It surprises me that so many Java developers who work on the Windows
platform do not have a context menu option to open a command prompt in
a given directory. If you use Cygwin you probably wont have this need, but otherwise it’ll really save you a lot of “cd-ing”.
In Windows it’s not too complicated to edit the context menu (the
one you see when you right click somewhere), so that you can open a
comand prompt by right clicking on a folder and then clicking on the
command prompt option.
If you’re using Windows XP you’ve got the option of using this powertool: Open Command Window Here (I haven’t tried this tool myself)
If you’re using Windows 2000 or Windows XP (and you can’t use the powertool), then you can do the following:
1. From the “Start” menu, choose “Run”
2. Type “regedit” and hit enter
3. In the left menu tree, go to “HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT” -> “Folder” -> “shell”
4. Right click on “shell” and select “New” -> “Key”
5. Name the key “Open Command Prompt Here” (this is what you’ll see in the right click menu)
6. Right click on the newly created key (”Open Command Prompt Here”) and select “New” -> “Key”
7. Name the new key “command”
8. Select the newly created “command” key and double-click on “default value”
9. Enter “cmd.exe” and click on “Ok”
That’s it! You will now have more time to worry about more meaning
full things and you’ll most likely cut down 50% on your “cd-ing”. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I’m currently using a French version of Windows so
the guide is based on my memory of what the different menu options are
named in the English version. If you think that using a French version
of Windows must be tough, then you should see the keyboards we use
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