Linker Options
LINK.exe links Common Object File Format (COFF) object files and libraries to create an executable (.exe) file or a dynamic-link library (DLL).
The following table lists options for LINK.exe. For more information about LINK, see:
On the command line, linker options are not case-sensitive—for example, /base and /BASE mean the same thing.
You can use the comment pragma to specify some linker options.
Option |
Purpose |
|---|---|
Specifies a response file. |
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Specifies the alignment of each section. |
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Specifies that a DLL cannot be bound. |
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Specifies behavior for manifest lookup. |
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Specifies whether the app must run within an appcontainer process environment. |
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Adds the DebuggableAttribute to a managed image. |
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Creates a link to a managed resource. |
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Specifies that a Microsoft intermediate language (MSIL) module should be imported into the assembly. |
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Embeds a managed resource file in an assembly. |
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Sets a base address for the program. |
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Sets number of cl.exe threads to use for optimization and code generation when link-time code generation is specified. |
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Sets the type (IJW, pure, or safe) of a CLR image. |
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Preserves the last error code of functions that are called through the P/Invoke mechanism. |
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Specifies the threading attribute to apply to the entry point of your CLR program. |
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Specifies whether the linker will apply the SuppressUnmanagedCodeSecurity attribute to linker-generated PInvoke stubs that call from managed code into native DLLs. |
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Creates debugging information. |
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Passes a module-definition (.def) file to the linker. |
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Searches the specified library when external references are resolved. |
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Controls the delayed loading of DLLs. |
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Causes the delayed loading of the specified DLL. |
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Partially signs an assembly. |
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Builds a DLL. |
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Creates a kernel mode driver. |
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Specifies whether to generate an executable image that can be randomly rebased at load time by using the address space layout randomization (ASLR) feature. |
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Sets the starting address. |
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Reports internal linker errors to Microsoft. |
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Exports a function. |
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Creates a program that can be loaded only at its preferred base address. |
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Forces a link to complete even with unresolved symbols or symbols defined more than once. |
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Creates an image that can be hot patched. |
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Sets the size of the heap, in bytes. |
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Specifies support for high-entropy 64-bit address space layout randomization (ASLR). |
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Specifies the name of the .idl file and other MIDL output files. |
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Suppresses output of specified linker warnings. |
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Prevents the processing of attribute information into an .idl file. |
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Overrides the default import library name. |
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Forces symbol references. |
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Controls incremental linking. |
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Specifies that the module requires a signature check at load time. |
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Specifies a key container to sign an assembly. |
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Specifies a key or key pair to sign an assembly. |
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Tells the compiler that the application supports addresses larger than two gigabytes |
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Enables user override of the environmental library path. |
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Specifies link-time code generation. |
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Specifies the target platform. |
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Creates a side-by-side manifest file and optionally embeds it in the binary. |
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Specifies a <dependentAssembly> section in the manifest file. |
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Changes the default name of the manifest file. |
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Specifies a manifest input file for the linker to process and embed in the binary. You can use this option multiple times to specify more than one manifest input file. |
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Specifies whether User Account Control (UAC) information is embedded in the program manifest. |
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Creates a mapfile. |
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Includes the specified information in the mapfile. |
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Combines sections. |
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Specifies MIDL command-line options. |
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Suppresses the creation of a .NET Framework assembly. |
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Ignores all (or the specified) default libraries when external references are resolved. |
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Creates a resource-only DLL. |
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Suppresses the startup banner. |
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Marks an executable as verified to be compatible with the Windows Data Execution Prevention feature. |
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Controls LINK optimizations. |
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Places COMDATs into the image in a predetermined order. |
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Specifies the output file name. |
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Creates a program database (PDB) file. |
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Uses an alternate location to save a PDB file. |
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Creates a program database (PDB) file that has no private symbols. |
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Specifies a .pgd file for profile-guided optimizations. |
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Produces an output file that can be used with the Performance Tools profiler. |
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Sets the Checksum in the .exe header. |
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Specifies that the image will contain a table of safe exception handlers. |
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Overrides the attributes of a section. |
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Sets the size of the stack in bytes. |
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Attaches an MS-DOS stub program to a Win32 program. |
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Tells the operating system how to run the .exe file. |
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Tells the operating system to copy the linker output to a swap file before it is run. |
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Specifies the resource ID of the linker-generated type library. |
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Specifies the name of the .tlb file and other MIDL output files. |
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Creates an application that is designed specifically to run under Terminal Server. |
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Prints linker progress messages. |
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Assigns a version number. |
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Enables generation of a Windows Runtime Metadata file. |
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Specifies the file name for the Windows Runtime Metadata (winmd) output file that's generated by the /WINMD linker option. |
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Specifies a key or key pair to sign a Windows Runtime Metadata file. |
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Specifies a key container to sign a Windows Metadata file. |
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Partially signs a Windows Runtime Metadata (.winmd) file by placing the public key in the winmd file. |
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Treats linker warnings as errors. |
For more information, see Compiler-Controlled LINK Options.