Where is my COMMAND LINE?

[XPnÔÔb]

I'm used to being able to drop an entire FILE PATH into a COPY-TO/MOVE-TO
Explorer function under W2K. I just installed XP Pro Media Center Edition (my
very FIRST experience of _any_ XP product) and I keep running into an issue
that is by now becoming an instrusive annoyance:

Why can't I see a COMMAND LINE when I attempt these functions under XP MCE?

I've searched every Folder\Options option.
I've hunted through help.
I've Googled it.

This incessant clicking of little + symbols to get to the drive and folder of
my choice is just driving me batty -- I have 18 different mounted
partitions!! Surely this hasn't been (gulp) disabled in XP?

Help!!

 

[smlunatick]

I'm used to being able to drop an entire FILE PATH into a COPY-TO/MOVE-TO
Explorer function under W2K. I just installed XP Pro Media Center Edition(my
very FIRST experience of _any_ XP product) and I keep running into an issue
that is by now becoming an instrusive annoyance:

Why can't I see a COMMAND LINE when I attempt these functions under XP MCE?

I've searched every Folder\Options option.
I've hunted through help.
I've Googled it.

This incessant clicking of little + symbols to get to the drive and folder of
my choice is just driving me batty -- I have 18 different mounted
partitions!! Surely this hasn't been (gulp) disabled in XP?

Help!!

You need to note that Windows XP is the first version to not have a
separate DOS level. XP only has CMD, which is an emulator that will
permit "most" DOS commands.

What DOS commands are you trying to do?

 

[Jim]

I'm used to being able to drop an entire FILE PATH into a COPY-TO/MOVE-TO
Explorer function under W2K. I just installed XP Pro Media Center Edition (my
very FIRST experience of _any_ XP product) and I keep running into an issue
that is by now becoming an instrusive annoyance:

Why can't I see a COMMAND LINE when I attempt these functions under XP MCE?

I've searched every Folder\Options option.
I've hunted through help.
I've Googled it.

This incessant clicking of little + symbols to get to the drive and folder of
my choice is just driving me batty -- I have 18 different mounted
partitions!! Surely this hasn't been (gulp) disabled in XP?

Help!!

Why 18 ? - just drag and drop the file .

 

[XPnÔÔb]

This has nothing, absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with DOS. If that were
the case, you wouldn't have a COMMAND LINE in "Run" >>>DUH.

And no, Drag & Drop is NOT identical to having a command line. What part of
"clicking of little + symbols to get to the drive and folder of my choice"
didn't you read?

Perhaps someone a little more advanced can answer this. I can use 3rd party
shell utilities if I have to, but if this _pathetic_ limitation is actually
built into XP it represents a new level of ineptitude even for Microsoft.

And to think XP was supposed to be an improvement over Windows 2000 Pro.
Jesus . . .

 

[John John - MVP]

You need to note that Windows XP is the first version to not have a
separate DOS level.

??? None of the NT versions have any DOS, on any NT versions DOS
programs run instide a virtual machine.


XP only has CMD, which is an emulator that will

permit "most" DOS commands.

??? CMD.exe is not an emulator, it's the native 32-bit command line
interpreter. The emulator you are thinking of is probably Command.Com,
a special 16-bit command processor that only runs inside the NTVDM.

John

 

[VanguardLH]

You need to note that Windows XP is the first version to not have a
separate DOS level. XP only has CMD, which is an emulator that will
permit "most" DOS commands.

What DOS commands are you trying to do?

No version of NT-based Windows has contained MS-DOS. They provide a
console mode cmd.exe (or command.com) application to do the parsing and
interpretation of commands. These programs, just like they were under
MS-DOS, are *not* an operating system but just a command-line
interpreter.

 

[VanguardLH]

I'm used to being able to drop an entire FILE PATH into a COPY-TO/MOVE-TO
Explorer function under W2K. I just installed XP Pro Media Center Edition (my
very FIRST experience of _any_ XP product) and I keep running into an issue
that is by now becoming an instrusive annoyance:

Why can't I see a COMMAND LINE when I attempt these functions under XP MCE?

I've searched every Folder\Options option.
I've hunted through help.
I've Googled it.

This incessant clicking of little + symbols to get to the drive and folder of
my choice is just driving me batty -- I have 18 different mounted
partitions!! Surely this hasn't been (gulp) disabled in XP?

Where was the shortcut to it under Windows 2000?

Yet tried the "Start -> Run" menu and entered "cmd.exe" (sans quotes)?
Wasn't this also available under Windows 2000?

command.com and cmd.exe were both available in Windows 2000. cmd.exe is
the normal command-line interpreter program (or the native shell), is
full 32-bit, has the doskey.exe command history built-in, supports LFN
(long filename) for file/folder names up to 255 characters long, and
does not bother using autoexec.nt or config.nt. command.com is the DOS
compatibility shell and why it is a 16-bit application, does use the
autoexec.nt and config.nt files, and has bugs in its LFN support. Same
in Windows XP.

Use the "Start -> Help and Support" menu to search on "command prompt"
to get help on it. Also read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_command_line
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000395.htm
http://www.ss64.com/nt/cmd.html

A Google search would yield so many results that you would be swamped by
their number. You could narrow it down by using:

http://www.google.com/search?q=+"command.com"+%2B"cmd.exe"+%2Bdifference+%2B"command+prompt"+%2Bwindows

 

[Alister]

This has nothing, absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with DOS. If that
were
the case, you wouldn't have a COMMAND LINE in "Run" >>>DUH.

And no, Drag & Drop is NOT identical to having a command line. What part
of
"clicking of little + symbols to get to the drive and folder of my choice"
didn't you read?

Perhaps someone a little more advanced can answer this. I can use 3rd
party
shell utilities if I have to, but if this _pathetic_ limitation is
actually
built into XP it represents a new level of ineptitude even for Microsoft.

And to think XP was supposed to be an improvement over Windows 2000 Pro.
Jesus . . .

You don't actually mean a command line - what you mean is the text box which
allows you to enter a filepath in the "browse for folders" dialog.
It's not surprising most people haven't a clue what you meant, when you
shout "COMMAND LINE" .

The answer to your question is: Tough! in XP they rebuilt the comcontrols
dll which contains the system dialogs, and that feature was removed.

Alister

 

[XPnÔÔb]

You don't actually mean a command line - what you mean is the text box which
allows you to enter a filepath in the "browse for folders" dialog.
It's not surprising most people haven't a clue what you meant, when you
say "COMMAND LINE" .

The answer to your question is: Tough! in XP they rebuilt the comcontrols
dll which contains the system dialogs, and that feature was removed.

Alister

UN.
F.
ING.
BE.
LIEVABLE.

I almost had to read it twice. Nonetheless, thank you for actually
answering the question.

I have Power Desk but it's buggier than hell, so can anyone recommend shell
utilities and/or Explorer Replacements that will give me back the "text box"
or "command.com" or "emulator" or . . . whatever the damned thing is called.
I refuse to be >>forced to open a specific folder simply to copy or move data
into to it. Jesus the ineptitude of it is staggering.

 

[Bill Sharpe]

UN.
F.
ING.
BE.
LIEVABLE.

I almost had to read it twice. Nonetheless, thank you for actually
answering the question.

I have Power Desk but it's buggier than hell, so can anyone recommend shell
utilities and/or Explorer Replacements that will give me back the "text box"
or "command.com" or "emulator" or . . . whatever the damned thing is called.
I refuse to be >>forced to open a specific folder simply to copy or move data
into to it. Jesus the ineptitude of it is staggering.

Some reorganization of your machine is in order. Why in the world do you
need 18 mounted partitions?

Bill

 

[XPnÔÔb]

??? CMD.exe is not an emulator, it's the native 32-bit command line
interpreter. The emulator you are thinking of is probably Command.Com,
a special 16-bit command processor that only runs inside the NTVDM.

John

Does XP offer the feature (whatever it's called) or doesn't it? That's the
only issue: It does, or it doesn't. Which is it?

 

[John John - MVP]

Does XP offer the feature (whatever it's called) or doesn't it? That's the
only issue: It does, or it doesn't. Which is it?

I haven't got a clue about the feature you speak of, I don't know what
you are talking about at all.

John

 

[XPnÔÔb]

I haven't got a clue about the feature you speak of, I don't know what
you are talking about at all.

John

I'm in Windows Explorer (the file manager) and I hilight a file I want to
copy to specific folder:

EDIT \ Copy to Folder \

and I'm presented with a window that shows each drive (along with Desktop,
My Computer, etc.). In W2K I used to have a "text box" in which I could
paste -or- type in the destination of my file. I don't have that in XP,
unless you can point me to the registry hack which activates it.

There is no open text box.
My only option is to click, click, click, click, click, click, click through
until I hilight with my mouse the destination folder.

That is what I am talking about.

 

[SC Tom]

Is this what you're looking for?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310270

SC Tom

 

[VanguardLH]

Does XP offer the feature (whatever it's called) or doesn't it? That's the
only issue: It does, or it doesn't. Which is it?

Yes.

Now go read the class book that the teacher assigned to you and do your
own homework.

 

[VanguardLH]

I'm in Windows Explorer (the file manager) and I hilight a file I want to
copy to specific folder:

EDIT \ Copy to Folder \

and I'm presented with a window that shows each drive (along with Desktop,
My Computer, etc.). In W2K I used to have a "text box" in which I could
paste -or- type in the destination of my file. I don't have that in XP,
unless you can point me to the registry hack which activates it.

There is no open text box.
My only option is to click, click, click, click, click, click, click through
until I hilight with my mouse the destination folder.

That is what I am talking about.

Geez, finally you decide to explain just what you were looking for.

Get the Powertoys for Windows 95. Some of them still work in Windows
2000/XP, many don't. Install and use the SendTo powertoy.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/2/e/52e8fd68-e528-4995-abe2-5644583536e1/W95powertoy.exe

Right-click on the selected file(s) and in the context menu use the
"Send To -> Any Folder" entry (the "Any Folder" entry was added by the
SendTo powertoy).

 

[XPnÔÔb]

Is this what you're looking for?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310270

SC Tom

No it isn't. So far exactly _one_ of you understands what I'm talking
about, and that's Alister:

"in XP they rebuilt the comcontrols dll which contains the system dialogs,
and that feature was removed."

"Send to" is definitely NOT what I am talking about.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at how many different ways all of you
are struggling to describe anything _but_ what I'm talking about, which is a
simple file operation that, as Alister explained, XP just screwed me over on
(apparently).

 

[VanguardLH]

No it isn't. So far exactly _one_ of you understands what I'm talking
about, and that's Alister:

"in XP they rebuilt the comcontrols dll which contains the system dialogs,
and that feature was removed."

"Send to" is definitely NOT what I am talking about.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at how many different ways all of you
are struggling to describe anything _but_ what I'm talking about, which is a
simple file operation that, as Alister explained, XP just screwed me over on
(apparently).

So you expected a new version to carry along all the old behaviors? Uh
huh. Then it wouldn't be new. New ALWAYS means change. If you don't
want to use the powertoy already mentioned or use a different file
manager then it is your fate to suffer. Of course, there is still the
choice of going back to the old software that has the behavior you want.