Resetsharedfolders:
Opens Outlook with all the shared folders removed from the navigation pane.
Resetnavpane:
Opens Outlook and clears and regenerates the Navigation Pane for the current profile.
Cleancategories:
If you have added any categories, this command will delete them and will restore other categories with their default names.
Checkclient:
This command will make it prompt for the default manager of email, calendar, and contacts.
There are many other similar commands like these, but the ones listed above are often helpful for troubleshooting tricky problems in Outlook and in many other ways.
Get More Commands
The easier way to find out more of these commands is by clicking on the Windows start button, type “Outlook.exe /” and then followed by any alphabet. This will prompt Windows to suggest the commands starting by that letter, based on what other users have searched for. But also know that all the suggestions below are not actual commands. The suggestions Windows shows below are merely the searches that other users have tried. Some of them will be actual command you can use and some may not exist as a default command that works with Outlook.
Check the screenshot below, in which the letter ‘f’ is used for suggestions:
We hope the above article has been helpful to you in understanding about the commands switches and parameters in Outlook. You can use them for troubleshooting and for being more proficient with the Outlook.