Autorun.inf Commands

This document is a reference for the commands that can be used in an Autorun.inf file.

icon

The icon command specifies an icon which represents the AutoRun-enabled drive in the Windows user interface.

icon=iconfilename[,index]

Parameters

iconfilename
Name of an .ico, .bmp, .exe, or .dll file containing the icon information. If a file contains more than one icon, you must also specify zero-based index of the icon.

Remarks

The icon represents the AutoRun-enabled drive in the Microsoft® Windows® user interface. For instance, in Windows Explorer, the drive will have this icon instead of the standard drive icon. The icon's file must be in the same directory as the file specified by the open command.

The following example specifies the second icon in the MyProg.exe file.

icon=MyProg.exe,1

label

The label command specifies a text label to represent the AutoRun-enabled drive in the Windows user interface.

label=LabelText

Parameters

LabelText
A text string containing the label. It may contain spaces.

Remarks

The label represents the AutoRun-enabled drive in the Microsoft® Windows® user interface. If an icon is also specified, the label will be displayed below it.

The following example specifies "My Drive Label" as the drive's label.

label=My Drive Label

open

The open command specifies the path and file name of the application that AutoRun launches when a user inserts a disc in the drive.

open=[exepath\]exefile [param1 [param2] ...]

Parameters

exefile
Fully qualified path of an executable file that will be run when the compact disc is inserted. If only a file name is specified, it must be in drive's root directory. To locate the file in a subdirectory, you must specify a path. You can also include one or more command-line parameters to be passed to the startup application.

Remarks

See Tips for Writing AutoRun Startup Applications for further discussion of startup applications.

shellexecute

Version 5.0. The shellexecute command specifies an application or data file that AutoRun will use to call ShellExecuteEx.

shellexecute=[filepath\]filename[param1, [param2]...]

Parameters

filepath
A string containing the fully-qualified path of the directory that contains the data or executable file. If no path is specified, the file must be in the drive's root directory.
filename
A string containing the file's name. If it is an executable file, it will be launched. If it is a data file, it must be a member of a file class. ShellExecuteEx will launch the default command associated with the file class.
paramx
Any additional parameters that should be passed to ShellExecuteEx.

Remarks

This command is similar to open, but it allows you to use file association information to run the application.

Shell

The Shell command specifies a default command for the drive's shortcut menu.

shell=verb

Parameters

verb
The verb that corresponds to the command. The verb and its associated command must be defined in the Autorun.inf file with a shell/verb command.

Remarks

When a user right-clicks the drive icon, a shortcut menu will appear. If an Autorun.inf file is present, the default shortcut menu command is taken from it. This command is also executed when the user double-clicks the drive's icon.

To specify the default shortcut menu command, first define its verb, command string, and menu text with shell/verb. Then use shell to make it the default shortcut menu command. Otherwise, the default menu item text will be "AutoPlay", which will launch the application specified by the open command.

shell\verb

The shell\verb command adds a custom command to the drive's shortcut menu.

shell\verb\command=Filename.exe 
shell\verb=MenuText

Parameters

verb
The command's verb. The shell\verb\command command associates the verb with an executable file. Verbs must not contain embedded spaces. By default, verb is the text that is displayed in the shortcut menu.
Filename.exe
The path and file name of the application that performs the command.
MenuText
This parameter specifies the text that is displayed in the shortcut menu. If it is omitted, verb is displayed. MenuText can be mixed-case and may contain spaces. You can set a shortcut key for the menu item by putting an ampersand (&) in front of the letter.

Remarks

When a user right-clicks the drive icon, a shortcut menu will appear. Adding shell/verb commands to the drive's Autorun.inf file allows you to add commands to this shortcut menu.

There are two parts to this command, which must be on separate lines. The first part is shell/verb/command, and is required. It associates a string, called a verb, with the application to be launched when the command is run. The second part is the shell/verb command, and is optional. It can be included to specify the text that is displayed in the shortcut menu.

To specify a default shortcut menu command, define the verb with shell/verb, and make it the default command with shell.

The following sample Autorun.inf fragment associates the readit verb with the command string "Notepad abc\readme.txt". The menu text is "Read Me", and 'M' is defined as the item's shortcut key. When the user selects this command, the drive's abc\readme.txt file will be opened with Notepad.

shell\readit\command=notepad abc\readme.txt 
shell\readit=Read &Me