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Office communicator command line

We can launch office communicator from Run window using the command communicator. However this command does not work from command line as the install path of office communicator is not found in the standard path pointed by PATH environment variable. The default installation path for communicator is [systemdrive]:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Communicator. If OS is installed is on C: drive then the installation path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Communicator.

So to launch communicator from windows command line we need to use start command which automatically finds the path of communicator and launches it.

start communicator

Alternatively we can launch communicator by specifying the complete path of communicator.exe

c:\>"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Communicator\communicator.exe"

If you are running X86 version on 64bit computer, the executable is in a different folder.

"c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office Communicator\communicator.exe"

Below listed are few tips on how to change communicator settings from command prompt.

If you do not want communicator to auto start immediately after you login to the system, you can disable this from command line using the below command.


Reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Communicator /v AutoRunWhenLogonToWindows /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Or if you want communicator to start but not to display the main window immediately after login you can do it by executing the below given registry change command.


Reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Communicator /v AutoOpenMainWindowWhenStartup /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Find the version of the communicator running on the system

wmic product get caption | findstr /C:"Office Communicator"

Example:

c:\>wmic product get caption | findstr /C:"Office Communicator"
Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2
c:\>

Uninstall Office Communicator

You can try the below command to uninstall Office communicator.

wmic product where caption='Microsoft Office communicator version' call uninstall

For example, if you have Office communicator 2007 the command should be:

wmic product where caption='Microsoft Office Communicator 2007' call uninstall

The command does not need any user interaction. In Vista and Windows 7, it should be run from elevated administrator command prompt.
You can get the complete version name by running the below command.

wmic product get

Check for communicator in the list printed by the above command.
Also, you can run it as a domain user, I tried this on my computer as a domain user(who is in the local administrators group)

16 comments… add one
  • Anonymous

    Is it possible to change communicator status from command line?

  • Techblogger

    No, that is not possible. Note that communicator is a gui application and it does not take any command line parameters.

  • Tripp

    Do you know if you can sign-in or sign-out via command line?

    I work offsite a lot and I can't log in until I VPN in first. So many times I find that I'm not logged in because the "autostart" function doesn't work for me.

    Suggestions

  • Techblogger

    Just run the command 'start communicator'. Usually it will launch communicator and tries to sign in. Even in the case of communicator already running but user not logged in, running this command will trigger sign in.

  • Kyle

    I have ‘Automatically start Communicator when I log on to Windows’ and ‘Automaticcally open the contact list when Communicator starts’ enabled, but when I turn my computer on or restart it OC doesn’t pop up. Why?

    • admin

      I think you also need to select this ‘Automatically open the main window when Communicator starts’. Have you tried this already?

  • Kiah

    Does anyone know of a way to uninstall Communicator via batch file? I have about 200+ devices that I need to uninstall this through a Logon scrip. I found that having this placed in our current script will work ONLY if you are a Local Admin on the device:
    MsiExec.exe /X{BE5AD430-9E0C-4243-AB3F-593835869855}

    I need to figure out a way to have this run with elevated privileges and /quiet, but I can’t seem to get it to work.

    If anyone as any insight to this it would be greatly appreciated!

    • admin

      You can refer this newly added section in the post – ‘Uninstall Office Communicator’

  • Kiah

    Great to know, it runs “successfully” but it still does not remove the application, as I can still see it in the Add/Remove Programs list. Any ideas?

    C:\Users\dummy>wmic product where caption='Microsoft Office Communicator 2005' c
    all uninstall
    Executing (\\DEBCXXXX\ROOT\CIMV2:Win32_Product.IdentifyingNumber="{BE5AD430-9E0C
    -4243-AB3F-593835869855}",Name="Microsoft Office Communicator 2005",Version="1.0
    .559.0")->Uninstall()
    Method execution successful.
    Out Parameters:
    instance of __PARAMETERS
    {
            ReturnValue = 1603;
    };
    • admin

      It was not successful; note that the return value is 1603. only a value of 0 indicates successful execution. Make sure that you are running it from a elevated command prompt. Return value of 1603 is usually generated if you run it from a non elevated command prompt.

  • Kiah

    I found this regarding the ReturnValue = 1603;

    wmic uninstall returnvalue 1603
    If you’re trying to use the Windows command line to uninstall something:

    C:\>WMIC product where name=”Program To Remove” call uninstall

    …and you see “execution successful – returnvalue 1603” but nothing happened…

    …you’re not running with admin privileges. Do either:
    Start->AllPrograms->accessories->[RightClick]Command Prompt->RunAsAdministrator
    or:
    Start->type “cmd”, [ctrl]+[shift]+[return]
    and in both cases say “yes” to the UAC query, if active. You can now rerun your WMIC command and it will work.

    Is there a way to make the cmd run as admin before the login script runs or change it initially?

  • Kiah

    Well I figured out my mistake…

    I was trying to run this from a Logon Script instead of a Start Up script. I get a returnvalue of 1605, and the program is now removed.

    Admin,
    Thank you for all of your insight, it helped greatly.

    Kiah

  • Ilyas

    With regards to OCS
    Is there anyway i can use OCS remoting user either by command line or application CSharp

  • Ilyas

    Further to my above question, i want to develop button for supporter for remoting OCS user

  • Arthur

    OKay,
    I’m not sure what OS you are using, or whether you are supporting your infrastructure using admin based tools. But you should be able to achieve the installation of either OCS, or Lync, from the command line using “msiexec”.

    My recommendation is that the installation package is copied to the local machine, rather than trying to achieve this from a network share.

    This should work for you .. removing OCS2010 & installing Lync

    taskkill /f /im outlook.exe 
    ** close outlook before installing lync
    msiexec /q /x "c:\software\filename.msi" /norestart 
     ** remove 2010 before installing Lync (/q =quiet .. /x implies remove/uninstall)
    msiexec /i /q "c:\software\filename.msi" /norestart 
    ** /i implies install & /q is quiet

    Hope this is of some help
    Arfs

  • Srinivasan

    I am getting an error that ” you have been signed out of communications service because that service has been temporarily shut down, please try again later” do i need to start any services in windows services. please advise me guys.

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