Monday, January 27, 2014

Windows 8: Change File Explorer Default Open Location

Did you know you can change the File Explorer's (formerly known as Windows Explorer) default behavior of opening the Libraries folder?  Its just of matter of changing the shortcut's properties to something that you would prefer instead.

Follow the instructions below:
  • Press the WinKey + D to show the desktop.
    • Note: Its important to close all the File Explorer windows.
  • Hold down Shift and Right-click on the Explorer icon in the taskbar, and select Properties.  
    • Note: you can also make your own shortcut by right-clicking an empty area on the desktop and selecting New > Shortcut, just follow the instructions in the wizard.  Paste any of the command paths below into the Type the location of the item field, press the Next button, give your new shortcut a name, and press the Finish button.
  • In the Shortcut tab, in the Target field you can specify the path to the new location that you want to use. For example, use one of the following paths (by default its: %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Libraries):
    • To open Computer folder (show all drives attached to the computer):%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}.  The Control Panels folder is: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
    • To specify a specific path, use: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe C:\Users (change C:\Users to be any path you want)
  • Press the OK button when done.
Bonus tip:
  • Use the /select,"object": To specify a file or folder to receive the initial focus.
    • For example: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /select,c:\windows\system32\calc.exe (To select the CALC.EXE in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder)

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