Loyal TLA reader Jason Bosche is back with his first post on the new site. Here is a handy little tool that I have been using for a decade. Its purpose falls well within the theme “Lazy Admin”. It has been included with every release of the Windows Resource Kit tools since NT4 and is included in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools which you may already be using today.
Command Here allows you to quickly jump to a command prompt, in a particular folder, from a Widows Explorer window. Where this comes in particularly useful is when a file or folder you want to work with from a command line is buried several levels deep. It can also come in handy when there are spaces in a file or folder name which can make command prompt navigation more difficult.
In short, it provides three things in two mouse clicks:
- opens up a command prompt for you
- provides you with a straight shot to the directory you want to be in
- eliminates a lot of “cd /xxx/xxx and dir” commands to get where you want to be once you’ve opened the command prompt
Installation is very simple. If you don’t already have the tools, download the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&DisplayLang=en
Install the Resource Kit Tools. The default installation location will be C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\
Now install Command Here. Navigate to the C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\ directory and right click on cmdhere.inf and choose Install
Installation is quick. If you blink, you’ll miss it!
Once installed, test it out. You should already have an Explorer window open in the C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\ directory. In the left window pane, right click the folder you want to open a command prompt in and choose CMD Prompt Here from the menu that opens up. In this example, we’ll choose Tools.
Two mouse clicks and we’ve arrived in a command prompt at C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\
