Explorer.exe Command-Line Options for Windows 7 - root setting

As for me, I have only occasionally used the breadcrumb paradigm so far, and never as a total replacement for the navigation pane.  I suppose I will have to disable the pane for a time and see how the breadcrumbs affect my workflow.  I have been very heavily dependent upon the visual aspect of the pane and being able to see the hierarchy and the relationships... but technically that information is also available in the breadcrumbs, just not as visually complete.  We'll see.

As an addendum, it's worth noting that, in spite of that twice-over redesign you mentioned, Explorer apparently still accepts all the original XP-era command line switches, like /root, even though they have no relevance and seem to be ignored.  If the switches no longer do anything, then for gods' sakes why not remove them and generate some polite warning or error?

Breadcrumbs never will be a replacement for the full folder hierarchy - for exactly the reason you give: the full folder tree gives infinitely more insight at a glance - and I am sorry we are reduced to trying to learn to "live with" this new style. The software should conform to the way WE want to work, and not the other way around, especially when we users have been using the better alternative - showing the folder tree! - since Win95!

Yet another example of modern MS software hiding information that used to be readily available, and making all of our lives more difficult because they "just don't get it."

What happened here?!  What has gotten into MS lately?!  Such bad bad decision making in all their flagship products meanwhile dumb-(@)*#) ballmer is in the news twice a month claiming how dominant and revolutionary their products are.  It fills me with disgust and dread (because I have to use their products for work).

I followed your instructions exactly and nothing changed in the way WE opens.  It still opens in Libraries.  When I right click on the WE shortcut and go to Properties, the target path (%windir%\explorer.exe %userprofile%\Documents) is still there under "Target:"  However, "Target location: %windir%" is also displaying in shortcut properties and is not a field that can be edited.

What do you recommend from here? I want WE to open in my Network/NAS Device/Files folder.  Thanks

I do not think this answers his original question. It sounds like he wants to keep the navigation pane, but manipulate its contents. I would like to do this too, as I used to in Windows XP.

In Windows XP you could change the root folder in the navigation pane. For instance, running 

%systemroot%\explorer.exe

would open windows explorer where the navigation pane has a root folder of "Desktop", and "My Computer", "My Documents", and other places subfolders of "Desktop". 

On the other hand, in XP running

%systemroot%\explorer.exe /e,/root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

would open windows explorer where the navigation pane has a root folder "My Computer", and nothing abve that. This is desirable because the second is a more true representation of the system's drives and folders.

In Windows 7 running the second command just adds a second instance of "Computer" in the navigation pane, which clearly is of no use to anybody.

Was this feature broken in Windows 7? Or did the syntax of the command change?

I have seen the advice that the old WinXP syntax works but I cannot set the root of the view.  The desired folder appears but [in the left hand pane] all the unwanted folders also appear [e.g. favorites, libraries, all other folders for the user, network] which severely complicates the view especially once I expand sub-folders within the desired folder.  In WinXP, the root part of the syntax elabled viewing just the folder in question & its sub-folders [so that the left pane just showed e.g. My Docs in the left pane].  Can the simple WinXP views be created in Win7?

Hi

If you do not want to see the folder heirarchy, simply disable the navigation Pane.

In Windows Explorer, select  Organize/Layout  and  remove the check mark  from the  Navigation Pane  item.

If you want WE to open in a specific folder, like My Documents,  right click  the WE shortcut and select  Properties.  In the  Target Box,  enter the following path:

%windir%\explorer.exe %userprofile%\Documents

Click  Apply/OK.

Regards,

Ronnie Vernon MVP – Windows Desktop Experience