How to automatically open a Microsoft 365 app or file when you launch your computer

Turn on your computer and pour yourself a cup of coffee. When you return, the software and files you need to start your day are open and ready to go.

If you’re like me, you work in the same Microsoft 365 app or browser every day. As soon as you turn on your computer, open the same app or browser to start working. If you want to eliminate the task of opening those apps and files, turn to Windows. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to force Windows to open certain software and files every time you turn on the computer.

SEE: Google Workspace vs. Microsoft 365: A Parallel Analysis with Checklist (TechRepublic Premium)

I am using Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 system, but this technique is not specific to Windows 10. Although I work with Microsoft 365 Apps and Microsoft Edge, this works with most Microsoft software.

How to start a specific Microsoft 365 App on startup

The first thing I do every morning is check my email. It’s not difficult to start Outlook manually, but there’s nothing wrong with eliminating this task. Fortunately, Windows opens Outlook for me when I turn on the computer. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Start button – the icon that looks like a window, on the far left of the taskbar.
2. Locate Outlook in the resulting list of apps. Out of the box the start button is on the bottom left, but mine is on the top of the screen.
3. Right-click Outlook and select More (Figure A).
4. From the resulting submenu, select Open file location. This will open the Startup folder where Windows saves shortcut links. If there is no option to open the file, you will not be able to open this software on startup.
5. If the option is available, copy the selected shortcut to the clipboard by pressing Ctrl + C (Figure B).
6. Press Windows log key + R.
7. In the dialog box that appears, type shell:startup (Figure C).
8. Click OK to open the Windows startup folder.
9. Paste the Outlook shortcut into the Startup folder by pressing Ctrl + V.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

You may see a delay between when Windows appears to be ready and when Windows begins to open the specified software or file. So be patient the first time. Adding items to the startup folder slows down the startup time a bit.

You might be curious about the Windows features you just used. The Windows startup folder contains links to programs that you want to start automatically when you turn on your computer. You can save links to programs, scripts and files.

The shell:startup command opens the Windows startup folder so you don’t have to look for it in the folder hierarchy. Once you copy the Outlook link to this folder, Windows will open Outlook every time you start your computer. To remove the link, repeat steps six through eight to open the startup folder and delete the Outlook link.

To reduce startup time, be sure to close everything before restarting the computer. You can also use the Windows startup folder to open a file when you start your computer.

How to start a specific Microsoft 365 file on startup

Windows can also open a file at startup if you paste a shortcut link to it in the Windows startup folder. To create the shortcut, do the following:

1. Using File Explorer, locate the file you want to open when you start your computer.
2. Right-click this file and choose Create Shortcut (Figure D).
3. Press Windows log key + R.
4. In the dialog box that appears, type shell:startup.
5. Click OK to open the Windows startup folder.
6. Paste the shortcut to the app from the file location into the startup folder by pressing Ctrl + V as shown in Figure E.

Figure D

Figure E

The Windows Start window lets you start software and individual files when you start your computer. Try not to add too many items to this folder – you will slow things down too much if you overload the system.