Can't Drag & Drop onto CMD window?

[Gerry Hickman]

Hi,

Under Win2k, I can drag a BAT file onto the CMD window from a UNC path
and it will place the path to the file at the prompt ready to run.

On Vista, I just get a "no entry" sign.

I have to do complex builds (e.g. platform SDK) at the command prompt
and on Vista have to type the paths manually.

 

[Joe Richards [MVP]]

Yep.

They specifically pulled it out due to a possible security issue. I
don't recall the details but am sore at the change as well. It cannot be
reenabled in the OS.

joe

--
Joe Richards Microsoft MVP Windows Server Directory Services
Author of O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition
www.joeware.net


---O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition now available---

http://www.joeware.net/win/ad3e.htm

 

[ackauff]

Last I checked, cmd.exe did not support UNC pathnames. I quick try in
Vista has proved fruitless.

 

[Joe Richards [MVP]]

Do you mean for CWD? If so, that is correct. But it handles UNCS for
most everything else just fine. And you can sort of use UNCs with PUSHD,
it will map a temp drive for you and unmap it when you POPD

[Wed 05/23/2007 11:12:01.37]
G:\>pushd \\r2dc1\sysvol

[Wed 05/23/2007 11:12:09.11] \\r2dc1\sysvol +
V:\>dir
Volume in drive V is DDrive
Volume Serial Number is 1CBF-B292

Directory of V:\

05/11/2006 11:19 PM <DIR> .
05/11/2006 11:19 PM <DIR> ..
05/11/2006 11:19 PM <JUNCTION> test.loc
0 File(s) 0 bytes
3 Dir(s) 129,784,803,328 bytes free

[Wed 05/23/2007 11:12:12.80] \\r2dc1\sysvol +
V:\>popd





--
Joe Richards Microsoft MVP Windows Server Directory Services
Author of O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition
www.joeware.net


---O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition now available---

http://www.joeware.net/win/ad3e.htm

 

[Guest]

Press shift and right click on your BAT file, click "Copy as Path", in your
CMD windows, click the icon right next to the title "Command Prompt", select
Edit then Paste. All this hassle to prevent a yet to be discovered
vulnerability in earlier version of Windows.

 

[Gerry Hickman]

Hi,

I don't think any version of CMD in Windows supports current working
directory as a UNC path, but you should be able to run an executable
from a UNC path?

Do you mean for CWD? If so, that is correct. But it handles UNCS for
most everything else just fine. And you can sort of use UNCs with PUSHD,
it will map a temp drive for you and unmap it when you POPD

[Wed 05/23/2007 11:12:01.37]
G:\>pushd \\r2dc1\sysvol

[Wed 05/23/2007 11:12:09.11] \\r2dc1\sysvol +
V:\>dir
Volume in drive V is DDrive
Volume Serial Number is 1CBF-B292

Directory of V:\

05/11/2006 11:19 PM <DIR> .
05/11/2006 11:19 PM <DIR> ..
05/11/2006 11:19 PM <JUNCTION> test.loc
0 File(s) 0 bytes
3 Dir(s) 129,784,803,328 bytes free

[Wed 05/23/2007 11:12:12.80] \\r2dc1\sysvol +
V:\>popd





--
Joe Richards Microsoft MVP Windows Server Directory Services
Author of O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition
www.joeware.net


---O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition now available---

http://www.joeware.net/win/ad3e.htm

Last I checked, cmd.exe did not support UNC pathnames. I quick try in
Vista has proved fruitless.

 

[Gerry Hickman]

They specifically pulled it out due to a possible security issue. I
don't recall the details but am sore at the change as well. It cannot be
reenabled in the OS.

This sucks.

They claim every design flaw in Vista is a "possible security issue".

 

[Joe Richards [MVP]]

What can one say about it... MSFT makes the OS the way people ask for
it. For a long time the important thing was easy connections and things
just working which put security on the backburner and honestly, a secure
OS is not generally one that is conducive to doing some things.

Then the security landscape changed and the public backlashed against
the lack of security which forced MSFT to change directions to
compensate and in their turn backlashed in that direction. Now we are
seeing the fallout of "our" familiar OS getting all locked down and the
repercussions behind it. Security is always trying to balance
friendliness and usability with the level of secureness needed.

Cross process communications is definitely a point of possible security
issues and dragging a file name from one window to a command prompt is
cross process communications. I have no doubt there was possible
security implications in there somewhere. Was it for that specific
purpose, maybe not, but maybe the method itself was the issue and the
way the drag and drop to command prompt used that method/function and
when the underlying method/function got pulled it wasn't worth the
effort to come up with a new mechanism. If enough people complain and
officially put in change requests to MSFT, maybe that will show it is
worth coming up with a new mechanism.

Now if you want to start complaining about why now things that were one
dialog level deep have been moved 3,4,5 levels deep and things that used
to be on a single dialog are spread across 14 dialogs now I am right
there with you. Some things, things that require an enhancement in
rights and therefore have to be a shield button click extra away I am
fine with. It is the stuff that doesn't fit that criteria that sucks. I
don't want to have to be forced to use search to find everything, I just
want to be have it available when I need it.



--
Joe Richards Microsoft MVP Windows Server Directory Services
Author of O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition
www.joeware.net


---O'Reilly Active Directory Third Edition now available---

http://www.joeware.net/win/ad3e.htm