Lee.org

This is old info but I needed to refer to it after my Windows reinstall so I’ll just put it here for easy reference.

Windows Explorer Command-Line Options

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Explorer [/n] [/e] [(,)/root,<object>] [/select,<object>]

/n                Opens a new single-pane window for the default
selection. This is usually the root of the drive Windows
is installed on. If the window is already open, a
duplicate opens.

/e                Opens Windows Explorer in its default view.

/root,<object>    Opens a window view of the specified object.

/select,<object>  Opens a window view with the specified folder, file or
application selected.

Examples:

Example 1:     Explorer /select,C:\TestDir\TestApp.exe

Opens a window view with TestApp selected.

Example 2:  Explorer /e,/root,C:\TestDir\TestApp.exe

This opens Explorer with C: expanded and TestApp selected.

Example 3:  Explorer /root,\\TestSvr\TestShare

Opens a window view of the specified share.

Example 4:  Explorer /root,\\TestSvr\TestShare,select,TestApp.exe

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Here it is explained in a slightly different way:

This page was lifted from http://cpcug.org/user/clemenzi/technical/WinExplorer/CommandLineOptions.htm.

Parameters are

separated by commas. Many combinations are allowed, but only a few examples are

given.

Explorer.exe c:\                Open directory as a single pain of icons

Explorer.exe /e,c:\             Explore drive as 2 lists – 
                                  directories on left & files on right
Explorer.exe /e,/root,c:\       Explore drive without showing other drives
Explorer.exe /n,/e,/select      Opens showing only drives
Explorer.exe /e,/idlist,%I,%L   From Folder\..\Explore in the registry
                                  %I – ID number
                                  %L – Long filename
Explorer.exe  /e,DriveOrDirectory
Explorer.exe  /e,/root,directory,sub-directory
Explorer.exe  /e,/root,directory,/select,sub-directory

/e	List (explorer) view, Show large icons if missing (Open view)
/root	Sets the top level folder.
/select	Specifies that the directory should be selected without displaying its contents.
/s	????
/n	Do not open the selected directory, no effect on NT
/idlist,%I	Expects an ID/handle. May help with cacheing. By itself, opens the desktop as icons.
/inproc	Stops display of window (I don’t know why this is useful)

Windows Explorer contains 7 icons. In 95 and NT, the 3rd and 4th are

different. Use

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL

I have not found a single reference explaining all the options. Some

parameters were found by searching the registry, some are from the sources

below, and a few are from browsing the executable.

• C:\WINDOWS\TIPS.TXT (95 only)

  provides basic command line help. Search for explorer.

• Additional notes are provided here.

URL: http:// cpcug.org / user / clemenzi / technical / WinExplorer

/ CommandLineOptions.htm