Edit Environment Variables and find invalid ones

Martin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:15:49 +0000

Environment variables are divided into system and user variables. They contain information about the path and its directories for instance. Those are the location that Windows looks for when it can’t find a file in the same directory that an application was launched. Default system path variables are for instance the windows and system32 directory. While it normally poses no problem that a url is not found in one of the environment variables it could become one under certain circumstances.

Take for instance the location of the Java Runtime Environment on your system. If the path points to an old directory where it can’t be found anymore it will mean that the Java application cannot be launched. Other problems could arise with the temp directory in Windows or other applications that depend on a correct variable.

Rapid Environment Editor displays all environment variables and especially marks those with invalid path entries red. Every entry in the two panes (system and user variables) can be expanded which is really nice because it displays every entry of that variable in its own row.

The invalid entries can be deleted or edited with ease after expanding the variable. Deleting makes only sense if the application is no longer installed on the system, otherwise editing the setting to point to the correct path would be the better choice.

Rapid Environment Editor is probably the best environment variables editor out there. It displays everything nicely and gives users a great overview of all variables of the system.

Tags: environment variables, rapid environment editor, software, system path, Windows

Editing the Windows System Path Variables

Martin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:58:55 +0000

If you ever did try to change the Windows system path variables then you might have cursed Microsoft for creating such a tiny form to edit those variables. The system path is being used by Windows to find executables and dependencies in Windows which will be used to find an application if you use the run box in Windows for instance. A system wide path and a user defined path exists with the system wide path having priority over the user defined one.

The order of the entries is important as well since the first hit will be selected by Windows. Now if you take a look at your system paths you notice that the Windows form is completely useless. You can access those variables by accessing the System Properties in the Control Panel, clicking on the Advanced tab there and then on the Environment Variables button. If you highlight the path variable and click on Edit you know what I mean.

The window that is opening is displaying 30 or 40 chars only and you have to scroll to see all entries which is not really helping to keep an overview of all the path variables. You could copy and paste the line into a text editor, edit it there and copy and paste it back when your finished but there is a better solution available.

Redmond Path 1.0 [via Shell Extension City] displays the path variables the way Microsoft should have done it a long time ago. I’m wondering why those things are never fixed in updates or new Windows releases. You can raise and lower variables, remove them, edit them and add new ones.

Redmond path comes with a rollback option, supports Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 2003 and requires the .net framework.

Tags: software, system path, Windows, windows tips

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Edit Environment Variables and find invalid ones

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