Change the default action when opening PowerPoint

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Is there a way to open powerpoint WITHOUT opening a new file at the same
time? When I go in to PowerPoint, a new file always pops up. I'd rather it
didn't...would rather just open the application wtihout any file opening.
 
If you start powerpoint from a shortcut, an addition of a switch can
give you some control. Right click on the icon of the shortcut, choose
properties, add /c to the end of the target.
An example for PPT 2003 might be:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\POWERPNT.EXE" /c

/c: Starts a new instance of PowerPoint with no presentation open.
 
The target field is greyed out, and does not contain a path anyway. It only
says Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003.
 
Are you working on a networked machine? If so, the IT department will
probably need to make changes for you.
 
I am, but the network team does not support applications and their
pecularities. I do have admin privleges on this machine.

Anyhow, I figured it out...I had to recreate a shortcut from the actual
executable file rather than creating one from the shortcut menu. That way, I
got a path that I could edit per your suggestion.

Thank you for your assistance!
 
Finally I could find the answer to something that was bothering me a lot. A
doubt, however: I thought switches had the same action, no matter which
Office application they were used for, but I use /n in my Winword command
line to achieve the same result.

No, each application will have its own command line switches. Some are common
to an awful lot of apps, Office or not. The /p switch is often used for
printing. But you can launch a show automatically using the /S switch in PPT;
what should Word do with that? <g>

And since Word doesn't do shows, why shouldn't it use /S for some other useful
purpose? We'd run out of letters awfully fast if it couldn't do that.
Is there any list of switches for each
Office application available anywhere? Thank you in advance.

None that I know of, but this may help with PowerPoint

Command Line Switches - PowerPoint and PowerPoint Viewers
http://www.pptfaq.com/FAQ00528.htm
 
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