Start_(command)

start (command)

start (command)

Shell command

In computing, start is a command of the IBM OS/2,[1] Microsoft Windows[2] and ReactOS[3] command-line interpreter cmd.exe[4] (and some versions of COMMAND.COM) to start programs or batch files or to open files or directories using the default program. start is not available as a standalone program. The underlying Win32 API is ShellExecute.

Quick Facts Developer(s), Operating system ...

The command is also one of the basic commands implemented in the Keyboard Monitor (KMON) of the DEC RT-11 operating system.[5] The TOPS-10[6] and TOPS-20[7] operating systems also provide a start command. It is used to start a program in memory at a specified address.

Other environments

Description of the START command of RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.
  • Typical Unix shells (bash, etc.) have no built-in registry of file types and associated default applications. Linux command-line tools with similar functions include xdg-open[8] and run-mailcap.
  • On Cygwin, the command is implemented as the cygstart executable.[9]
  • In PowerShell, the Invoke-Item cmdlet is used to invoke an executable or open a file.[10]
  • On Apple macOS, the corresponding command is open.
  • On Stratus OpenVOS it is start_process.[11]

Syntax

Windows, ReactOS

start ["title"] [/D path] [/I] [/B][/MIN][/MAX][WAIT]
 [command/program] [parameters]

"title" Title of the window.

Path Specifies the startup directory.

I Use the original environment given to cmd. exe,

Instead of the current environment.

B Starts the command or program without creating any window.

MIN Starts with a minimized window.

MAX Starts with a maximized window.

WAIT Startsthe command or program and waits for its termination.

command specifies the parameters to be given to the command or program.


C: \Documents and setting \ Administrator >_

Examples

Windows, ReactOS

C:\>start notepad file.txt

C:\>start "C:\My Music\My Song.mp3"

C:\>start www.wikipedia.org

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands". Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  2. [2]
    "MS-DOS and Windows command line start command".
  3. [3]
    "Reactos/Reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Start". Microsoft Learn. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  5. [5]
    "Rt-11 Help File". Archived from the original on 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  6. [6]
    TOPS-10 Operating System Commands Manual (PDF). Digital Equipment Corporation. August 1980. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  7. [7]
    "TOPS-20 Command manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-08-09. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  8. [8]
    "XDG-utils".
  9. [9]
    "cygstart man page on Cygwin". www.polarhome.com.
  10. [10]
    "Start - Start a program - Windows CMD - SS64.com". ss64.com.
  11. [11]
    Stratus Technologies Bermuda, Ltd (2017). "OpenVOS Commands Reference Manual" (PDF).

Further reading

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Guide to Windows Commands
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