Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Bypassing the Startup Macro.

Bypassing the Startup Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 15, 2016)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


You can create a macro that Word will run whenever the program is started. There may be times, however, when you want to bypass the startup macro. If this is the case, you can use the following command line to start Word:

winword.exe /m

This command causes Word to start and attempt to run the macro after the /m. Since there is no macro there, Word starts without executing any macro at all. This is also a good trick to try if you suspect you have an AutoExec macro that is doing something hinky to your system.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (122) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Bypassing the Startup Macro.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Calculated Dates

Word makes it easy to insert today's date in a document, but not as easy to insert a date X number of days in the future. ...

Discover More

Getting Bookmark Information in VBA

Bookmarks are a handy way to "mark" locations within a document. If you are creating a macro that processes the document ...

Discover More

Turning Off the Automatic Help that Word Offers

Word has a lot of tools that are invoked automatically based on what you are doing in the program. If these tools ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Finding Long Sentences

For certain types of writing, you may want to make sure that the sentences in your document do not exceed a certain ...

Discover More

Automatically Running a Macro

Word allows you to create macros that can run at special times, automatically. This tip explains five special macros that ...

Discover More

Setting a VBA Variable From a Bookmark

Bookmarks are quite helpful in a document. You may want to transfer the contents of a bookmark into a macro variable in ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight less than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.