How to make a Command Prompt shortcut to open a different directory

Question

How do I make a Command Prompt shortcut to open a different directory?

Currently, to navigate to the directory I want, I must open Command Prompt and type

C:\Users\me>cd ..\..\repos\RepoSet\UnfortunatelyLongNameAndSimilarToOtherRepos

I use this repo all the time, so I would like Command Prompt to open to this directory right away.

Note that I don't want to open a file, or execute any command other than cd. I just want to open the directory to my repo.

I am using Windows 10 if that makes a difference.

Problem with command line in windows has an answer by @Dave that seems to be what I want, but I don't know where to place the file he mentions.

Answer 1

Solution

1. Create a .bat file called mydir.bat
2. Place the file here: C:\Users\me\CmdFiles
3. The contents of the file should read

@cd C:\repos\RepoSet\UnfortunatelyLongNameAndSimilarToOtherRepos

4. Edit the Path environment variable by navigating here Start -> Edit the system environment variables -> Environment Variables -> System variables -> click on Path -> Edit -> Add the path C:\Users\me\CmdFiles under the list of paths.

5. Now you can type mydir into the command line to access your repo quickly and easily!

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Explanation

Batch files (those ending in .bat) can be used to store command line instructions. When you type a command into to the CLI, it will look in your PATH to see if the appropriate batch file exists. Then it will run the commands within.

Answer 2

1. Pin the Command Prompt to your TaskBar
2. Right-click the icon > Right-click Command Prompt > Properties > Shortcut tab:
3. To have it start in C:\LocationIWantToStart\:
   Target: %windir%\system32\cmd.exe /k cd C:\LocationToStartIn\