Command line parameters

You can use command line options to bypass ViewerFX for Crystal Reports default behavior — open a specific report, run unattended exports and emails, override database connections, and pass report parameters. All command line options are optional.

How to Use Command Options

On Windows, right-click the ViewerFX for Crystal Reports shortcut icon and choose Properties. In the Target input box of the Shortcut tab, put the command option after the quote, for example c:\program files\origin software\viewerfx\viewerfx.exe c:\my reports\reportname.rpt userid=sa password=test. The exact path to viewerfx.exe depends on where you installed ViewerFX; the shortcut’s Target already contains it.

Keys are case-insensitive. Values are passed through verbatim, so wrap any value that contains spaces or special characters in double quotes.

Note: Command-line integration requires a Standard or Site license. In Free Mode or with an expired license it is disabled — a headless (Export= / Email=) run in that state exits with code 8.

Identifying the Report

Option	Result	Example
<path> (positional)	Open the .rpt file at this path. If only one argument is supplied and it resolves to an existing file, it is treated as the report.	viewerfx.exe "C:\Reports\Sales.rpt"
Report=	Same as the positional <path>. Use this form when other switches are also present.	Report=C:\Reports\Sales.rpt
R{id}	Open favorite #id from the local Favorites store. The six-digit zero-padded form is fine too (R000067). The Command Line field in Organize Favorites copies the exact string.	viewerfx.exe R67

Headless Export

Option	Result	Example
Export=	Write the report to this path and exit. Triggers headless mode (no shell, no splash). Combine with Format= to pick a format.	Export=C:\out\daily.pdf
Format=	Export format integer. Defaults to 1 (PDF). See the Format Integers table below.	Format=2

Headless Email

Option	Result	Example
Email=	Recipient address(es). Multiple recipients are separated by ; or ,. Triggers headless mode. The attachment is named after the report (or Name=) and uses the Format= extension.	Email=user@example.com
Subject=	Email subject line.	Subject=Daily Sales Report
Body=	Plain-text email body.	Body=See attached.
Format=	Attachment format integer (same enum as Export=). Defaults to 1 (PDF).	Format=2
Name=	Attachment filename without extension. Empty or absent falls back to the report’s base name. The extension comes from Format=.	Name=December-Sales
Profile=	Outlook profile name for MAPI.Logon. Without it, the running Outlook’s default profile is used. Modern Outlook may ignore this and prompt anyway depending on profile config. Outlook transport.	Profile=Service Account
ProfilePassword=	Password for the Outlook profile. Paired with Profile=.	ProfilePassword=secret
SmtpServer=	Name of a saved SMTP server (matches the SMTPServer.Name column managed under interactive Send Email → SMTP Bookmarks). When set, sends through the SMTP transport instead of Outlook; the host, port, sender, and encrypted password are read from the saved row — no plaintext credentials on the command line. Wins over Profile= when both are present.	SmtpServer=Origin AWS SES

Database Connection Overrides

Database overrides are applied at load time. There are two forms — emit only one. The Command Line Builder generates DataSources= for every report; the single-block switches are still accepted for back-compat with existing customer scripts.

Single-block (legacy, applies to every table).

Option	Result	Example
ServerName=	Database server name or ODBC DSN.	ServerName=127.0.0.1
DatabaseName=	Database (catalog) name.	DatabaseName=MyDB
UserID=	Login user name.	UserID=sa
Password=	Login password. Pass the value plain — quote with "…" if it contains spaces or &.	Password=test
Trusted=	Use Windows integrated security instead of UserID= / Password=. Values: 1, true, yes (case-insensitive).	Trusted=True

Per-table inline (recommended).

Option	Result	Example
DataSources=	Inline JSON payload of per-table credentials (one row per Crystal table across the main report and every subreport). Passwords inside the JSON are TripleDES-encrypted with the same key chain ViewerFX uses for stored SMTP passwords — no plaintext credentials on the command line. Takes precedence over the single-block switches above when both are present. Generated by the Command Line Builder; hand-authoring is supported but not encouraged.	DataSources="{""version"":1,""product"":""ViewerFX.Datasources"",""tables"":[…]}"

Report Behavior

Option	Result	Example
CrystalPrompt=	When false (0, false, no), unfilled parameters won’t pop Crystal’s native prompt dialog — important for headless runs that would otherwise block. Defaults to Crystal’s own setting.	CrystalPrompt=0
@ParameterName=	Pass a value for a named Crystal parameter. Repeat the switch for each parameter. If the parameter name itself starts with @ (rare), double up the @.	@StartDate=1/1/2026 @EndDate=12/31/2026

Startup Behavior

Option	Result	Example
SuppressLogo=	Suppress the startup splash. Values: 1, true, yes.	SuppressLogo=1

Format Integers

Used by Format= for both Export= and Email=.

Value	Format	Extension
1	PDF	.pdf
2	Excel 97-2003	.xls
3	Excel 97-2003 Data-Only	.xls
4	Word 97-2003	.doc
5	Word 97-2003 Editable	.rtf
6	Rich Text Format	.rtf
7	XML	.xml
8	Plain text	.txt
9	CSV	.csv
10	Tab-separated text	.txt
11	Crystal Reports	.rpt
12	HTML 3.2	.htm
13	HTML 4.0	.htm

Notes

ViewStyle= is ignored. The switch from the legacy WinForms build is silently ignored. Only the Fluent ribbon shell exists; there is no longer a classic UI to switch into.

Headless mode is triggered by the presence of either Export= or Email=. The WPF shell never paints, stdout gets a one-line success summary, stderr gets a diagnostic on failure, and the exit code is non-zero on failure:

Exit code	Meaning
1	CLR / Crystal engine error
2	No report specified
3	Report path does not exist
4	Email send failed
5	Favorite lookup failed
6	Operation denied by administrative policy (the Export / Email action or the requested Format is turned off in Customize, typically deployed via an admin .vfx overlay)
7	DataSources= payload could not be parsed or applied
8	Command-line integration is not licensed (Free Mode or expired license)

Concurrent runs. The single-instance lock is skipped for headless invocations, so an Export= or Email= run can launch alongside an open interactive shell or alongside other headless runs. A second interactive instance still exits silently.

Connection precedence at headless runtime: DataSources= → legacy single-block (ServerName= etc.) → embedded credentials. The first one with content wins.

Email transport precedence at runtime: SmtpServer= → Profile= (Outlook MAPI) → running Outlook’s default profile.

cmd.exe caveat. Because ViewerFX.exe is a Windows-subsystem app, cmd does not wait for it. Use start /wait viewerfx.exe … or invoke from PowerShell to block on the result and pick up %ERRORLEVEL%.

Examples

Full headless email with parameters and a connection override.

viewerfx.exe "C:\Reports\Sales.rpt" ^
    "Email=ops@example.com;manager@example.com" ^
    "Subject=December Sales" ^
    "Body=See attached." ^
    "Format=1" ^
    "Name=December-Sales" ^
    "SmtpServer=Origin AWS SES" ^
    "ServerName=PRODDB" ^
    "DatabaseName=Sales" ^
    "Trusted=True" ^
    "CrystalPrompt=0" ^
    "@StartDate=12/1/2026" ^
    "@EndDate=12/31/2026" ^
    "SuppressLogo=1"

The same run with per-table credentials via DataSources=. The Builder generates this — copy from the Command Line Preview rather than hand-authoring:

viewerfx.exe "C:\Reports\Sales.rpt" ^
    "Export=C:\out\daily.pdf" ^
    "Format=1" ^
    "DataSources={""version"":1,""product"":""ViewerFX.Datasources"",""tables"":[{""reportName"":"""",""tableName"":""Customer"",""server"":""PRODDB"",""database"":""Sales"",""userId"":""rpt_reader"",""password"":""...base64..."",""trusted"":false}]}" ^
    "CrystalPrompt=0" ^
    "SuppressLogo=1"

See also

• Opening reports
• Saving favorites
• Run history
• Navigating in reports
• Adjusting the view of reports