I want to add user-data-dir argument to google chrome whenever its launched.
I made following changes for it:
Changed registry key HKCR:\ChromeHTML\shell\open\command to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir=C:\Users\user\testdir --single-argument %1'
Set Argument --user-data-dir=C:\Users\user\testdir --single-argument %1 to shortcut file C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Google Chrome.lnk
However, I see that chrome is running without the new user-data-dir. I don't know using which shortcut chrome was opened.
How can I make this change permanent (preferably using powershell) so that whichever shortcut chrome is opened, it takes the user-data-dir argument?
I am not able to find how to make it permanent but able to get the arguments applied by a workaround. Search for all the shortcuts by following command.
Get-CimInstance Win32_ShortcutFile | select Name, FileName, CreationDate, LastAccessed, Drive, Path, FileType
Set arguments in the intended shortcuts as given in the second step in the question.
Related
If my script is run within vscode, it want it to open a .txt file in a new tab in vscode. Else, open the folder containing the file. However, the current "code" command opens it in the terminal window instead of a new edit tab.
if ($env:TERM_PROGRAM -eq 'vscode') {
code 'C:\temp\_Release_Evidence\test.txt'
}
else {
explorer 'C:\temp\_Release_Evidence'
}
Normally, code refers Visual Studio Code's CLI, which is assumed to be in one of the directories listed in $env:PATH:
On Windows, it refers to the code.cmd batch file that serves as the CLI entry point.
On Unix-like platforms it refers to a code Bash script.
Its default behavior is to open a given file as a new tab in the most recently activated Visual Studio Code window (which, when run from inside Visual Studio Code, is by definition the current window).
If that doesn't happen for you, perhaps code refers to a different executable on your machine:
To avoid ambiguity, use the full CLI path instead, which, however, requires you to know Visual Studio Code's install location; typical CLI locations are:
Windows: $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.cmd
macOS: /usr/local/bin/code
Linux: /usr/bin/code
On Windows, something as simple as including the filename extension in the invocation - i.e., code.cmd - may help.
However, assuming you're using the PIC (PowerShell Integrated Console), a specialized PowerShell shell that comes with the PowerShell extension for Visual Studio Code, a workaround that also performs better, because it doesn't require launching a child process:
The PIC comes with the psedit command (an alias for the Open-EditorFile function), which quickly opens one or more files in a tab in the current Visual Studio Code window.
Caveat: As of version v2022.5.1 of the PIC, specifying multiple files only works meaningfully if they are individually enumerated, as literal paths. If you try to use a wildcard pattern or a directory path, all matching files / files in the directory are uselessly opened in sequence in a single tab.
Thus, you could use the following:
if ($env:TERM_PROGRAM -eq 'vscode') {
# Use `psedit`, if available; `code` otherwise.
$exe = if ((Get-Command -ErrorAction Ignore psedit)) { 'psedit' } else { 'code' }
& $exe 'C:\temp\_Release_Evidence\test.txt'
}
else {
explorer 'C:\temp\_Release_Evidence'
}
I can't reproduce this or explain why this might occur on your system. Running the following whether in the PowerShell Integrated Terminal (which #mklement0 explained succinctly) or a standard PowerShell terminal in VS Code's Terminal pane should open the file in a new tab where file contents are normally displayed:
code /path/to/file.txt
A suitable workaround may be to get the contents of a text file and pipe them in via STDIN. We can do this by adding a hyphen - as an empty parameter to code when piping data to it:
# Tip: Use the gc alias for Get-Content
Get-Content /path/to/file.txt | code -
You can then use Save As... to save the file to its intended target once you make your changes. You will need to use Ctrl+C in the terminal to close the input stream if you need to run additional commands before closing the file or saving to a one.
Even if this isn't a suitable workaround for you, it's a handy tip in other scenarios. For example, the following command will open documentation for Get-Process inside VSCode:
Reminder: Don't forget to hit Ctrl+C in the terminal once the content finishes populating to be able to run additional commands, or close the temporary file buffer.
Get-Help Get-Process -Detailed | code -
I see this unnecessary file path information whenever I execute a program in the terminal section.
Is there a way to hide that file path?
This is not so much VSCode terminal related, rather it is more shell related (see What's the difference between Terminal, Console, Shell, and Command Line). Your VScode's terminal is running a shell internally, but a terminal is not much more than a display window that calls a shell's functions. So, in order to edit the prompt (which comes from the shell), we have to edit your shell config.
From your screenshot, it looks like the particular shell you're running is Powershell. Powershell has its own prompt that it generates each time before you run a command. It does so by calling the prompt() function (you can read more about it at Microsoft Docs).
Therefore, if you just want an empty prompt, then all you have to do is create an empty prompt function and add it to your powershell profile.
From your terminal, open your powershell profile file using VSCode (or any text editor)
# $profile is a variable in powershell
# that holds path of the powershell config
code $profile
Then add an empty prompt function into the profile
function prompt { }
Save the file and reopen another powershell instance in your VSCode terminal, and now it should look like this
PS>
If you're interested in further customizing this prompt, I would highly recommend looking into starship, a cross-platform shell prompt that can be used inside powershell. By default it's an even simpler arrow
❯
It only displays the most relevant paths, and can be customized to a much greater extent than the powershell prompt.
How can this procedure be done with ahk script
If I press Ctrl+Q
It opens chrome.
Selects Mayank Profile, enter image description here, opens www.google.com and www.yahoo.com in it.
As of now Mayank chrome is running, then Selects Julia profile and opens www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.
As of now Now Three chrome will be opening right, One the chrome that is launched firstly, Mayank secondly, Julia the third. As I have to work with these two chromes(2nd and 3rd)
It closes the first chrome.
and I end up having only two chromes opened and julia is activated which contains www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com as shown in the picture.
enter image description here
Note: All this happens if I press Ctrl+Q
You can set a flag for chrome.exe when you launch it, so that it starts in a specific profile. An example of the command is this:
chrome.exe --profile-directory="Default" https://stackoverflow.com
The above code will launch this site, while using the profile-directory "Default" which is the default profile for Chrome. You can substitute "Default" with any other profile-directory. However, the name for the directory is not the same as the one set in the profile inside of the browser. All manually created profile-directories are named Profile # where # is a digit increasing from 1 for each created profile.
For example, I have created the following two profiles:
The default path for the Profiles is:
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\
Looking in the folder I can find two folders named:
Profile 1\
Profile 2\
To make it easier to determine what user corresponds with which folder, you can open the file Preferences inside of each of those folders. Inside of that JSON-File, you can search for the key "name": which will contain the name you've set inside of the GUI.
After you've determined what folders are for the profile you want, then we can create the hotkey we're after:
^q::
Run, chrome.exe --profile-directory="Default" https://stackoverflow.com/
Run, chrome.exe --profile-directory="Profile 1" https://superuser.com/
Run, chrome.exe --profile-directory="Profile 2" https://www.google.com/ https://www.duckduckgo.com/
I'm using VScode for running my same powershell script with different parameters in different powershell.
Is there any way I can name the terminal title through powershell script so that I can differentiate for what parameters I've run in which terminal ?
Instead of 1:PowerShell and 2:PowerShell I need alpha and beta from parameteres of powershell,
I've checked this answer Change Integrated Terminal title in vscode, but it requires manual intervention.
The numbers will remain but you can change the title by first opening command palette (Ctrl + Shift + P) and then search for Terminal: Rename.
Then you can type whatever name you want to give.
I need a way to open a file in a Metro app from command line.
So far I've figured out how to start the app from command line without any third-party scripts
explorer shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Reader_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.Reader
but I haven't been able to figure out how to include a file name yet.
Launching
explorer shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Reader_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.Reader example.pdf
just opens up a default explorer window.
Any idea from Windows 8 experts on how to accomplish this without any third-party tools/cmdlets/etc.?
Note: In fact I'm using Windows 10 but I guess if there's a Windows 8 / 8.1 way to do it, it'll work for 10, too.
If you're still looking for the answer, the best way to open a file in a metro app is to use an execution string like a normal app protocol does. The execution string looks like this:
bingnews:[arguments, can be left blank.]
microsoftvideo:[arguments, can be left blank.]
netflix:[arguments, can be left blank.]
So, to start up netflix, it's as simple as typing in Start netflix: into the command line.
To find the execution string for an app, go here: Control Panel\Programs\Default Programs\Set Associations
More info and examples can be found here.
http://windowsitpro.com/windows-8/opening-windows-8-apps-command-prompt-or-script
http://www.itsjustwhatever.com/2012/10/28/launch-windows-8-metro-apps-from-a-desktop-shortcut-or-command-line/
PLEASE NOTE: To open an app WITHOUT A PROTOCOL (One not listed in the registry or under "Set Associations") use OP's method:
explorer shell:AppsFolder\[appuid]![appfullname]
The app UID is the folder name without the version number. For example,
4DF9E0F8.Netflix_2.11.0.8_x64__mcm4njqhnhss8
becomes
4DF9E0F8.Netflix_mcm4njqhnhss8
The app fullname is the [App author].[App name] For example, 4DF9E0F8.Netflix. 4DF9E0F8 is the author, and Netflix is the name.
Put it all together to get
explorer shell:AppsFolder\4DF9E0F8.Netflix_mcm4njqhnhss8!4DF9E0F8.Netflix
Store Apps can only be started by the shell. So try this:
explorer.exe shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsAlarms_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
Or from run (Win+R):
shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsAlarms_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App
If the app is the default handler then you can just launch the file or protocol. There isn't a good in-box way to launch a file into a non-default handler from the command line.
Windows Store apps aren't designed to run from the command line and there isn't a straightforward way to launch them from the command line. Apps which handle specific files or protocols receive them through FileActivatedEventArgs or ProtocolActivatedEventArgs rather than command line arguments
You could write a launcher app which uses CLSID_ApplicationActivationManager's IApplicationActivationManager to ActivateForFile a specific app.
The best way I've found to pass command-line arguments to the executable targeted by the shell command is via the Windows start command.
Using your example, you would end up with this:
start "" shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.Reader_8wekyb3d8bbwe!Microsoft.Reader example.pdf
I don't have Microsoft.Reader installed, so I can't test that. However, I can verify that this pattern works with Windows Terminal. In this case, I pass it a command-line argument to tell it which profile I want to open.
start "" shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App new-tab -p "GitBash"
The first argument to the start command here — the empty string — is just the title of the window.
You can also pair this with cmd /c, which I've found is necessary for some launcher applications, such as my personal favorite, SlickRun:
cmd /c start "" shell:AppsFolder\Microsoft.WindowsTerminal_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App new-tab -p "GitBash"
I have a blog post with more info on running Modern apps from the command line, which you might find helpful in constructing these ridiculously obtuse commands.
Not sure if it works on Windows 8, but on Windows 10 I use this:
cmd /C start <app-name>:
For example, to start Slack:
cmd /C start slack: