Visual Basic Concepts
Working with Command Line Switches
Command line switches provide a way to control how Visual Basic executes. Using command line switches, you can start an instance of Visual Basic and run a specified project, make an executable file or dynamic-link library, or specify a string to be passed to the Command$ function.
For example, to run the project MyProj.vbp and then automatically exit, start Visual Basic with the following command line:
c:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VB\vb6.exe /runexit MyProj.vbp
The following table summarizes the Visual Basic command line switches.
| Switch | Description |
| /cmd cmdstring | Specifies a command string to be passed to the Command$ function. When used, it must be the last switch on the command line. |
| /d compileconst | Specifies one or more conditional compilation constants to use with the /make or /makedll switch. |
| /make projectname | Makes the specified project into an executable file. |
| /makedll projectname | Makes the specified project into a dynamic-link library. |
| /mdi | Starts Visual Basic using the multiple document interface (MDI) programming environment. |
| /out filename | Outputs errors to a file when used with the /make or /makedll switch. |
| /run projectname | Runs the specified project. |
| /runexit projectname | Runs the specified project and then automatically exits. |
| /sdi | Starts Visual Basic using the single document interface (SDI) programming environment. |
| /? | Displays a list of valid command line switches. |
For More Information See "Command Line Arguments."