How in the Tech

Running software with parameters easily

By Adam Myers ⋅ February 2, 2010 ⋅ Tags: Command Line, Windows

The necessity to launch an application by any manner other than a simple double click on it’s icon, or traversal of the Start Menu has diminished rapidly. So much in fact, you might not even be aware of why you would in any other way. The reason why this may be of interest to you is that many applications can accept command line parameters that alter or unlock features. The parameters are prefixed with command line because if you want to pass them to the application – you must do it either from the Command Prompt or typing the full application executable path in the Run dialog of Windows. As computers continue to become more accessible and easier to use, you can see why this behavior has subsided.

Where may you still utilize this method? A few examples that just so happen to relate to web browsing. In Firefox, it is possible to launch the browser using an alternative user profile defined by a passed command line parameter. The safe mode Firefox link in your Start Menu is also just a customized launch link with a command line parameter. If you use Google Chrome, specifically the dev channel releases, a lot of beta-like functionality is only unlockable by launching Chrome with particular parameters. While you could create and modify the application shortcuts themselves, it becomes bothersome and tedious. Your only other option is using either method above; unless you download and install RunWithParameters.

RunWithParameters is a compact Windows utility that provides an interface to pass any parameter you wish to an application before it’s launched. RunWithParameters integrates into Windows Explorer so it’s functionality is typically just a right-click away. While light on features, it does remember the last parameter for each application and it even knows of a few itself for some of the most popular applications.