To start MySQL Workbench on Windows, select Start, Programs, MySQL, then select MySQL Workbench.

Alternatively, start MySQL Workbench from the command line. To view the available command-line options, issue the command MySQLWorkbench -help | more from the MySQL Workbench installation directory. You will see the following output:

MySQL Workbench 5.2.34 SE. (C) 2006-2011 by Oracle Corporation.
All rights reserved.

Usage: MySQLWorkbench [options] [model file]

Options
 -admin instance .... Open an admin tab to the named server instance at startup
 -open filename ..... Open the given filename at startup
 -query server ...... Open a DB query tab to the named server connection at startup
 -run script ........ Executes the given Workbench script at startup
 -run-python script . Executes the given Workbench Python script at startup
 -run-lua script .... Executes the given Workbench Lua script at startup
 -script scriptfile . Executes the given Workbench script file at startup
 -quit-when-done .... Quits Workbench once the given script finishes executing
 -swrendering ....... Force the canvas to use software rendering instead of OpenGL
 -nologo ............ Do not display the splash screen
 -log ............... Instruction to save messages (other debug info) to file
 -verbose (-v) ...... Print verbose output in the GRT Shell
 -version ........... Print the version information
 -grtversion ........ Print the GRT version information
 -help (-h) ......... Print this output

The MySQL Workbench help output includes a version number, a usage message, and the option descriptions. Use the -swrendering option if your video card does not support OpenGL 1.5. The -version option can be used to display the MySQL Workbench version number. The -grtversion can be used to display the GRT (Generic RunTime) shell version number. The other options are self-explanatory.