From Newsgroup: alt.comp.os.windows-11

Tutorial:
Add an option to "Open file explorer window here" in
IrfanView's "File->Save" file browser

This works for all modern apps, but I only tested it today with Irfanview.
If you find other apps it works well with, let the team know so that we can
all work together for the benefit of everyone with every post we submit.

The goal is all tasks should be a single step, optimally, on Windows.
Below is a custom tweak that saves multiple steps done all day, every day.

This is the result of the tweak I came up with today that I describe below:
In modern File Explorer windows (such as when Irfanview is saving a file)
you can now right-click the white empty background of the file browser
in Irfanview to launch a File Explorer window at the same location.
That saves the extra steps of copying paths or typing "explorer ."
when you want to further interact with the saved file using the File
Explorer rightclick menu (e.g., to open the result in Paint.NET).

Here is the background of why I came up with this tweak just today:
When working at the command line, I often use:
explorer .
to quickly open File Explorer in the current directory.

For example, when I am saving a file from Irfanview, a standard Windows
"Save As" dialog appears. In that dialog, I can right-click the white space
to get options like "Open command window here" (or Shift + right-click for
more options).

In that command-line window, I can then open the file explorer GUI there:

explorer .

Another way to open the file explorer to that location (which can be deep
in the hierarchy) is to just select & copy the $P$G full-path in the
prompt. Once you have the full path in the clipboard, you can paste it into your runbox everyone has pinned to their taskbar to open a file explorer
window to that location (for further operations on the saved files).

But what I really wanted for efficiency is a direct option to open a new
File Explorer window at that same location without running any commands.

My (old) somewhat-efficient workflow used to look like this:
a. From some application (e.g., from Irfanview's file browser)
b. Save a file into some deep folder hierarchy.
c. Right-click in the file-saving dialog's white space
d. Choose to open a command prompt, which displays the full path.
e. Copy/paste that path into the Run box or into "explorer <path>"
to open File Explorer to that path where you saved the file.
or, more often than not, just type 'explore .' to open a
Windows file explorer GUI window at that location.

That works and that's efficient but it is more than a single step.
Ideally, I would just right-click and choose "Open File Explorer Here."

Here's how I accomplished that extra measure of single-click efficiency. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Registry Tweak to Add the Option in Explorer ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Unfortunately, Windows Save/Open dialogs do not support custom context menu entries, but you can add that option to a normal File Explorer windows by editing the registry which adds a "Open File Explorer Here" context menu.

So the new (more efficient!) workflow becomes:
a. From some application (e.g., from Irfanview's file browser)
b. Save a file into some deep folder hierarchy.
c. Right-click in the file-saving dialog's white space
d. Choose "Open File Explorer Here"
Voila! You saved even more steps in efficiency!

From Irfanview (or any modern app), you can save a file deep in the
hierarchy, and then rightclick operate on that file more efficiently!

Remember, the goal, always, is everything should take only a single step.

Here are the details so that you can reproduce what I explained above.
1. Click your taskbar-pinned runbox and enter 'regedit'
(I actually use "editreg" which saves a step of the UAC click)
2. Navigate to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell
(This branch controls the context menu when you right-click in the
all-important but often neglected white space of a folder window.)
3. Create a new key: OpenExplorerHere
Set its default value to: Open File Explorer Here
4. Inside it, create a subkey: command
Set its default value to: explorer.exe %V
(Note that %V expands to the current folder path.)
5. Restart the Windows File Explorer (if necessary)
C:\> taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
C:\> start explorer.exe

Here is the exported .reg file (which, again, saves you the steps above).
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Adds "Open File Explorer Here" when right-clicking folder backgrounds
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\OpenExplorerHere]
@="Open File Explorer Here"

; Note that %V expands to the current folder path( similar to ".")
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\OpenExplorerHere\command]
@="explorer.exe %V"

In summary, we're always knocking 10 steps down to 5 and 5 steps down to 2
and even 2 steps is twice as much work as dropping it to what 1 step is.

This tweak saves steps whenever you need to operate in the Windows file explorer on a file which you just saved using a modern application's
file->save menu.

I tested this today using IrfanView on Windows 10, which uses the modern Windows Save/Open dialog. That dialog is built on the File Explorer shell
view, so it will honor background context menu entries (like those defined under Directory\Background\shell).

Be advised that some older applications still call the legacy "common file dialog." That older dialog is a lightweight control that does not load the
full Explorer shell. As a result, it will not display custom context menu items, shell extensions, or registry tweaks such as that described above.

In those cases, you'll only see the built-in right-click options provided
by Windows itself. Let us all know if you find apps it doesn't work with.
--
One out of a thousand people helps others all the time by their nature.
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