I've added several commands to the right-click menu I see when I'm working in Windows Explorer or My Computer. I'm so used to having them that I forget they're not built into Windows, and I'm always startled (and annoyed) when I use someone else's computer and don't have these commands. I added the commands to my system because I'm lazy and like to perform tasks with as few mouse clicks as possible.
The three commands I can't live without are Command Window Here (which opens a command prompt within the folder you selected), Copy To Folder (which opens a small dialog box that lists all the drives on the computer so you can easily navigate to the target folder for the file you selected for copying), and Move To Folder (which works the same as Copy To Folder except it moves the selected file).
I created all of these commands in the registry of one computer, and then exported the new registry data to create a .reg file, which I used on all the other computers on my network. Now I carry a flash drive that contains these .reg files when I'm going to a client site, and if they don't want the commands to remain when I leave, I have a "negative" .reg file that removes the keys and data items I've added (I insert a minus sign before the text in the line that contains the new value). However, nobody has ever asked me to remove them. I'm told that administrators and users who understand the usefulness of the command prompt love the Command Window Here command, and users who get confused about cut, copy, and paste actions are grateful for the clarity of the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands.
A .reg file has the following syntax:
RegistryEditorVersion Blank line \[Registry Path\] \[Registry item/data\]
Copy these commands to Notepad and save the file with a .reg extension, then double-click the file to add the data to your registry so you have access to these handy tools.
For the Command Window Here.reg:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\OpenNew\] @="Command Window Here"
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\OpenNew\Command\] @="cmd.exe /k cd %1"
For the Copy To Folder.reg:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\]
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\\{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13\}\]
For the Move To Folder.reg:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\]
\[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\\{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13\}\]
To do everything at once, copy all the registry paths and data items listed here after the first line (Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00) and the blank line below it, and name it "add everything.reg" or something similar.
These .reg files work in Windows Vista/2003/XP.
