The two easy ways to open any program in Windows OS are Run command box and the search/Cortana feature. If you are on the latest Windows 10 OS, then you know what is Cortana search box. However, the Windows 8 and the Windows 7 had a search feature that allowed you to find any programs and settings by typing out the name. For example, type device manager in search and hit enter. This will open Control panel or type msconfig in the search and hit enter to open System Configuration. Using the Search/Cortana you can open almost every program and settings in your Windows 10 PC. Another way to open programs in Windows 10 is using the Run command box. Pressing the Windows Key R would open Run command dialogue box. You can type any command such as cmd and hit enter to open the command prompt. But, if you type Google Chrome or any other program name and hit enter you won’t be able to do so. This is because you haven’t defined any command or shortcode to open the program using Run command in Windows 10. But, there is a way out, and that is creating run custom command in Windows 10 to open your preferred program. Create Custom Run Commands in Windows 10 As I said earlier, there are three ways to create custom Run command in Windows 10. The method goes from easy to a bit difficult, so choose the easiest one for you. Method 1: Find Name to Run Command You can type cmd to open the command prompt using the Run command box. However, how you will open the task manager using the Run command? If you type Task manager and hit enter, then you will see an error saying Windows cannot find taskmanger. Make sure you have typed the name correctly and try again. This is because task manager has been saved as taskmgr.exe rather than Task manager.exe. So, when you type task manager or taskmanager and try to open it using the Run command box, you will get an error. So, the best thing you could do here is find the name of the program’s exe file. This is easy and also does not require you to create a new run command to run any program which already has a pre-defined command assigned. To find the program’s .exe file name, go to the program’s installation folder. If you want to find the Task Manager’s .exe file name, then navigate to C:/ProgramData/Microsoft/Windows/StartMenu/Programs/System Tools. Right-click on Task Manager and select Properties. In Properties, look at Target Field for the file name. Here the .exe file name for the Task Manager is taskmgr.exe. So if you Run command box, type taskmgr and hit enter, Task Manager window will open. The same way you can find the command to open System Configuration that is msconfig. Finding the file location of any program is easier. Type the program name in the search, right-click on the program and select Open File Location. However, one thing you may want to note here is that this will only work with system programs or desktop apps such as Task manager, System Configuration, Registry Editor, Snipping Tool, etc. not with third-party apps such as IDM (internet download manager), etc. If you want to create custom run command for third-party apps, then check out method 2. Method 2: Create Custom Run Command Using Shortcut Create shortcut for the program you want to create a custom run command in Windows 10. To create a shortcut, go to the installation folder of the program for which you want to create the custom run command. For this guide, I will create custom run command for IDM (Internet download manager). So go to C:/Program File / Internet Download Manager. Right-click on IDMan.exe and select Create a Shortcut. Move the created shortcut to Desktop. Rename your newly created IDM shortcut to something short and easy to remember such as IDM. Once you have renamed the shortcut, move it to Windows root folder that is normally in C:/ and the folder name is Windows. So, move the renamed IDM shortcut to C:/Windows folder. Copy the renamed shortcut to C:/Windows folder. If asked to provide administrative to access, then click on Continue. To test it, press Windows Key R, type IDM ( enter the name you entered for the program shortcut) and hit enter. You can also type IDM in the search and hit enter to open Internet Download Manager. Alternatively, you can also create a shortcut by right-clicking on Desktop, select New, Create Shortcut. Click the Browse button and the select the program for which you want to create the shortcut. Enter a name for the shortcut and move the shortcut to C:/Windows folder. Method 3: Use AddToRun to Create Custom Run Command If don’t want to go through all the steps mentioned above, then you can make use of a program called AddToRun. This program allows you to add any program to Run command and open it using the Run dialogue box. So, download AddToRun (check the link at the end of the post) and run it. In the AddToRun window, click on Select button and select the program that you want to add to run. Under, input The Alias, enter a name for the program using which you want to open the program in Run Command box. Click on Add and you are done.
