Make "Command Prompt Here" Always Display for Folders in Windows Vista

There’s a simple registry hack you can do that will enable “Open Command Window Here” item without holding down the shift key:

 

You can either manually edit the registry, or use the downloadable registry hack files to do it.

Manual Registry Hack

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search or run box, and then browse down to the following key to add the right-click menu to drive icons:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell\cmd

Rename the “Extended” key on the right to something else, like “Extended-Orig”. (Note that you could simply delete the value, but renaming it ensures that you can quickly rename it back to reverse the change)

To add the item to the folder context menu, browse down to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\cmd

And rename the same “Extended” key here. The changes should be immediate.

Downloadable Registry Hack

Simply download, extract, and double-click on the EnableCommandPromptHereAlways.reg file to enter the information into the registry. There’s also an included file to reverse the change.

Download EnableCommandPromptHereAlways Registry Hack