Earlier, we have covered the most comprehensive list of shell locations by their Class ID which you can use to create a shortcut to the specific shell location for quick access. Today I am going to share the list of shell commands using their friendly name. Although these are implemented by the same ActiveX objects, you will notice that not every shell location with a CLSID has a user friendly alias. For example, 'Devices and Printers', the one with the shell:::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A} CLSID has no friendly-name equivalent.
In the general case, a shell command looks like this:
shell:Friendly Folder Name
For example,
- shell:SendTo - the folder with items that you see in the "Send to" menu
- shell:Desktop - the Desktop folder, and so on.
Read the the full list below of such commands in Windows 8.
| 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 |
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shell:SystemCertificates – Instead of “C:\Users\winaero\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SystemCertificates” it should be “C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\SystemCertificates”
Thanks, I will fix this mistake