folder mode?

how do i flag my explorer to open with that left column of folders visible? every time i open it i have to click on some folder icon by hand.

this wasn't the case in the past. i can't recall what i had differently set, tho.

do i just add some sort of flag onto the shortcut?

 

In XP, which I assume is what you are using, it varies according to how you open it. From a desktop My Computer or My Documents icon it opens in single pane view. If you start it from the Start > All Programs menu it opens in folder view. You can also use switches to tell it how and where to open -

http://www.theeldergeek.com/start_explorer_in_c_drive.htm

 

I have neither My Computer nor My Documents on my desktop. I suppose I did once, but I could never really understand why they were for.

And I don't actually have a call to "explorer" per se anywhere; I just have a shortcut in the QL bar (tho it could easily have been on the desktop) straight to my most useful folder, e.g. "C:\...\...\paperwork\2010". I learned a long time ago that was the way to save 87 clicks opening everything up by hand after explorer boots.

Since all those switches apply to "explorer.exe" directly, I'm not sure whether I can just tack them onto a folder shortcut like that. But I'll certainly try. Just as soon as I figure out which one applies. Very confusing stuff for a non-"Desktop" non-"My Computer" user!!

Very informative page, nonetheless. I'll figure it out eventually.

Thanks!

:major

PS: Oh, yeah, it is XP.
PS2: I've long called these "flags" instead of "switches". What's the diff? Hyphen vs. slash?

 

Oh yes you do, in All Programs > Accessories. Send a shortcut from that to your desktop and edit the target to, for example,
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,H:\Downloads, and it opens the Downloads folder on drive H in two pane view. And watch the syntax

It's just semantics, but in command mode they are usually called switches.

 

I use windows key + e. Or right-click any folder and select 'explore'. Very simple that way.

 

Seems more complicated than the lone, left, click normally used.

That said, my POINT was to have explorer default to some particular folder, deeply buried.

That page with "switches" would be a lot more useful if it just TOLD you what each of them did. By trial and error, I've sussed out "/e", "/select", and "/root", but "/n" doesn't seem to do anything on my machine, and several of their examples don't display as they claim they do.

Anyway, I've also sussed out how to worth the FOLDER NAME in there. Using my example, "C:\...\...\paperwork\2010", the shortcut you need is:

C:\windows\explorer.exe /e,C:\...\...\paperwork\2010

Quotes not needed after all. Space before the /e, however, IS (oddly enuf).

I fiddled around with sticking that "/e" on the shortcut ITSELF (the
C:\...\...\paperwork\2010 part), but it seems that the explicit call to explorer is necessary to get folder view (screen split) to trigger.

Hope that was clear (NOT!).

:major

 

and the answer was posted in #4 rolleyes

 

Indeed you did. My apologies. You did state it pretty much exactly as required!

:-o

Now for a more COMPLICATED one. How do I get it to open one folder then JUMP TO (open) a second one? I'd like to have ....files/2003 open and splayed out, say, in addition to ...files/2008 open/highlit/current.

I really thot it might process URL1, URL2 in sequence, but it didn't. Additionally, I tried using "/select" between the two URLS** to at least open the second folder in the right side but that didn't work either. And the right side doesn't really concern me anyways.

I'd really like two subnodes open when I first open explorer. The final location, the highlighting, all that I can figure out myself. Just the two expanded nodes stumping me.

Any way to pull this off?


-----
** is it called an URL when it's a local address (C:\....)? I am at a loss what to call this each time.

 

If I understand you correctly, (I did try to read a little more carefully this time - UGH) you may be able to do this by writing out two separate commands for each location on their own lines in notepad, and save the file as filename.bat (You'll have to change the 'Save As Type' drop-down to 'All Files' in the 'Save As' dialog to accomplish this).

The file you create can then be used like any other shortcut/executable to bring up the two directories.

 

oooh...near miss. that opens up 2 seperate instances of explorer, one each for the 2 URLS. i actually want them seperately, in sequence, in the SAME instance of explorer.

i've tried as seperate lines, linked by commas, linked by "/select" etc etc. but the basic command of "...explorer" is still launching a second copy, rather than just triggering the jump to a new node.

rather than the second line calling explorer itself, it needs to trigger some sort of "jump" or "go to" rountine INSIDE explorer.

i await further guidance.

 

I haven't been able to do what you want using the methods we've looked at so far. However by using a macro recorder to automatically generate a script it was easily done.

http://majorgeeks.com/AutoHotkey_d4422.html

 

btw, such a script can be assigned to a keyboard combination