Detect commandline application from CMD without messing with PATH variable or System32/SysWow64 dir
cmd, registry, windows, windows-8, windows-shell
Solution
`App Paths` registry settings - used by Windows Explorer, to locate programs when you type program name in "Run..." box, and so on. These settings are not affecting `cmd.exe` behavior.
The only way to set up `cmd.exe` paths for searching applications is changing `PATH` environment variable. You can start `cmd.exe` from your own `.bat`/`.cmd` where you set up all required variables for current session, without changing it globally.
Problem
Scenario I would like to install an x86 CommandLine application on a folder outside `C:\Windows\System32` or `C:\Windows\Syswow64` and still be able to access my app under CMD without adding my application's path inside the `PATH` environment variable. Question Is this possible to do? Maybe touching a needed registry keys? Note: I know how to add my application into `PATH` variable/regvalue or how to access my application from CMD putting the required .exe in the `System32`/`SysWow64` folder. This question is only to learn alternatives, it's not to solve issues with `PATH` or System dirs. Code I've tried this suggested approach from a comment of @Sertac Akyuz in this answer, I have stored `MyApp.exe` on `C:\` root directory, but I can't detect the application just putting `MyApp.exe` under the CMD. ``` Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MyApp.exe] @="C:\\MyApp.exe" [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MyApp.exe] @="C:\\MyApp.exe" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MyApp.exe] @="C:\\MyApp.exe" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MyApp.exe] @="C:\\MyApp.exe" ```