'def title Windows Run dialog
'def  desc On Windows, most often you run an application by finding and double-clicking it's exe file. What a lot of people don't realise is that you can launch any application or open any file you want by typing a single command. That can be achieved inside the Run dialog.

# {title}

{pagenav 3 min;04 October 2021;31 October 2021}

:contents
:numbered
1. {uhref Opening the Run dialog}

2. {uhref Commands}
   .numbered
   1. {uhref Folders}
   2. {uhref Programs}
   3. {uhref Windows settings}

3. {uhref For more}



On Windows, most often you run an application by finding and double-clicking it's {` .exe} file. What a lot of people don't realise is that you can launch any application or open any file you want by typing a single command. That can be achieved inside the {b Run dialog}.

## Opening the Run dialog

To open the Run dialog, you can either:

{i A)} Press {` Win + R} key combination

or

{i B)} Right click on the Windows menu, and then press {` Run}

{img ./img/open-run-windows-menu.png}

## Commands

{img ./img/run-dialog.png}

### Folders

You can open any folder by typing in it's {b full path}. So, if you have a folder named {` Work} inside your {` Documents} folder, the full path will be something like {` C:\Users\John\Documents\Work\\}.

If your desired folder is directly in your account folder, so {` Desktop}, {` Documents}, {` Pictures}, etc. you can just type in the name of the folder. For example, if you want to open your {` Pictures} folder, just type in {` pictures} and it will be opened.

There are, of course, some more special location, some of which are:

.table
.2
|= Command
|= Location
|: {` %ProgramFiles%}
|: Program Files Folder
|: {` %AppData%}
|: User's App Data Folder

{b Bonus}: {` %appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu} will open the Start Menu folder, from which you can edit what goes inside your start menu.

### Programs

You can always run any application by typing in it's full path. So, to launch something like FireFox, you'll need to type in {` C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe}.

But, whats more important is that you can more easily launch some Windows apps, like Calculator or Control Panel. Here is a list of commands and the application they launch:

.table
.2
|= Command
|= Application
|: {` calc}
|: Calculator
|: {` mspaint}
|: Microsoft Paint
|: {` snippingtool}
|: Snipping Tool
|: {` notepad}
|: Notepad
|: {` sndvol}
|: Volume Mixer
|: {` soundrecroder}
|: Sound Recorder
|: {` wuapp}
|: Windows Updates
|: {` shutdown}*
|: Shutdown or restart computer
|:
|:
|: {` cmd}
|: Command Prompt
|: {` powershell}
|: Windows PowerShell
|: {` control}
|: Control Panel
|: {` taskmgr}
|: Task Manager
|: {` msinfo32}
|: System Information
|: {` winver}
|: Windows Version Window
|: {` cleanmgr}
|: Disk Cleanup
|: {` dfrgui}
|: Disk Cleanup (defragmentation)
|: {` mstsc}
|: Remote Desktop Connection
|:
|:
|: {` regedit}
|: Registry Editor
|: {` msconfig}
|: System Configuration Settings
|: {` dcomcnfg}
|: Component Services
|: {` sigverif}
|: File Signature Verification Tool

*: The {` shutdown} command {url requires parameters;https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/shutdown}:

.bulleted
- {` /s} will shutdown in one minute
- {` /r} will restart in one minute
- {` /t} specifies after what amount of time to shutdown or restart (a number needs to be entered afterwards, so {` /t 0} for immediate execution)
- {` /f} forces running applications to close (might result in data loss!)

### Windows settings

There are also many "shortcuts" to different Windows settings windows. Those include:

.table
.2
|= Command
|= Setting
|: {` mmsys.cpl}
|: Sound Properties
|: {` powercfg.cpl}
|: Power Options
|: {` timedate.cpl}
|: Time and Date Options
|: {` ncpa.cpl}
|: Network Connections
|:
|:
|: {` inetcpl.cpl}
|: Internet Properties
|: {` compmgmt.msc}
|: Computer Manager
|: {` devmgmt.msc}
|: Device Manager
|: {` diskmgmt.msc}
|: Disk Management
|: {` firewall.cpl}
|: Windows Firewall
|:
|:
|: {` sysdm.cpl}
|: System Properties
|: {` services.msc}
|: Services
|: {` comexp.msc}
|: Component Services
|: {` gpedit.msc}
|: Group Policy Editor
|: {` lusrmgr.msc}
|: Local Users and Groups
|: {` certmgr.msc}
|: Certificate Manager
|: {` taskschd.msc}
|: Task Scheduler
|: {` fsmgmt.msc}
|: Shared Folders

{b Note}: {` cpl} stands for {i Control Panel Item} and {` msc} stands for {i Microsoft System Configuration}.

## For more

For more commands, check out {url windowsruncommands.com;https://windowsruncommands.com/}. They have a much bigger list of commands and shortcuts you can use.