- To start OpenOffice Writer using the command line, first ofcourse, you must be at the command prompt.
- Now, on the command line, type in the path of the executable file for Writer in quotation marks.
- First the quotation mark...
- ..and then you can type in the path for the executable file. In this example we have copied the path for OpenOffice applications from the explorer to the clipboard.
- To paste the path to the command prompt, first right mouse click on the top of the application window here.
- Then, once the context menu opens, move your mouse to the option "Edit."
- Afterwards, on the side menu that appears, click on "Paste."
- Good! The path has now been pasted. For writer, the path should end with \swriter.exe. Just type it in.
- Finally, end the command with a quotation mark.
- Now, press enter to execute the command.
- Great! As you can see, OpenOffice Writer has now opened.
- Congratulations! You have learned how to open Writer using the command line.
Start OpenOffice.org Writer using the command line
This screencast demonstrates how to start OpenOffice.org Writer using the command line.
You learn:
- How to type in the path to the executable file of Writer.
- How to paste in text to the command prompt using the context menu.
- How to open Writer using the command line.
OpenOffice.org command line arguments
Besides directly typing in the path of the executable file for each OpenOffice.org application, you can also use a simple command to directly open each application. Take note that you may need to be within the OpenOffice programs folder to do this. (Default location: C:\Program Files\OpenOffice.org 2.x\program\) This method uses the "soffice" command along with arguments. They are as follows:
- soffice -writer - Opens Writer
- soffice -calc - Opens Calc
- soffice -draw - Opens Draw
- soffice -impress - Opens Impress
- soffice -base - Opens Base
- soffice -math - Opens Math
Alternatively, you can type in these commands directly:
- swriter - Opens Writer
- scalc - Opens Calc
- sdraw - Opens Draw
- simpress - Opens Impress
- sbase - Opens Base
- smath - Opens Math
Along with those commands, you can also use the "soffice" command along with some arguments to initiate various actions in Open Office. This method should follow the form: soffice [options] [documents...]
| Argument | Action |
|---|---|
| -global | Creates a new global document |
| -web | Creates a new html document |
| -minimizes | Keep startup bitmap minimized |
| -invisible | No startup screen, no default document and no UI |
| -norestore | Suppress restart/restore after fatal errors |
| -quickstart | Starts the quickstart service (Only in Windows) |
| -nologo | Don't show the startup screen |
| -nolockcheck | Don't check for remote instances using the installation |
| -nodefault | Dont start with an empty document |
| -headless | Like the "invisible" argument, but with no user interaction at all |
| -help -h -? | Shows the help message for OpenOffice command line arguments |
| -o -n | Open documents regardless where they are templates or not |
| -display [display] | Specifies the X-display to use in Unix/X11 versions |
| -p [documents...] | Prints the specified documents using the default printer |
| -pt [printer][documents...] | Print the specidied documents in the specified printer |
| -view [documents...] | Open the specified documents in viewer or readonly mode |
| -show [presentation] | Open the specified presentation and start it immediately |
| -accept=[accept-string] | Specify na UNO connect strong to create an UNO acceptor through which other programs can connect to access the API |
| -unaccept=[accept-string] | Close and acceptor that was created using the "-accept=[accept-string]" command. Use "-unaccept=all" to lose all open acceptors. |
Advanced topics
For related functionality see:
- Start OpenOffice Writer
- Create a new text document
- Open an existing text document
- Save a new text document
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