Windows Vista comes with the Open file location context menu item for shortcuts, which help you quickly open the target folder of a shortcut. In Windows XP, it takes four mouse clicks to accomplish the task. To open the target folder of a shortcut in Windows XP, you need to right-click on the shortcut file, click Properties and click the Find Target button to open the parent folder of the target file or folder. And an additional mouse click is needed to close the Shortcut Properties dialog.

You can add the Open file location feature in Windows XP (similar to what you have in Windows Vista) using one of the two methods. Method 1 uses a .REG file, and Method 2 uses a VBScript that I wrote. No additional shell extensions are needed!

Note: The only drawback of Method 1 is that the Open file location command will be seen in the context menu of every file and folder, not only for shortcuts. If you need the Open file location command shown only for shortcuts (.lnk files), then you may use my VBScript which is discussed in Method 2 below.

METHOD 1

Download findtarget.reg and save to Desktop. Right-click on the file and choose Merge. The Open file location command is added to the context menu for all files.

(Credits to Tweak of PlanetAMD64 forums for this .REG file tip.)

To remove the option, use the findtarget-undo.reg file.

METHOD 2

Here is a VBScript that I wrote which adds a Open file location functionality in the context menu of shortcuts (.lnk files)

1. Download opentargetdir.vbs and save it to your Windows folder. To open the Windows folder in your system, type %systemroot% in Start, Run dialog and press ENTER.

2. Double-click the file opentargetdir.vbs to run it. When you see the following prompt, simply press ENTER.

The Open file location command is now added to the context menu for shortcuts.

UNINSTALLATION

As the dialog says, type UNINSTALL and press ENTER if you want to remove the Open file location command from the context menu. Then delete the file opentargetdir.vbs from your Windows directory.

SEE ALSO

• Adding the "Add to Quick Launch" context menu option in Windows XP
• “Copy Target URL” context menu option for Internet Shortcut (.url) files
• Adding the Run as Administrator option for .VBS and .JS files

If you think of any other script ideas, feel free to post them in the Comments section below