/root and /select

[TeraBlight]

(using WinXP Pro SP2)

This MSKB article explains how to use the /root and /select options to customize windows explorer shortcuts. While using either just /root or just /select work as prescribed, I'm having no luck trying to use them in conjunction.

What I would like is to open a two-pane explorer window which has, for example,

left pane root: C:

left pane selected (= right pane content): C:\Windows

right pane selected: don't care

Using "explorer.exe /e,/root,c:" gives

left pane root: C:

left pane selected: C:

right pane selected: - (focus on left pane)

Using "explorer.exe /e,/select,c:\windows\temp" gives

left pane root: Desktop

left pane selected: C:\Windows

right pane selected: C:\Windows\Temp

Simply combining them in sequence, as one would assume should give the desired result, doesn't work though:

Using "explorer.exe /e,/root,c:,/select,c:\windows\temp" gives

left pane root: Desktop

left pane selected: C:\Windows

right pane selected: C:\Windows\Temp

Just as if the /root option had been omitted.

Noting that the fourth example in the article uses just "select" rather than "/select" and that other sites used different punctuations of the command, I tried all combinations of spaces, commas and slashes that I could come up with. Those that didn't produce errors listed below - none of them does what I want, sadly:

Using "/root,c: select c:\windows" or "/root,c: /select c:\windows" gives

left pane root: Desktop

left pane selected: C:

right pane selected: -

Using "/root,c: select,c:\windows" or "/root,c: /select,c:\windows" gives

left pane root: Desktop

left pane selected: C:\Windows

right pane selected: -

Am I doing something wrong? Or do I just have to accept that for some

reason /root and /select don't actually work together the way one

would think they should?

TIA,

TeraBlight

[cozofdeath]

So you want it to look like this?

[TeraBlight]

So you want it to look like this?

Yes, yes indeed. What a tantalizing reply

[cozofdeath]

Sorry, its not an answer I just wanted to make sure that what you wanted because it a little hard to understand and other people may be able to help. Plus I didn't want to spend time playing with something not right in the first place. But unfortunately I can't find a way to do what you want. I agree with you on what you said about the arguments for explorer. I can't seem to find a way through explorers options to get what you want.

[TeraBlight]

Thanks for your efforts.

I found a post in another forum that makes it sound like the /root and /select options are to be used as alternatives, and that only one path is accepted by the command, which would explain why my attempts produced so many quirks.

The MSKB page I linked to doesn't say anything like this and even includes a specific example which DOES use both /root and /select, but I suppose whoever wrote it might simply have got it wrong... maybe I should try to contact them about this to get them to either improve or correct it.

[cozofdeath]

I actually found the opposite. There is another MS page that is way better and doesn't have all kinds of misspellings and page problems. I have even found other options for explorer that isn't mentioned on the MS page but non of them seem to help your situation. Its a little hard to find any good solid info on options for explorer, maybe because its the Windows shell and it loads differently at different time. For example at startup its told to load up as the shell not a window, but after it has been loaded once as the shell it will only after words be loaded as a window. Most of this is done via registry keys. If I find anything else out to help you with this I'll definitely post back.