Opening command prompt using the File menu. Open the File Explorer = open any folder or disk = go to “File” on the top left = open a command prompt = and select one from the list: open a command prompt – open command prompt; open a command prompt as an administrator –. Opening command window in File Explorer. Open A Command Prompt Window. The File Explorer location bar can be used to jump to any location on your hard drive, open the Control Panel, and also open Command Prompt. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder you need to open the Command Prompt. Human parasitology pdf. Click inside the location bar, and type ‘cmd’, without the quote marks. Remotely manage Windows machines from the command line.Manage disks, partitions, and volumes.Set an IP address and configure other network settings.Set and manage NTFS and file sharing permissions.Customize and modify the Command Prompt.Create and manage file shares.Copy, move, and delete files and directories from the command line.
Do you ever drive yourself crazy looking for all the files you need for a project? Do you save them in different places on your computer? Can you only remember part of the name you gave the file? If any of these apply to you, using the command prompt instead of Windows Explorer may help you quickly find the files you need and allow you to open them right there.
Related: 14 Useful Command Prompt Tricks You Should Know
Open Command Prompt
To search for the files you want, first launch Command Prompt. There are several ways to do this.
Run Windows Explorer From Cmd Line
- Type
cmd
in the Windows search box, then click on the icon to open the window.
- Use the Run window. A fast way to launch this window is to press the Win + R keys on your keyboard. Then, type
cmd
orcmd.exe
and press Enter or click OK.
- Press the Win + X keys on your keyboard, and choose command prompt. You can also do it with a right-click on the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner. If you are running Windows 10 and this gives you the option of working in PowerShell instead of command prompt, you can change it to the command prompt by opening “Settings -> Personalization – > Task bar” and flipping the toggle switch to choose command prompt again. This is important because these instructions will not work in PowerShell.
Search for your files
In the command prompt type
dir 'search term*' /s
, but replace the words “search term” with text you want to find by using the file name.What do all the terms in the command mean?
dir
is a command used to show files in the current directory, but which can also locate data anywhere in the system.- The backslash tells dir to search from the root directory of the current drive.
/s
tells dir to search all subdirectories.- Finally,
*
is used by command-line apps as a wildcard. It indicates that the search will locate all file names that contain your search term. - Putting an asterisk at the end of the name, like
business*
, will find all the files with your search term at the beginning of the name. - If you put it at the beginning, then your search will include only results with your text at the end. For example,
*.jpg
. - If you put an asterisk at each end of the search term, you will cover all the bases. No matter where your text is in the actual name of the file, that file will be listed in the results.
Once you have typed in the command, press Enter, and the search begins. It may look like nothing is happening for a second or two, though.
As you can see, my results for zebra gave me thirty different files.
Open your files
Once you find the file you want to open, you can open it from this screen, using its default program, without locating it in your file explorer.
Change the directory. Find the directory that contains the file you want to open.
Type
cd
and the path for the directory you want to open.![Windows Explorer From Command Line Windows Explorer From Command Line](/uploads/1/2/4/8/124889323/422588692.png)
After the path matches the one in the search, type or copy and paste the name of the file on the command line.
Press Enter and the file will open using its default application.
If you are looking for all your files concerning one topic or just trying to find the one that is hiding among all the folders in your computer, try using the command prompt. It may make it more efficient for you.
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