Run a Program on Command Prompt

In Windows, the command prompt lets you send instructions to the part of the operating system that underlies the graphical user interface. Running a program from the command prompt can be faster, because you don't have to find the program icon to run it. This article covers how to use the command prompt in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

10 Second Summary

1. Click the Start menu, and then click Run.
2. Type 'cmd into the dialog box.
3. Wait for Command Prompt to come up.
4. Type start then the name of the program you wish to open.

Steps

Opening the Command Prompt

  1. Click the Start menu, and then click Run.
    • In Windows 8, right-click the Start menu, and then click Run. You can also access this menu by pressing the WIN + X keys.[1]
  2. In the Run dialog box, type cmd.
  3. The Command Prompt window opens.
    • The Command Prompt is a program lets you control your computer with text commands.

Opening a Program with the Command Prompt

  1. In the Command Prompt window, type start notepad. The Notepad text editor opens.
    • Notepad is a text editor included in every version of Windows.
    • The start command tells the computer to open a software program.
    • In order for this to work, you need to know the exact name of the software program's file name that you want to open.
  2. In the Command Prompt window, type start explorer. This opens the Windows File Explorer.
  3. Go to the Program Files folder, and then open the Internet Explorer folder.
    • You can use any other software program folder, too.
  4. Find iexplore.exe. This is the filename for Internet Explorer.
  5. In the Command Prompt window, type start explore.
  6. Locate other programs you use frequently, and write down their file names. Try opening the files using the start command.

Making Program Files Visible to the Command Prompt

  1. In the Command Prompt window, type path. Command Prompt prints a series of file paths separated by semi-colons. This is the PATH. When you use the start command, Command Prompt looks in all of these directories for the filename you typed.
  2. If you can, move the program folder into the Program Files folder. The Command Prompt will be able to find the executable program file there.
    • If you'd rather not move the program files, you can edit the PATH to add new file paths.
  3. Open the program properties. Find the program file ending in .exe that you'd like open with Command Prompt. Right-click the program file, and then click Properties.
  4. In the Properties window, next to Location, write down the full file path.
    • Copy and paste don't work in Command Prompt.
  5. Use the setx command. The setx command will let you add a file path to the PATH.[2] Type setx path "%path%;, type the file path you wrote down, and then type ". Press Return.
  6. Type path. The file path is added to PATH.
  7. Type start and the filename located in the directory you added to PATH.

Related Articles

  • Close Command Prompt

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/command-prompt-windows-8.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.windows-commandline.com/set-path-command-line/
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