Directly Open Command Line in Current Directory on Windows 7, Vista and XP

Opening command line here or opening DOS CMD command prompt here on windows means open your cmd.exe DOS command line windows on current directory so that you don’t need to come here manually using command cd \%directory%\.

Most of the works we can do on our Windows system using normal graphical user interface but some times we may need to use DOS command line interface for performing special tasks. So when we need to navigate our command point to a certain directory, it becomes hard to type the full directory if the directory address is long. So if we could first go that directory(folder or drive) using explorer and then open command prompt there directly, life would become more easy.

For Windows XP, there is no built-in system for doing this job. But we can do it by a simple registry edit. But since Microsoft made a tiny program do it, we don’t need to edit registry. This mini software is “Open Command Window Here” from Microsoft Windows XP PowerToys which will add a shortcut to your windows XP’s explorer context menu(right click menu) so you can easily open cmd.exe on current file system. This shortcut will always appear as long as you installed the software.

For Windows Vista, 7 or earlier: as Microsoft did the feel of it’s necessary, they add this feature built-in but made hidden. To use this feature just go to folder or directory where you want to run command. Now first hold Shift key and right click mouse on current directory window. On right click menu you can find a link “Open Command Windows Here“. Click on it.

Now your cmd.exe will run pointing into current directory. I was inside my downloads folder so it pointed directly downloads. I think it will make you more geeky.

Author: 

Jaber is a Programmer and Tech Enthusiast Geek from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is the founder and Chief-Editor of TechGainer. While he is away from his keyboard, either he's fishing or messing with wildlife. In case, you can contact him at rijans[at]techgainer[dot]com.

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