Startup command-line options
The following table lists the Microsoft Access command-line options.
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| database | Opens the specified Microsoft Access database or Microsoft Access project. Include a path if necessary. |
| /excl | Opens the specified Access database for exclusive access. To open the database for shared access in a multiuser environment, omit this option. Applies to Access databases only. |
| /ro | Opens the specified Access database or Access project for read-only access. |
| /user user name | Starts Access by using the specified user name. Applies to Access databases only. |
| /pwd password | Starts Access by using the specified password. Applies to Access databases only. |
| /profile user profile | Starts Access by using the options in the specified user profile instead of the standard Windows Registry settings created when you installed Microsoft Access. This replaces the /ini option used in versions of Microsoft Access prior to Access 97 to specify an initialization file. |
| /compact target database or target Access project | Compacts and repairs the Access database, or compacts the Access project that was specified before the /compact option, and then closes Access. If you omit a target file name following the /compact option, the file is compacted to the original name and folder. To compact to a different name, specify a target file. If you don't include a path in target database or target Access project, the target file is created in your My Documents folder by default.
In an Access project, this option compacts the Access project (.adp) file but not the Microsoft SQL Server database. |
| /repair | Repairs the Access database that was specified before the /repair option, and then closes Microsoft Access. In Microsoft Access 2000 or later, compact and repair functionality is combined under /compact. The /repair option is supported for backward compatibility. |
| /convert target database | Converts a previous-version Access database or Access project to Access 2000 file format, renames the new file, and then closes Access. You must specify the source database before you use the /convert option. |
| /x macro | Starts Access and runs the specified macro. Another way to run a macro when you open a database is to use an AutoExec macro. Caution Macros can contain viruses, so you must be careful about running them. Take the following precautions: run up-to-date antivirus software on your computer; set your macro security level to high; use digital signatures; maintain a list of trusted sources of macros. |
| /cmd | Specifies that what follows on the command line is the value that will be returned by the Command function. This option must be the last option on the command line. You can use a semicolon (;) as an alternative to /cmd.
Use this option to specify a command-line argument that can be used in Visual Basic code. |
| /nostartup | Starts Access without displaying the task pane (the second dialog box that you see when you start Access). |
| /wrkgrp
workgroup information file |
Starts Access by using the specified workgroup information file. Applies to Access databases only. |
Notes
- To run a Visual Basic for Applications procedure when you open a database, use the RunCode action in the AutoExec macro or in the macro that you run by using the command-line option /x. You can also run a Visual Basic procedure when you open a database by creating a form with a Visual Basic procedure defined for its OnOpen event. Designate this form as the startup form by right-clicking the Database window, clicking Startup, and then entering that form in the Display Form/Page box.
- To specify a forward slash (/) or semicolon (;) on the command line, type the character twice. For example, to specify the password ;mjs/md on the command line, type ;;mjs//md following the /pwd command-line option.