We often tell people to use switches but don’t always explain how they are used, leaving the user to find out on their own. Even when we do explain how to use them, we often leave out two critical points: there is a space between outlook and the slash and most importantly, you need to close Outlook before you can open it using a switch.
outlook.exe /cleanreminders
There are several ways to restart Outlook using switches and the these two ways are the easiest for occasional use:
Type the switch command in the Run command and press Enter (or click OK). If the run command is not on your start menu, open it by pressing the Windows Key + R. This works in all versions of Windows.
Type the switch command in the Start search field in Windows 7 and Vista and press Enter.
If you are going to use a switch frequently, make a new shortcut in Windows and append the switch to the command.
You can either find Outlook.exe, right click on it and choose Create Shortcut then edit the shortcut properties and move it to your desktop or right click on your Desktop and choose New, Shortcut to use the Create Shortcut wizard. Browse to Outlook.exe to select it (look under C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\).
Make sure the path to Outlook is enclosed in quotes and add the switch behind the command line:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\OUTLOOK.EXE" /cleanreminders
A list of all available switches are available at:
Command Lines Switches for Outlook 2010
How to use Outlook’s Command Line Switches
Video Tutorial
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Last reviewed on Sep 8, 2011
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