Section 1.20. StartRun: All Versions


1.20. Start Run: All Versions

A clean, new installation of Vista doesn't include the Run command. But power users and ¼ber- geeks may well want to put it back in the Start menu, following the instructions in the box on page 46. (Or don't bother. Whenever you want the Run command, you can just press +R, or type run into the Start menu's Search box and then hit Enter.)

After all, the Run command gets you to a command line , as shown in Figure 1-8. A command line is a text-based method of performing a task. You type a command, click OK, and something happens as a result.

Figure 1-8. Top: The last Run command you entered appears automatically in the Open text box. You can use the drop-down list to see a list of commands you've previously entered .
Bottom: The Run command knows the names of all of your folders and also remembers the last few commands you typed here. As you go, you're shown the best match for the characters you're typing. When the name of the folder you're trying to open appears in the list, click it to prevent having to type the rest of the entry .



Note: The command line in the Run dialog box is primarily for opening things. Vista also comes with a program called Command Prompt that offers a far more complete environmentnot just for opening things, but for controlling and manipulating them. Power users can type long sequences of commands and symbols in Command Prompt.

Working at the command line is becoming a lost art in the world of Windows, because most people prefer to issue commands by choosing from menus using the mouse. However, some old-timers still love the command line, and even mouse-lovers encounter situations where a typed command is the only way to do something.

If you're a PC veteran, your head probably teems with neat Run commands you've picked up over the years . If you're new to this idea, however, the following are a few of the useful and timesaving functions you can perform with the Run dialog box.

1.20.1. Open a Program

For example, you can use the Run command as a program launcher. Just type any program's program file name in the Open text box and then press Enter. That's a useful shortcut for both pros and novices alike, because it's frequently faster to launch a program this way than to click the Start All Programs menu with the mouse.

Unfortunately, the program file name isn't the same as its plain-English name; it's a cryptic, abbreviated version. For example, if you want to open Microsoft Word, you must type winword . That's the actual name of the Word program icon as it sits in your Computer Local Disk (C:) Program Files Microsoft Office Office folder. Some other common program file names are shown here:

Program's real name

Program's familiar name

iexplore

Internet Explorer

explorer

Windows Explorer

write

WordPad

msworks

Microsoft Works

msimn

Mail

wmplayer

Windows Media Player

palm

Palm Desktop

sol

Solitaire

winmine

Minesweeper

control

Classic Control Panel

regedit

Registry Editor

cleanmgr

Disk Cleanup

defrag

Disk Defragmenter

calc

Calculator


UP TO SPEED
The Path to Enlightenment about Paths

Windows is too busy to think of a particular file as "that family album program in the Program Files folder, which is in the Programs folder on the C drive." Instead, it uses shorthand to specify each icon's location on your hard drivea series of disk and folder names separated by backslashes, like this: C:\program files\pbsoftware\beekeeperpro.exe .

This kind of location code is that icon's path . (Capitalization doesn't matter, even though you may see capital letters in Microsoft's examples.)

You'll encounter file paths when using several important Windows features. The Run dialog box described in this section is one. The Address bar at the top of every Explorer window is another, although Microsoft has made addresses easier to read by displaying triangle separators in the Address bar instead of slashes . (That is, you now see Users ¢ Casey instead of Users\Casey.)


To discover the program file name of a favorite program, see "Which One's the Program?" on page 51.


Note: True, the Start Search box at the bottom of Vista's Start menu offers another way to find and open any program without taking your hands off the keyboard. But the Run method is more precise, and may require less effort because you're not typing the entire program name.

In fact, keyboard lovers, get this: you can perform this entire application-launching stunt without using the mouse at all. Just follow these steps in rapid succession:

  1. Press +R .

    That's the keyboard shortcut for the Run command, whose dialog box now opens.

  2. Type the program file's name in the Open box .

    If you've typed the name before, just type a couple of letters; Windows Vista fills in the rest of the name automatically.

  3. Press Enter .

    Windows opens the requested program instantly. Keystrokes: 3; Mouse: 0.

1.20.2. Open Any Program or Document

Using the Run dialog box is handy for launching favorite applications, because it requires so few keystrokes. But you can also use the Run dialog box to open any file on the computer.

The trick here is to type in the entire path of the program or document you want. (See the box on page 41 if you're new to the idea of file paths.) For example, to open the family budget spreadsheet that's in Harold's Documents folder, you might type C:\Users\Harold\Documents\familybudget.xls .

(Of course, you probably wouldn't actually have to type all that, since the autocomplete pop-up menu offers to complete each folder name as you start to type it.)


Tip: Typing the path in this way is also useful for opening applications that don't appear in the Start All Programs menu. (If a program doesnt appear there, you must type its entire pathnameor click Browse to hunt for its icon yourself.)For example, some advanced Windows Vista utilities (including the Registry Editor , an advanced diagnostic program) are accessible only through the command line. You also need to use the Run command to open some older DOS programs that don't come with a listing in the All Programs menu.

1.20.3. Open a Drive Window

When you click Computer in your Start menu, you'll see that Windows assigns a letter of the alphabet to each disk drive attached to your machinethe hard drive, CD-ROM drive, floppy drive, and so on. The floppy drive is A:, the hard drive is usually C:, and so on. (There hasn't been a B: drive since the demise of the two-floppy computer.)

By typing a drive letter followed by a colon (for example, C: ) into the Run box and pressing Enter, you make a window pop open, showing what's on that drive.

1.20.4. Open a Folder Window

You can also use the Run dialog box to open the window for any folder on your machine. To do so, type a backslash followed by the name of a folder (Figure 1-9, bottom of screen). You might type, for example, \Program Files to see your complete software collection.

Figure 1-9. The Browse dialog box, which makes frequent appearances in Windows, lets you navigate the folders on your PC to find a file. The links at left make it easy to jump to the places where you're most likely to find the document you want. If you enter a drive letter and a colon in the Run dialog box before clicking the Browse button (like C: ), the Browse dialog box opens with a display of that drive's contents .



Note: The Run command assumes that you're opening a folder on Drive C. If you want to open a folder on a different drive, add the drive letter and a colon before the name of the folder (for example, D:\data ).

If you're on a network, you can even open a folder that's sitting on another computer on the network. To do so, type two backslashes, the computer's name, and then the shared folder's name. For instance, to access a shared folder called Budgets on a computer named Admin, enter \\admin\budgets . (See Chapter 26 for more on sharing folders over the network.)

It might make you feel extra proficient to know that you've just used the Universal Naming Convention , or UNC, for the shared folder. The UNC is simply the two-backslash, computer name\folder name format (for example: \\ComputerName\foldername ).


Tip: In any of these cases, if you don't remember the precise name of a file or folder you want to open in the Run dialog box, click the Browse button to display the Browse dialog box, as shown in Figure 1-9.

1.20.5. Connect to a Web Page

You can jump directly to a specific Web page by typing its Web address (URL)such as www.bigcompany.cominto the Run dialog box, and then pressing Enter. You don't even have to open your Web browser first.

Once again, you may not have to type very much; the drop-down list in the Run dialog box lists every URL you've previously entered. Simply click one (or press the down arrow to highlight the one you want, and then press Enter) to go to that site.




Windows Vista. The Missing Manual
Windows Vista: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596528272
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 284
Authors: David Pogue

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