If you want to switch between directories in the Windows command line you need to type in the path directly most of the time especially if the files are located on different partitions. The tab feature is great for completing a file or directory name but there is no option to switch directories fast.
Wherever Change Directory (WCD via Download Squad) is the name of a Windows script that is offering a way to change directories in the Windows command line blazingly fast. It indexes the directory structure of the computer system at first start of the application which takes a few seconds. After that it is possible to change directories with the command wcd directory, for example wcd desktop. The default search is to look for every directory name that begins with the search term that the user entered. Wildcards can be used to change that behavior.
WCD will display all directories with desktop in their name giving the user the option to pick one to change to. If only one directory with the name was found on the system WCD will immediately make the directory change.
Wherever Change Directory supports local directories, Windows LAN UNC paths, alias directories and subdirectories.
A user who has the intention to work regularly with the software program should either move it into a system path directory or add the new directory to the system path to be able to run wcd from every location and not only its source directory.
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6 Responses to “Command Line Directory Switcher”
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[...] About us Wherever Change Directory Speeds Up Command Line Navigation [Featured Download] Monday, October 6th, 2008 @ 8:29 am | Author: admin Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): Free command prompt plug-in script Wherever Change Directory makes navigating around your system fast and easy from the command line on any system. After adding wcd to your system path and running it once to index your hard drive, you can simply type wcd desktop, and the command will use the most likely match to get you there. If there’s more than one result (as pictured), you just type the choice you were looking for. The script can also handle wildcards (like Pictures*) and other syntax changes. The download package comes with installation instructions, but Windows users (especially Vista users) will want to enable running commands as an administrator to avoid a lot of access headaches. Wherever Change Directory is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems; there’s also a package for our favorite Unix-in-Windows tool Cygwin. Wherever Change Directory [Erwin Waterlander via gHacks] [...]
The easiest way to change directory in CMD is:
1) Open up My Documents (or My Computer) and navigate to the required directory.
2) Select the whole directory name in the Address bar and press CTRL+C (or COPY).
3) In the CMD screen enter CD and a SPACE, right click and PASTE, then ENTER
SIMPLE?
Tony, do me a favor and change from c:\windows to e:\downloads\apps\scripts\scripta, then to f:\backups\e\scripts\scriptb and back to c:\windows\
That will take some time with your way. It’s ok for the occasional change but not if you change regularly.
WCD is great… and if you want to copy the path you have just found to your clipboard you can just pipe the results using:
cd | clip
“clip” isn’t a native win32 dos command, but can be found here:
http://www.petri.co.il/software/clip.zip
you must copy the clip.exe file into windows\system32
Definitely a nice app. I included it in my post on DownloadSquad on October 1st.