Launching Windows Special Folders


Tip by kenz0, JSMorley and the community

Windows has many "special folders" like "My Computer" and "Recycle Bin" that are not part of the normal folder system you can specify with a "path" on an action in Rainmeter, or launch differently then they appear in Explorer.

Windows Shell: commands

These folders can be accessed by using the Windows Shell: command and the CLSID identifier codes that Windows assigns to these folders in the Windows Registry. If you know the codes, you can launch these with ease.

Add Network Location							::{D4480A50-BA28-11d1-8E75-00C04FA31A86}
Administrative Tools ::{D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153}
Applications ::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}
AutoPlay ::{9C60DE1E-E5FC-40f4-A487-460851A8D915}
BitLocker Drive Encryption ::{D9EF8727-CAC2-4e60-809E-86F80A666C91}
Bluetooth Devices ::{28803F59-3A75-4058-995F-4EE5503B023C}
Color Management ::{B2C761C6-29BC-4f19-9251-E6195265BAF1}
Command Folder ::{437ff9c0-a07f-4fa0-af80-84b6c6440a16}
Common Places FS Folder ::{d34a6ca6-62c2-4c34-8a7c-14709c1ad938}
Control Panel ::{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}
Control Panel (All Tasks) ::{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Control Panel (always Category view) ::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}
Control Panel (always Icons view) ::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Credential Manager ::{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}
Date and Time ::{E2E7934B-DCE5-43C4-9576-7FE4F75E7480}
Default Programs ::{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966}
delegate folder that appears in Computer ::{b155bdf8-02f0-451e-9a26-ae317cfd7779}
Desktop (folder) ::{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}
Device Manager ::{74246bfc-4c96-11d0-abef-0020af6b0b7a}
Devices and Printers ::{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}
Display ::{C555438B-3C23-4769-A71F-B6D3D9B6053A}
Documents (folder) ::{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}
Downloads (folder) ::{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}
Ease of Access Center ::{D555645E-D4F8-4c29-A827-D93C859C4F2A}
E-mail (default e-mail program) ::{2559a1f5-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
Family Safety ::{96AE8D84-A250-4520-95A5-A47A7E3C548B}
Favorites ::{323CA680-C24D-4099-B94D-446DD2D7249E}
File Explorer Options ::{6DFD7C5C-2451-11d3-A299-00C04F8EF6AF}
File History ::{F6B6E965-E9B2-444B-9286-10C9152EDBC5}
Font Settings ::{93412589-74D4-4E4E-AD0E-E0CB621440FD}
Fonts (folder) ::{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
Frequent folders ::{3936E9E4-D92C-4EEE-A85A-BC16D5EA0819}
Games Explorer ::{ED228FDF-9EA8-4870-83b1-96b02CFE0D52}
Get Programs ::{15eae92e-f17a-4431-9f28-805e482dafd4}
Help and Support ::{2559a1f1-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
HomeGroup (settings) ::{67CA7650-96E6-4FDD-BB43-A8E774F73A57}
HomeGroup (users) ::{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}
Hyper-V Remote File Browsing ::{0907616E-F5E6-48D8-9D61-A91C3D28106D}
Indexing Options ::{87D66A43-7B11-4A28-9811-C86EE395ACF7}
Infared (if installed) ::{A0275511-0E86-4ECA-97C2-ECD8F1221D08}
Installed Updates ::{d450a8a1-9568-45c7-9c0e-b4f9fb4537bd}
Internet Options (Internet Explorer) ::{A3DD4F92-658A-410F-84FD-6FBBBEF2FFFE}
Keyboard Properties ::{725BE8F7-668E-4C7B-8F90-46BDB0936430}
Language settings ::{BF782CC9-5A52-4A17-806C-2A894FFEEAC5}
Libraries ::{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}
Location Information (Phone and Modem) ::{40419485-C444-4567-851A-2DD7BFA1684D}
Location Settings ::{E9950154-C418-419e-A90A-20C5287AE24B}
Media Servers ::{289AF617-1CC3-42A6-926C-E6A863F0E3BA}
Mouse Properties ::{6C8EEC18-8D75-41B2-A177-8831D59D2D50}
Music (folder) ::{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}
My Documents ::{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}
Network ::{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}
Network and Sharing Center ::{8E908FC9-BECC-40f6-915B-F4CA0E70D03D}
Network Connections (in PC settings) ::{38A98528-6CBF-4CA9-8DC0-B1E1D10F7B1B}
Network Connections ::{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}
OR ::{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Network (WorkGroup) ::{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Notification Area Icons ::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
NVIDIA Control Panel (if installed) ::{0bbca823-e77d-419e-9a44-5adec2c8eeb0}
Offline Files Folder ::{AFDB1F70-2A4C-11d2-9039-00C04F8EEB3E}
OneDrive ::{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}
Pen and Touch ::{F82DF8F7-8B9F-442E-A48C-818EA735FF9B}
Personalization ::{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}
Pictures (folder) ::{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}
Portable Devices ::{35786D3C-B075-49b9-88DD-029876E11C01}
Power Options ::{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}
Previous Versions Results Folder ::{f8c2ab3b-17bc-41da-9758-339d7dbf2d88}
printhood delegate folder ::{ed50fc29-b964-48a9-afb3-15ebb9b97f36}
Printers ::{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
OR ::{863aa9fd-42df-457b-8e4d-0de1b8015c60}
Programs and Features ::{7b81be6a-ce2b-4676-a29e-eb907a5126c5}
Public (folder) ::{4336a54d-038b-4685-ab02-99bb52d3fb8b}
Quick access ::{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}
Recent places ::{22877a6d-37a1-461a-91b0-dbda5aaebc99}
Recovery ::{9FE63AFD-59CF-4419-9775-ABCC3849F861}
Recycle Bin ::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Region and Language ::{62D8ED13-C9D0-4CE8-A914-47DD628FB1B0}
RemoteApp and Desktop Connections ::{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}
Remote Printers ::{863aa9fd-42df-457b-8e4d-0de1b8015c60}
Removable Storage Devices ::{a6482830-08eb-41e2-84c1-73920c2badb9}
Results Folder ::{2965e715-eb66-4719-b53f-1672673bbefa}
Run ::{2559a1f3-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
Search ::{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}
Search Everywhere (modern) ::{2559a1f8-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
Search Files (modern) ::{2559a1f0-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
Security and Maintenance ::{BB64F8A7-BEE7-4E1A-AB8D-7D8273F7FDB6}
Set Program Access and Computer Defaults ::{2559a1f7-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}
Show Desktop ::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}
Sound ::{F2DDFC82-8F12-4CDD-B7DC-D4FE1425AA4D}
Speech Recognition ::{58E3C745-D971-4081-9034-86E34B30836A}
Storage Spaces ::{F942C606-0914-47AB-BE56-1321B8035096}
Sync Center ::{9C73F5E5-7AE7-4E32-A8E8-8D23B85255BF}
Sync Setup Folder ::{2E9E59C0-B437-4981-A647-9C34B9B90891}
System ::{BB06C0E4-D293-4f75-8A90-CB05B6477EEE}
System Icons ::{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
Tablet PC Settings ::{80F3F1D5-FECA-45F3-BC32-752C152E456E}
Taskbar and Navigation properties ::{0DF44EAA-FF21-4412-828E-260A8728E7F1}
Text to Speech ::{D17D1D6D-CC3F-4815-8FE3-607E7D5D10B3}
This PC ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Troubleshooting ::{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}
User Accounts ::{60632754-c523-4b62-b45c-4172da012619}
User Accounts (netplwiz) ::{7A9D77BD-5403-11d2-8785-2E0420524153}
User Pinned ::{1f3427c8-5c10-4210-aa03-2ee45287d668}
%UserProfile% ::{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}
Videos (folder) ::{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}
Web browser (default) ::{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}
Windows Defender ::{D8559EB9-20C0-410E-BEDA-7ED416AECC2A}
Windows Mobility Center ::{5ea4f148-308c-46d7-98a9-49041b1dd468}
Windows Features ::{67718415-c450-4f3c-bf8a-b487642dc39b}
Windows Firewall ::{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423}
Windows To Go ::{8E0C279D-0BD1-43C3-9EBD-31C3DC5B8A77}
Windows Update ::{36eef7db-88ad-4e81-ad49-0e313f0c35f8}
Work Folders ::{ECDB0924-4208-451E-8EE0-373C0956DE16}
[MeterMyComputer]
Meter=IMAGE
ImageName=MyComputer.png
X=0
Y=0
W=38
H=38
LeftMouseDownAction=[Shell:::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}]

Or you can use named Shell: commands supported by your version of Windows:

These commands open specific system folders:

shell:AccountPictures											Account Pictures
shell:AddNewProgramsFolder AddNewProgramsFolder
shell:Administrative Tools Administrative Tools
shell:AppData AppData
shell:Application Shortcuts Application Shortcuts
shell:AppsFolder AppsFolder
shell:AppUpdatesFolder AppUpdatesFolder
shell:Cache Cache
shell:Camera Roll Camera Roll
shell:CD Burning Temporary Burn Folder
shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder
shell:Common Administrative Tools Administrative Tools
shell:Common AppData Common AppData
shell:Common Desktop Public Desktop
shell:Common Documents Public Documents
shell:Common Programs Programs
shell:Common Start Menu Start Menu
shell:Common Startup Startup
shell:Common Templates Common Templates
shell:CommonDownloads Public Downloads
shell:CommonMusic Public Music
shell:CommonPictures Public Pictures
shell:CommonRingtones CommonRingtones
shell:CommonVideo Public Videos
shell:ConflictFolder ConflictFolder
shell:ConnectionsFolder ConnectionsFolder
shell:Contacts Contacts
shell:ControlPanelFolder ControlPanelFolder
shell:Cookies Cookies
shell:CredentialManager CredentialManager
shell:CryptoKeys CryptoKeys
shell:CSCFolder CSCFolder
shell:Desktop Desktop
shell:Device Metadata Store Device Metadata Store
shell:DocumentsLibrary Documents
shell:Downloads Downloads
shell:DpapiKeys DpapiKeys
shell:Favorites Favorites
shell:Fonts Fonts
shell:Games Games
shell:GameTasks GameTasks
shell:History History
shell:HomeGroupCurrentUserFolder HomeGroupCurrentUserFolder
shell:HomeGroupFolder HomeGroupFolder
shell:ImplicitAppShortcuts ImplicitAppShortcuts
shell:InternetFolder InternetFolder
shell:Libraries Libraries
shell:Links Links
shell:Local AppData Local AppData
shell:LocalAppDataLow LocalAppDataLow
shell:LocalizedResourcesDir LocalizedResourcesDir
shell:MAPIFolder MAPIFolder
shell:MusicLibrary Music
shell:My Music Music
shell:My Pictures Pictures
shell:My Video Videos
shell:MyComputerFolder MyComputerFolder
shell:NetHood NetHood
shell:NetworkPlacesFolder NetworkPlacesFolder
shell:OEM Links OEM Links
shell:OneDrive OneDrive
shell:Original Images Original Images
shell:Personal Documents
shell:PhotoAlbums Slide Shows
shell:PicturesLibrary Pictures
shell:Playlists Playlists
shell:PrintersFolder PrintersFolder
shell:PrintHood PrintHood
shell:Profile Profile
shell:ProgramFiles Program Files
shell:ProgramFilesCommon ProgramFilesCommon
shell:ProgramFilesCommonX64 ProgramFilesCommonX64
shell:ProgramFilesCommonX86 ProgramFilesCommonX86
shell:ProgramFilesX64 ProgramFilesX64
shell:ProgramFilesX86 Program Files (x86)
shell:Programs Programs
shell:Public Public
shell:PublicAccountPictures Public Account Pictures
shell:PublicGameTasks PublicGameTasks
shell:PublicLibraries PublicLibraries
shell:Quick Launch Quick Launch
shell:Recent Recent Items
shell:RecordedTVLibrary Recorded TV
shell:RecycleBinFolder RecycleBinFolder
shell:ResourceDir ResourceDir
shell:Retail Demo Retail Demo
shell:Ringtones Ringtones
shell:Roamed Tile Images Roamed Tile Images
shell:Roaming Tiles Roaming Tiles
shell:SavedGames Saved Games
shell:Screenshots Screenshots
shell:Searches Searches
shell:SearchHistoryFolder SearchHistoryFolder
shell:SearchHomeFolder SearchHomeFolder
shell:SearchTemplatesFolder SearchTemplatesFolder
shell:SendTo SendTo
shell:SkyDriveCameraRoll SkyDriveCameraRoll
shell:SkyDriveDocuments SkyDriveDocuments
shell:SkyDriveMusic SkyDriveMusic
shell:SkyDrivePictures SkyDrivePictures
shell:Start Menu Start Menu
shell:StartMenuAllPrograms StartMenuAllPrograms
shell:Startup Startup
shell:SyncCenterFolder SyncCenterFolder
shell:SyncResultsFolder SyncResultsFolder
shell:SyncSetupFolder SyncSetupFolder
shell:System System
shell:SystemCertificates SystemCertificates
shell:SystemX86 SystemX86
shell:Templates Templates
shell:ThisPCDesktopFolder ThisPCDesktopFolder
shell:User Pinned User Pinned
shell:UserProfiles Users
shell:UserProgramFiles UserProgramFiles
shell:UserProgramFilesCommon UserProgramFilesCommon
shell:UsersFilesFolder UsersFilesFolder
shell:UsersLibrariesFolder UsersLibrariesFolder
shell:VideosLibrary Videos
shell:Windows Windows
[MeterMyComputer]
Meter=IMAGE
ImageName=MyPictures.png
X=0
Y=0
W=38
H=38
LeftMouseDownAction=["Shell:My Pictures"]

General Shortcut Commands

Another way to access certain special Windows folders and functions is by knowing and using some commands Windows supports:

  • My Computer with C drive selected
    explorer.exe /select,c
  • Task Manager
    taskmgr.exe
  • Control Panel
    control
  • Windows Version Info
    winver
  • Windows Update
    wupdmgr
  • Internet Options
    inetcpl.cpl
  • Computer Management
    compmgmt.msc
  • System Properties
    sysdm.cpl
  • Date/Time Properties
    timedate.cpl
  • Volume Control
    sndvol32.exe
  • Volume Control (tray)
    sndvol32.exe /tray Normal
  • Logoff
    shutdown.exe -l
  • Switch User / Lock Computer
    rundll32.exe user32.dll LockWorkStation
  • Hibernate
    rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState
  • Restart
    shutdown.exe -r
  • Shutdown
    shutdown.exe -s
  • Shutdown (abort)
    shutdown.exe -a

Basic usage examples:

LeftMouseUpAction=[sndvol32.exe /tray Normal]
LeftMouseUpAction=[shell:Desktop]

If a space is included, you need to enclose with double quotes. e.g. ["shell:Start Menu"]

You can send multiple commands simultaneously by surrounding each command in brackets.

LeftMouseUpAction=[shell:Desktop][shell:SendTo]["shell:Start Menu"]

Windows UWP Apps Commands

Launching UWP "apps"

Note: These commands exist only from Windows 8 onwards.

Since Windows 8, Microsoft introduced a new software enviourment known as UWP (formerly known as Metro-style apps). These can be run using the Shell:AppsFolder command, along with special parameters.

The command should take the form of Shell:AppsFolder\FolderName!ShortCutName.

The necesary info for lunching an app are:

  • The Folder name
    • Found by opening the "C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Packages" folder
  • The Shortcut name
    • Found by opening the Shell:AppsFolder folder (to get there, put that path into Windows Run), creating a Desktop shortcut of the app you want and inspecting its proprieties.
    • Note: The majority of the time, the Shortcut name will be App, there are exceptions however, like for the Calendar app.


So, to get the necesary info you will have to:

  • Open the folder "C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Packages"
  • Find the application you want, and copy that "folder"'s name.
  • Inside the folder, copy the name of the "shortcut" (usually "App" with applications included with Windows)
  • Put the two on a shell command of Shell:AppsFolder\FolderName!ShortCutName

An example for the Camera app would be:

  • The folder name is "Microsoft.WindowsCamera_8wekyb3d8bbwe"
  • The shortcut name inside the folder is "App"
LeftMouseUpAction=["Shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsCamera_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App"]

Lunching Windows Settings app

To launch the Settings app and tabs within it, use the ms-settings: URI scheme. All the URIs can be found here.

LeftMouseUpAction=[ms-settings:]
LeftMouseUpAction=[ms-settings:bluetooth]