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Windows comes packed with several useful network utilities. These programs can get you critical information about your network connection and help diagnose problems. There are four TCP/IP network utilities that every Windows user should know about:
Netstat
Tracert
IPconfig
NSlookup
Let’s see what these utilities do and how they’re commonly used.
Table of Contents
A Refresher on TCP/IPAll four utilities are TCP/IP network programs. What does that mean?
TCP/IP is short for Transmission Control Protocol Internet Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules and specifications that determine how a process works.
For example, at work it might be protocol to first make an appointment with your boss’ personal assistant instead of barging into their office at random times of day. Similarly, TCP/IP describes how the various devices connected to each other on the internet can communicate in an orderly fashion.
Learning to Love the Command LineIn Windows this has always been achieved through the Command Prompt, but that’s being phased out. The preferred command line interface today is Windows PowerShell.
To access the Powershell:
Now you can type your commands into the command line in PowerShell to your heart’s content. If you want to walk the path of the PowerShell master, it begins with a single step. That is, Using PowerShell for Home Users – A Beginner’s Guide by our very own Guy McDowell.
Now let’s begin to know them better.
What is Netstat?Netstat or Network Statistics is a powerful information utility that gives you important insights into what your network connection is doing at any given moment. It gives you basic statistics on key network activity. This includes which ports are open and in use and what connections are open and running.
Netstat isn’t just a Windows application, it’s on Linux, Unix and Mac as well. It started life on Unix and has become a fundamental weapon in the network administrator’s toolbox.
There is a graphical alternative in the form of Microsoft TCPView, but knowing how to use netstat will always be useful. There are many use cases for the program, but one common purpose these days is the detection of malware. Malicious software such as trojans often open a port and wait to be contacted by their creators for further instructions. With netstat you can quickly see if there’s a suspicious connection from your computer to the network.
Important Netstat CommandsNetstat is one of the easiest TCP/IP utilities to use. All you have to do is type “netstat” (without the quotes) and you’ll get the standard list of active connections. Which should look something like this:
This is fine for a normal overview of your network connections, but you can modify the output by using modifiers. For example, “netstat -a” displays all active ports and “netstat -b” will show you the executable file responsible for each listening port. Here are more key commands:
Netstat -e – displays details of packets that have been sent
Netstat -n – lists currently connected hosts
Netstat -p – allow to specify what type of protocol you want to check
Netstat -r – provides a list of routing tables
Netstat -s – gives statistics on IPv4, IPv6, ICMP, TCP, etc
What is Tracert?Tracert is short for traceroute. It’s a network utility that shows you information about every stop along the way from your computer’s network interface to the destination device.
When you use Tracert, the application sends special Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets which compel the devices at each hop to send back information. Specifically, it asks them to relay the exact time the packet arrived and then uses that information to calculate the travel time between each hop.
There are three main uses for Tracert:
To see where a packet gets lost.
To determine where packets are delayed.
To see the IP addresses of each hop along the packet’s route.
Next, let’s see the Tracert command in action.
Important Tracert CommandsThe output of the command looks like this:
Tracert also has a small number of options, here’s the list:
Tracert -d: Tells Tracert not to resolve addresses to host names
Tracert -h: Maximum_hops – lets you change the default number of hops, e.g. -h 30
Tracert -j host-list: Specifies the LSR (loose source route) along the host list
-w timeout: Lets you set how long Tracert waits at each hop before considering it a timeout. E.g. Tracert -w 1000
It’s a simple tool, but can be incredibly useful if you’re playing network detective!
What is IPconfig?One of the most useful network TCP/IP utilities, IPconfig shows you the current configuration of network devices in your computer. It can also be used to manually force certain actions relating to your network connections.
IPconfig is particularly useful if your computer has an IP address assigned to it dynamically. Since it lets you quickly see what IP address your system currently has.
Important IPconfig CommandsIPconfig is generally used with a parameter, which either displays network information or performs a network-related task. Here are some of the most important commands to know:
IPconfig /all: Shows you all physical and virtual network adapter connection information.
IPconfig /flushdns: Resets the DNS resolver cache. Good for solving DNS-related problems.
/IPconfig /renew: Forces a new IP address to be assigned.
IPconfig is the go-to utility for general internet connection troubleshooting, so it’s worth memorizing its key commands.
What is NSLookup?NSlookup is short for nameserver lookup. A “nameserver” is a key type of server in the DNS (domain name system). It is in effect a DNS server and that means it’s a network device that connects the URL you type into your browser with the IP address of the server that hosts the content.
Usually this process is hidden from you as the user, but NSlookup lets you do two things:
Find which IP address is behind a particular website address.
To find the URL connected to a specific IP address.
So if you only have either a web address or an IP address, you can use NSlookup to find the other part of the puzzle. You can combine this with the information from other tools, such as Tracert or Netstat to determine which web servers are attached to the IP addresses they report.
Important NSLookup CommandsThere are three main NSLookup commands you should know. The first is just “nslookup”. This shows you the current name server and its IP address.
Note that NSlookup is still running and you are at its command line, not PowerShell. If you want to go back to PowerShell, type exit and press enter.
However, let’s stick around for a second and ask our nameserver to give us the address for chúng tôi Just type chúng tôi and press enter.
As you can see, this gives us the IP address 172.217.170.46. Type that into your web browser and you’ll be taken straight to the Google search engine. You can also do a reverse search and enter an IP address, which should then return the URL of the server associated with it.
You're reading The Best Windows Command Line Network Commands
Command Line Arguments In C
Introduction to Command Line Arguments in C
Web development, programming languages, Software testing & others
The syntax :
int main(int argc, char *argv[])where argc represents the count of arguments passed to the program and argv[] is a pointer array holding the pointers of data type char pointing to the arguments passed to the program.
Working of Command-Line Arguments in C
Whenever there is a need to pass the values to the program from outside and do not want to use it inside the code, we make use of Command-Line Arguments in C.
The values passed to the C program from the command line when the program is executed are called command-line arguments in C.
The main() function in the program handles the command line arguments passed to the program when the program is executed.
The number of arguments passed to the program is represented by argc and every argument passed to the program is pointed by a pointer which is maintained in a pointer array represented by argv[].
Examples of Command-Line Argumentshere are the following examples mention below:
Example #1This program to demonstrate the use of Command-Line Arguments in a program to display the arguments passed to the program.
Code:
//main method is called to which the command line arguments are passed to the program int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { int a; { printf(“The arguments passed to the program are:n”); for(a = 1; a < argc; a++) { printf(“The argument passed to the program is: %st”, argv[a]); } } else { printf(“No argument is passed to the programn”); } return 0; }
In the above program, the main method is called to which the command line arguments are passed to the program. Then an integer variable is defined. Then if condition is applied to check if the count of arguments passed to the program is greater than or equal to two and if the condition is true, the command line arguments passed to the program is printed otherwise no argument is passed to the program is printed. We are not passing any command-line arguments to the program, hence the output no argument is passed to the program is printed on the screen.
Example #2C program to demonstrate the use of Command-Line Arguments in a program to display the arguments passed to the program.
Code:
//main method is called to which the command line arguments are passed to the program int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { int a; { printf(“The arguments passed to the program are:n”); for(a = 1; a < argc; a++) { printf(“The argument passed to the program is: %st”, argv[a]); } } else { printf(“No argument is passed to the programn”); } return 0; }
In the above program, the main method is called to which the command line arguments are passed to the program. Then an integer variable is defined. Then if condition is applied to check if the count of arguments passed to the program is greater than or equal to two and if the condition is true, the command line arguments passed to the program is printed otherwise no argument is passed to the program is printed. We are not passing Hello as command-line arguments to the program.
Note: Please pass the command line argument along with giving the program name to execute the program.
Advantages of Command-Line Arguments in C
Whenever there is a need to pass the values to the program from outside and do not want to use it inside the code, Command Line Arguments can be used in C.
The program to be executed can be controlled from the outside than hard-coding the values inside the program by making use of Command-Line Arguments.
Conclusion Recommended ArticlesHow To Stop A Windows Service From Command Line
GUI is very popular due to its simplicity and ease of access. But when it comes to managing or automating Windows services, CLI is simply superior and more efficient if you are used to using it.
To stop a Windows service through Command-Line, you can use the Stop-Service cmdlet in PowerShell or the Net stop command in CMD.
We’ve provided step-by-step guidelines on how to do so below.
In addition to the commands mentioned above, you can also use the Set-Service cmdlet in Powershell or theSc stop command in CMD to stop a Windows Service.
Before going to the actual process, here’s what the commands do.
Get-Service displays a list of all services on the computer.
Stop-Service is used to stop one or more running services.
Set-Service can change the properties of a service, including the Status and StartupType.
Press Windows + X and then press A to open Windows PowerShell (Admin).
Type either of the following commands:
Stop-Service -Name “service-name-here”
Note: If you’re unable to stop the service because of a dependency error, add -Force at the end as such:
Stop-Service -Name “service-name-here” -Force
Set-Service -Name “service-name-here” -Status stopped -Force
Sc queryex obtains and displays detailed information about all active services by default. With the use of certain parameters, it can also show info on drivers, their state, and more.
Both Net stop and sc stop can stop a service. But Net only works locally while sc can be used over a network.
Press Windows + R to launch Run.
Type cmd and press CTRL + Shift + Enter to launch Elevated Command Prompt.
Type and enter net stop “service-name-here”.
In Powershell, you can use the start-service or restart-service cmdlets as appropriate. As CMD doesn’t have a command to restart a service directly, we’ll combine the net stop and net start commands instead.
Start-Service starts one or more stopped services.
Restart-Service stops, then starts one or more services.
Press Windows + X and press A to launch Windows PowerShell (Admin).
Type Get-Service and press Enter to get a list of all services.
Note the Name and DisplayName of the service you want to start. Replace “service-name-here” with either of these values in the next step. Also, note the status.
In CMD, you’ll have to stop the service first and restart it afterward. Otherwise, you’ll get a The requested Service has already been started error.
Press Windows + R to launch Run.
Type cmd and press CTRL + Shift + Enter to launch Elevated Command Prompt.
Type sc queryex state= all type= service and press Enter to get a list of all the services.
You can use the Set-Service cmdlet to change the startup type in Powershell. In Command Prompt, you can instead use the sc config command.
The acceptable values for the StartupType parameter are as follows:
Automatic – The service starts automatically at system startup.
AutomaticDelayedStart – The service starts automatically, slightly after other automatic services start.
Manual – The service needs to be started manually by a user or program.
Disabled – The service cannot be started.
Press Windows + X to open the quick link menu.
Press A and accept the prompt to launch Windows PowerShell (Admin).
Type Get-Service and press Enter to get a list of all services.
Note the Name and DisplayName of the service you want to start. Replace “service-name-here” with either of these values in the next step.
The acceptable values for the start parameter are as follows:
auto – The service starts automatically at system startup.
delayed-auto – The service starts automatically at boot, but with a slight delay.
demand – The service needs to be started manually by a user or program.
system – The device driver starts during kernel initialization.
disabled – The service is disabled and won’t start.
Press Windows + R to launch Run.
Type cmd and press CTRL + Shift + Enter to launch Elevated Command Prompt.
Type sc queryex state= all type= service and press Enter to get a list of all the services.
Note the SERVICE_NAME and DISPLAY_NAME of the service you want to stop. Replace “service-name-here” with either of these values in the next step.
If you launch CMD/PowerShell without admin privileges and try to stop a Windows Service, you will encounter this error. To fix this, launch them in elevated mode, and you’ll be able to stop the service.
Access Tumblr, Flickr, And Youtube From The Command Line
TumblrAlthough there’s more than one command-line Tumblr client in existence, the one I recommend is a Ruby gem called Tumblr-rb. It’s the only one I know of that supports YAML Ain’t Markup Language (YAML), which is a clean, human-readable way to format documents.
InstallationYou must first install Ruby and RubyGems. Once that’s out of the way, you can grab Tumblr-rb with a single command:
geminstall
tumblr-rbNow symlink the gem so you can use it without having to type out the complete file path every time:
sudo
ln
-s
~/
.gem/
ruby/
1.8
/
bin/
tumblr/
usr/
bin/
tumblrFinally, there are a couple of steps required to authorize Tumblr-rb to access your Tumblr account. You need to first register a Tumblr application; you can call it anything you want. The important thing is to get the OAuth consumer key and the secret key. Once you have those, run:
tumblr authorizeYou’ll be taken to a page that looks like this:
Enter your credentials and wait for the success message. Now you can use Tumblr-rb.
UsageTumblr-rb has an online manual as well as some more developer-oriented documentation. Here is a quick reference for some of the commands you can run:
Make a text post: tumblr post my-formatted-post.txt
Post a URL and put it in your queue:
Post a multimedia (image, audio, or video) file and save it as a draft: tumblr post
-d
my-new-song.wavPost text from STDIN: tumblr post
"I'm posting to Tumblr from my Raspberry Pi!"
Post from STDIN using a YAML file:
You can add metadata to your posts by incorporating YAML front-matter. Here’s an example:
InstallationFirst of all, you need Python 2.*. Now download the latest chúng tôi sources from GitHub:
Fill out the application with any name and description you want and agree to the terms at the bottom. Once you submit your application, you’ll get a key and a secret. Add these lines to your “~/.bashrc”, replacing “[key]” and “[secret]” appropriately, so that your system will remember them from one session to the next:
export
FLICKR_UPLOADR_PY_API_KEY
='[key]'
export
FLICKR_UPLOADR_PY_SECRET
='[secret]'
Start a new shell session to make the changes take effect. Enter the chúng tôi directory you downloaded from GitHub and the subdirectory “uploadr.” Run:
UsageWell, almost ready to roll. We need to edit a few lines in chúng tôi to give the program some instructions. On line 56, specify the directory your images are stored in:
IMG_DIR ="~/Pictures/PhotosForFLickr/"
You can also set it up to receive command-line arguments for the title, description, and tags:
FLICKR ={
"title"
: sys.argv[
1
]
,"description"
: sys.argv[
2
]
,"tags"
: sys.argv[
3
]
,"is_public"
:"1"
,"is_friend"
:"0"
,Now you can upload the images from your chosen directory with a title, description, and tags:
python chúng tôi"Screenshot"
"This is a screenshot."
"screenshots, Linux"
YouTubePreviously, we covered how to manage your YouTube account using GoogleCL. But what if you just want to be a consumer, not a producer? For simply watching YouTube videos from the command line, there are two notable tools: youtube-dl and youtube-viewer.
If you’re using Linux, you can probably install both of these tools with your package manager. Alternatively, you can grab the sources from GitHub and install them yourself:
Youtube-dl is a video downloader. All of its options have been explained. Some basic examples include:
Just download a video in the default FLV format:
Download a video in MP4 format and use the title for the file name:
View all available formats and their codes for a video:
Download the audio from a video: youtube-dl
--extract-audio
--audio-format
"vorbis"
Once you’ve downloaded a video, you can watch it in a terminal using MPlayer with an ASCII art library such as AAlib (for monochrome playback) or libcaca (for viewing in color). For example:
Usage (youtube-viewer):Unlike youtube-dl, youtube-viewer is interactive. When you enter the command youtube-viewer, you’ll be taken to an interactive prompt where you can search for videos or enter :h for help. Searching will return the top twenty results.
To watch a video, enter its number into the prompt. You may initially get the mplayer: could not connect to socket error; just give it a moment, and the video will start playing.
If you are using youtube-viewer from a text-only console, as opposed to a terminal emulator (any “terminal” run in an X session is actually a terminal emulator), youtube-viewer will automatically play videos with aalib. Depending on the size of your console, the picture may get distorted. For example, here I split the screen using Tmux for the purpose of grabbing a screenshot, and the video appeared elongated:
These are some other commands you can run inside youtube-viewer:
Log in: :login
:a(
uthor)
=i,iLike or dislike a video: :
(
dis)
like
=iSubscribe to an author’s channel: :
subscribe
=iShow related videos: :r
(
related)
=iPlay videos from your search results in a specific order:
3
-5
,8
10
7
1
Download a video: d18
ConclusionRebecca "Ruji" Chapnik
Ruji Chapnik is a freelance creator of miscellanea, including but not limited to text and images. She studied art at the University of California, Santa Cruz and writing at Portland State University. She went on to study Linux in her bedroom and also in various other people's bedrooms, crouched anti-ergonomically before abandoned Windows computers. Ruji currently lives in Portland, Oregon. You can find her experiments at chúng tôi and her comics at dondepresso.rujic.net.
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15 Windows 10 Run Commands Everyone Should Learn
Here is an overview of some of the best Windows 10 Run commands that everybody should know about.
Table of Contents
How to Open the Run Box on Windows 10To use any of the run commands in this article, you’ll need to make use of the run box. You can open the run box in Windows 10 by pressing the Windows Key + R. This will immediately open the Run box.
#1 – Run Shutdown TimerIf you want to start a countdown to shut your computer down, open the run box and type ‘run -s -t xxx’. Replace the x’s with any number. This number will represent how many seconds you’d like the timer to run for before your computer shuts down.
For example, 3600 seconds would be one hour, and 600 seconds would be 10 minutes. You can also replace the ‘-s’ in this command with a ‘-r’ to set a restart timer.
#2 – Open the C DriveWant to quickly access your C Drive to find files and folders? Simply open the Run Box and type ‘’ and then press enter. A new Windows Explorer tab will open with the contents of your C Drive.
#3 – Open the ‘User’ FolderAnother similar command to the C Drive option above involves entering ‘..’ in the Run box. Doing this will take you to the user folder on your Windows 10 PC. From here, you can quickly access specific User files.
#4 – Open the CalculatorIf you use the calculator app often to make quick calculations, this quick tip is sure to shave off plenty of time over the years.
#5 – Access Windows Services QuicklyIf you’d like to quickly access all of the Windows services running on your PC and make any changes, simply open the run box and type ‘services.msc’ then press Enter.
I’ve previously talked about how it can be a bad idea to try to disable a Windows service for performance purposes, but sometimes you need to in order to fix a problem.
#6 – Turn Windows Features On/Off QuicklyIf, for any reason, you need to turn on or off Windows features or components, you can quickly access this by typing ‘optionalfeatures’ in the Run box and then pressing enter.
#7 – Add or Remove Programs QuicklyYou can quickly access the Program Features page from within the Control Panel by using ‘control.exe appwiz.cpl’ in the Run box.
You can use this page to find programs that you don’t regularly use and it’s one of the best methods to clear up space on your storage drive.
#8 – Open Device ManagerIt’s likely you’ll be in and out of the Device Manager from time to time, so remember the command ‘devmgmt.msc’ for the Run box.
Using this will take you straight into Device Manager, saving time by avoiding navigation through the Control Panel or Start Menu.
#9 – Check for Performance IssuesNoticing performance issues or want to quickly check up on how your PC is managing resources? Use the command ‘resmon’ in the Run box to quickly open the Resource Manager.
From here, you’ll see information about how your CPU, disk, memory, and network is being used by the programs and services installed on your PC.
#10 – Instantly Perform a Search via Your BrowserWant to quickly search something on Google without going through the hassle of opening your browser? You can do this by opening the Run Box and typing chrome “? SEARCH”. Just replace the word SEARCH with the phrase you’d like to search for in Google.
Press enter and you will instantly be taken to the Google search results. Don’t use Chrome? No problem, replace ‘chrome’ with your browser name.
For Microsoft Edge, use ‘microsoft-edge:’, for firefox, use ‘firefox’. For Internet Explorer, use ‘iexplore’.
#11 – Search YouTube QuicklyIt’s arguable whether this will speed up the process or not, but it’s still a neat trick to try.
#12 – Open Microsoft AppsIf you want to quickly write down something, you can use the Run box and type ‘write’. After, just press enter and you’ll be taken to WordPad.
Want other apps? Check out this list of quick run commands below.
Paint – ‘mspaint’
Sticky notes – ‘stikynot’
Command Prompt – ‘cmd’
Notepad – ‘notepad’
Media Player – ‘wmplayer’
#13 – Manage your disk, clean it, and defrag itFor this next section, we have a number of commands for managing your disk.
To access disk cleanup quickly, use the command ‘cleanmgr’.
If you have a hard disk drive, you can open the disk defragmenter with the command ‘dfrgui’
For disk management, use the command ‘diskmgmt.msc’.
#14 – Adjust Mouse SettingsWith the command ‘ chúng tôi ’ from the run box, you can access settings for your mouse.
#15 – Open Facebook MessagesNote that you must replace ‘chrome’ with whichever browser you are using.
SummaryFind any of these Windows 10 run commands useful? Which ones will you make the most use of? Let me know.
Find And Open Files Using Command Prompt In Windows
The Windows Command Prompt can be used to search for and open any files on your PC. This is very useful if you saved your file to an unknown folder and only remember a part of the file name. However, there’s no benefit nor harm in applying this method to files with a known location. But for those files that are difficult to locate, this article shows how to find and open files in Command Prompt in Windows 11 and Windows 10.
What Is the Benefit of Using the Command Prompt to Open Files?Whether you are looking for all your files concerning one topic or just trying to find the one hiding among all the folders on your computer, try using the Command Prompt. It may make it more efficient for you.
On top of that, using the Command Prompt is much faster and more responsive than opening the files from the File Explorer. This is true for video files, Windows Photos, Word documents, and heavy-duty games, as the GUI always consumes more memory and slows down the processes.
How to Open Command Prompt in WindowsTo search for the files in Windows, you first need to launch Command Prompt. There are several ways to do this:
Use Win + X : Another fast way to launch cmd is to use the Win + X combination, also known as the Power User menu. Among the various options in Windows 11, you will find Windows Terminal and Windows Terminal (Admin), which are the latest terminal emulators to run both Command Prompt and PowerShell from one window.
Note: in certain older Windows 10 versions, when you launch the Win + X hotkey combination, you may instead see the Command Prompt and Command Prompt (Admin) options.
Use Cortana: try Cortana if it works for you. As soon as you see ther Cortana is “listening” to text, say “open command prompt,” and it will open up.
How to Search for Files Using Command Prompt in WindowsSearching for files and folders using the command line is very easy. Follow the instructions below:
In Command Prompt, type dir "search term*" /s, but replace the words “search term” with the file name or a part of the name you remember. In the following screen, we are trying to search for a folder/file titled “Stock videos.”
Once you press Enter, it may look like nothing is happening for a second or two, but soon all the file paths mentioning the correct file or folder will be identified and named. The correct file path can be easily identified by the size of the folder.
What do all the terms mean in the command line search request?
dir is a command used to show files in the current directory but can also locate data elsewhere in the system.
The backslash () tells dir to search from the root directory of the current drive.
/s tells dir to search all sub-directories.
* is used by command-line apps as a wildcard. It indicates that the search will locate all file names that contain your search term.
Adding an asterisk at the end of the name, like business*, will find all the files with your search term at the beginning of the name.
If you use it at the beginning, your search will only include results with your text at the end. For example, *.jpg.
If you add an asterisk at each end of the search term, you will cover all the bases. No matter where your text is in the actual name of the file, that file will be listed in the results.
How to Change Directories in Windows Command Prompt for Easy Access to Folder PathsIf your target file is located in D: drive, you won’t find it anywhere in the Windows folder from the C: drive. Therefore, you should change the Windows drive path in the command line as shown below.
Type cd.. which enables you to easily move one folder up.
To go to D drive, just type d:, and the Command Prompt will listen to the new drive.
Using cd without the two dots allows you to set a new folder path as the default directory for systematic file navigation.
Using cls clears the entire screen and returns you to the previous folder path.
How to Open Files in Command Prompt by File Name and File TypeWe will explore a simple demonstration of how to open a file clearly visible to you as system administrator. To do this, you would need the location of the saved file. In this example, the file that we want to open is located in the Desktop folder.
Using cd change your Command Prompt’s root directory to the desired folder.
Once you’re set to the right folder, open the file by typing the entire filename and .filetype. In the following example, the filename is “Marathon,” and the filetype is an .MP4 video.
After typing the filename/filetype command, the correct file will be launched on your desktop window.
How to Search for the Correct Files With Command PromptWithin the destination drive, you can search for the correct file once again using the dir "search term*" /s command discussed earlier. Do take care to use the * wildcard, both at the beginning and end of the search term for a comprehensive search – especially if that folder has hundreds of files. It’s pretty common to make mistakes in the wildcards and backslash, which returns a “no label” error. If you type correctly, you will identify the folder path and the correct file name.
If the folder path is very long, you can copy-paste the entire thing. Windows 11 has built-in support for copy-pasting in the command line.
How to Open Files in Windows Command PromptOnce you find the file you want to open, you can open it from the Command Prompt screen using its default program without having to locate it in your file explorer.
Change the directory to the immediate folder where the file is located. This can be done using cd followed by the entire folder path to the correct file. It’s common to make mistakes, so it’s better to copy-paste the entire folder path as discussed earlier. Once the correct directory menu has been opened, you can open any files.
Enter the file name inside the quotation marks ".." Press Enter and the file will open using its default application.
Note: you can open multiple files from the Command Prompt once you’ve opened the correct folder. Here we are opening a single video file in the command line window.
You can use specific apps to open the file of your choice in Command Prompt. For example, video files can be opened using VLC Player. Identify the file location of the app you want to use to open the desired file.
The file location of the app is accessible in “Properties.” Copying the path is useful, as it will be pasted directly to the Windows command line.
Use "App Location Path" "File Path" to open the file with the app of your choice in Command Prompt.
Navigating your computer’s files using the Command Prompt is very similar to doing the same with file explorer.
How to Open Files Using Windows TerminalThe Windows Terminal is just a modern extension of the Command Prompt. Opening files in Windows Terminal is no different than the above methods.
You need to change the default Terminal application to Command Prompt from a “+” menu if it’s set at something else, such as PowerShell or Azure Cloud Shell.
The Command Prompt will become the default Terminal application for opening files.
In the following Windows Terminal example, we are typing cd.. to navigate to the C:Windows folder.
we are opening the Registry Editor file in that location by simply typing regedit.
Frequently Asked Questions How do I display the contents of a text file in Command Prompt?To display the contents of a text file in command prompt, enter the type command as shown below:
Can I edit text files in Windows Command Prompt?You can edit, view, create or modify any text document in Command Prompt.
Use the type command followed by the file name.
Copy-paste the text in the command window using copy con followed by the text name and location.
Edit the document.
Can I batch rename files in Command Prompt?If you want to speed up other Windows tasks, you may be interested in learning how to batch rename files and move multiple files with a batch file. To batch rename the files, use the ren *.fileext1 *.fileext2 command.
Image credit: claudiodivizia by 123RF. All screenshots by Sayak Boral
Sayak Boral
Sayak Boral is a technology writer with over eleven years of experience working in different industries including semiconductors, IoT, enterprise IT, telecommunications OSS/BSS, and network security. He has been writing for MakeTechEasier on a wide range of technical topics including Windows, Android, Internet, Hardware Guides, Browsers, Software Tools, and Product Reviews.
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