Windows XP -"Open terminal here" shell extension?

Question

I remember in Ubuntu, I think it was Gnome, Nautilus had this option in the right-click context menu that allowed you to open a terminal whose working dir was the dir you were visiting in Nautilus, not the default '/home' dir. Is there any way to get that kind of functionality in Windows XP?

Solution 1

You don't need any tool to do this. Just a small Registry hack

Open a new file and paste this content, save as *.reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\cmd]
@="Open Command Prompt Here"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\cmd\command]
@="cmd.exe /k pushd %L"

And then double click into this file. Here we go!

Solution 2

Probably the simplest way is to use the Microsoft Power Toys - there is a CmdHere.exe specifically to do this.

Solution 3

I know this question is about Windows XP, but this is a sidenote:

These methods are unnecessary in Windows 7. In this version Shift Right-click allows access to a context menu with additional options, including open terminal here (more detail at download squad). Also holding down Control will open it with elevated privileges.

Comments

[DaveParillo]

Yeah, but I always hate to tell people to edit their registry without knowing their knowledge level ahead of time. By any chance, is there a complimentary registry hack to remove these keys?

[Adewale Oluyinka]

To delete a registry key with a .reg file, put a hyphen (-) in front of the RegistryPath in the .reg file

[Evan Plaice]

+1 I have a bunch of .reg saved away with shell hacks but it was quicker to find it here. Worked like a charm. It would be great if you added the remove reg file for newbs who don't know how to modify the reg.

[Anderson Green]

It looks like it works no matter where you save the file - I just tested it.

[Adewale Oluyinka]

Yes that's right. Save it wherever you want, run it and delete it after use.

[Ajedi32]

Is there a way to make this work when I right-click on the background of a folder that I'm already in? (As opposed to right-clicking on a folder icon, which is what your current solution enables.)