Using File Explorer to navigate through folders to find folders and files is easy but not that easy when you need to access folders like AppData, AppsFolder, Fonts, etc. That’s where this Shell command comes handy.
Generally, a shell command looks like this:
shell:friendly-folder-name
For example,
Running Shell:SendTo opens the SendTo folder in your current user profile.
To find the complete list of friendly-folder-name available on your computer, go to the following location in Registry Editor, and look for the Name value in each of the registry keys
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderDescriptions\
The same trick works on both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 computers. You can also quickly open folders with the local environment variables as well. Check this post for more details.
Here is the list of them that are available in a Windows 8.1 computer, thanks to Winaero for compiling it.
SHELL COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|
shell:AccountPictures | Account Pictures |
shell:AddNewProgramsFolder | The “Get Programs” Control panel item |
shell:Administrative Tools | Administrative Tools |
shell:AppData | Same as %appdata%, the c:\user\<username>\appdata\roaming folder |
shell:Application Shortcuts | Opens the folder which stores all Modern apps shortcuts |
shell:AppsFolder | The virtual folder which stores all installed Modern apps |
shell:AppUpdatesFolder | The “Installed Updates” Control panel item |
shell:Cache | IE’s cache folder (Temporary Internet Files) |
shell:CD Burning | Temporary Burn Folder |
shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder | The “Uninstall a program” Control panel item |
shell:Common Administrative Tools | The Administrative Tools folder for all users |
shell:Common AppData | The C:\ProgramData folder (%ProgramData%) |
shell:Common Desktop | Public Desktop |
shell:Common Documents | Public Documents |
shell:Common Programs | All Users Programs, which are part of Start menu. Still used by the Start screen |
shell:Common Start Menu | All Users Start Menu folder, same as above |
shell:Common Startup | The Startup folder, used for all users |
shell:Common Templates | Same as above, but used for new documents templates, e.g. by Microsoft Office |
shell:CommonDownloads | Public Downloads |
shell:CommonMusic | Public Music |
shell:CommonPictures | Public Pictures |
shell:CommonRingtones | Public Ringtones folder |
shell:CommonVideo | Public Videos |
shell:ConflictFolder | The Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Sync Center\Conflicts item |
shell:ConnectionsFolder | The Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network Connections item |
shell:Contacts | Contacts folder (Address book) |
shell:ControlPanelFolder | Control Panel |
shell:Cookies | The folder with IE’s cookies |
shell:CredentialManager | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials |
shell:CryptoKeys | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto |
shell:CSCFolder | This folder is broken in Windows 8/7, provides access to the Offline files item |
shell:Desktop | Desktop |
shell:Device Metadata Store | C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceMetadataStore |
shell:DocumentsLibrary | Documents Library |
shell:Downloads | Downloads folder |
shell:DpapiKeys | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Protect |
shell:Favorites | Favorites |
shell:Fonts | C:\Windows\Fonts |
shell:Games | The Games Explorer item |
shell:GameTasks | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\GameExplorer |
shell:History | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History, IE’s browsing history |
shell:HomeGroupCurrentUserFolder | The Home Group folder for the current user |
shell:HomeGroupFolder | The Home Group root folder |
shell:ImplicitAppShortcuts | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\ImplicitAppShortcuts |
shell:InternetFolder | This shell command will start Internet Explorer |
shell:Libraries | Libraries |
shell:Links | The “Favorites” folder from the Explorer navigation pane. |
shell:Local AppData | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local |
shell:LocalAppDataLow | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow |
shell:LocalizedResourcesDir | This shell folder is broken in Windows 8 |
shell:MAPIFolder | Represents the Microsoft Outlook folder |
shell:MusicLibrary | Music Library |
shell:My Music | The “My Music” folder (not the Library) |
shell:My Pictures | The “My Pictures” folder (not the Library) |
shell:My Video | The “My Videos” folder (not the Library) |
shell:MyComputerFolder | Computer/Drives view |
shell:NetHood | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts |
shell:NetworkPlacesFolder | The Network Places folder which shows computers and devices on your network |
shell:OEM Links | This shell command does nothing on my Windows 8 Retail edition. Maybe it works with OEM Windows 8 editions. |
shell:Original Images | Not functional on Windows 8 |
shell:Personal | The “My Documents” folder (not the Library) |
shell:PhotoAlbums | Saved slideshows, seems to have not been implemented yet |
shell:PicturesLibrary | Pictures Library |
shell:Playlists | Stores WMP Playlists. |
shell:PrintersFolder | The classic “Printers” folder (not ‘Devices and Printers’) |
shell:PrintHood | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Printer Shortcuts |
shell:Profile | The User profile folder |
shell:ProgramFiles | Program Files |
shell:ProgramFilesCommon | C:\Program Files\Common Files |
shell:ProgramFilesCommonX86 | C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files – for Windows x64 |
shell:ProgramFilesX86 | C:\Program Files (x86) – for Windows x64 |
shell:Programs | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs (Per-user Start Menu Programs folder) |
shell:Public | C:\Users\Public |
shell:PublicAccountPictures | C:\Users\Public\AccountPictures |
shell:PublicGameTasks | C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\GameExplorer |
shell:PublicLibraries | C:\Users\Public\Libraries |
shell:Quick Launch | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch |
shell:Recent | The “Recent Items” folder (Recent Documents) |
shell:RecordedTVLibrary | The “Recorded TV” Library |
shell:RecycleBinFolder | Recycle Bin |
shell:ResourceDir | C:\Windows\Resources where visual styles are stored |
shell:Ringtones | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Ringtones |
shell:Roamed Tile Images | Is not implemented yet. Reserved for future. |
shell:Roaming Tiles | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\RoamingTiles |
shell:SavedGames | Saved Games |
shell:Screenshots | The folder for Win+Print Screen screenshots |
shell:Searches | Saved Searches |
shell:SearchHomeFolder | Windows Search UI |
shell:SendTo | The folder with items that you can see in the “Send to” menu |
shell:Start Menu | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu (Per-user Start Menu folder) |
shell:Startup | Per-user Startup folder |
shell:SyncCenterFolder | Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Sync Center |
shell:SyncResultsFolder | Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Sync Center\Sync Results |
shell:SyncSetupFolder | Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Sync Center\Sync Setup |
shell:System | C:\Windows\System32 |
shell:SystemCertificates | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SystemCertificates |
shell:SystemX86 | C:\Windows\SysWOW64 -Windows x64 only |
shell:Templates | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates |
shell:User Pinned | Pinned items for Taskbar and Start screen, C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned |
shell:UserProfiles | C:\Users, the users folder where the user profiles are stored |
shell:UserProgramFiles | Not implemented yet. Reserved for future. |
shell:UserProgramFilesCommon | same as above |
shell:UsersFilesFolder | The current user profile |
shell:UsersLibrariesFolder | Libraries |
shell:VideosLibrary | Videos Library |
shell:Windows | C:\Windows |
I need help
when I run the shell:sendto command I get a list of items like Bluetooth, compressed folder, desktop ,etc. But when I right click on any desktop icon I get a different folder with these items and others
like,….. documents , for transfer folder… and My drive