Command line tip #2 - Open the command prompt at any folder

Posted by Vic Laurie
October 17, 2007

In the first command line tip, I gave two ways to open a command prompt window. Please remember that paths in all commands are relative to the folder indicated in the command prompt itself, unless explicitly indicated otherwise. The default reference folder is usually C:\Documents and Settings\(log on name)\. Thus if a reference is made to a file “somefile.txt”, the computer assumes you mean C:\Documents and Settings\(log on name)\somefile.txt. If what you really want is C:\someotherfolder\somefile.txt, then you must enter the entire name with the correct path.

It saves time and typing if there is an option that allows us to reference commands to any folder that we might choose. For use in Windows XP, Microsoft has a Powertoy called, “Open Command Window Here”. It can be downloaded at this link. After the Powertoy is installed, the right-click context menu for a folder will contain the entry, “Open Command Window Here”. Windows Vista has this option built in. If you hold down the Shift key while right-clicking a folder, the context menu will then contain the command line option.

Command-line, Computer management

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