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How can I create a program alias?
John Savill
March 9, 1999
1 Min Read
A. It is possible to create an alias for a program, for example todefine johnword.exe to actually run winword.exe. To do this perform thefollowing:
Start the registry editor (regedit.exe)
Move to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionAppPaths
From the Edit menu select New - Key
Enter the name of the alias, e.g. johnword.exe and press Enter
Move to the new key and double click on the (Default) value (it is blank bydefault)
Set to the fully qualified file name it should run, e.g. C:ProgramFilesMicrosoft OfficeOfficewinword.exe. Click OK
Optionally you can create a new String called Path which is where theprogram will first start running (Edit - New - String Value - Path, doubleclick and set to the starting path)
Close the registry editor
If you now select Run from the start menu and type johnword.exe it wouldstart Microsoft Word, cool!
If you type your alias from the command prompt it will not find it, howeverif you type
C:> start
it will work fine.
The actual program name does not have to be an .exe program -- it can be anyfile that has an association (such as "C:temptfaq.url"). The aliasitself can remain as an .exe.
If the alias is an .exe, then the "run" or "start"command does not need to include the extension. If the alias is NOT an .exe,then you need to use the full name but then you are not limited to anyextensions (but it must have some extension). Your alias can be John.Savillwhich you have aliased to "C:ProgramYadaYadaYadaWinword.exe" andWord will start up just fine.
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