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I would like, by default, for PowerShell to be launched instead of Command when, say, running a batch file, or when I "Open Command Window Here", etc.

Any suggestions?

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    I don't think powershell can interpret batch files, so you probably shouldn't make it open those. Commented May 28, 2011 at 2:52

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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I just did a very quick test and the following registry entry will add a "PowerShell here" item to the context menu of all folders in explorer:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\PowerShellHere]
@="&PowerShell here"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\PowerShellHere\command]
@="cmd.exe /c start \"PS\" powershell.exe -NoExit -Command \"cd \\\"%1\\\"\""

Just import it into the registry. I am using cmd.exe to bootstrap powershell in order to avoid having to hard-code the path.

Regarding cmd scripts/batch files. I think it does not make much sense to run CMD scripts within PowerShell by default. But it might be possible as well by modifying HKCR\cmdfile\shell\open registry key

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  • Thanks! I'll give these a try tonight. The only reason I want scripts to open in powershell is for consistency and cooperation with my windowing tools. You are right that there is no inherent practical reason. ;) Commented May 28, 2011 at 0:30
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You're not going to get very far with running CMD batch files in PowerShell.

You can try changing the %COMSPEC% variable to point at powershell.exe using setx, but I don't think it will take you long to realise that this is a really bad idea and change it back again.

save the file as *.ps1 instead of *.bat and it will use powershell

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    Why is it a bad idea? Just curious. Commented Jun 14, 2011 at 16:31
  • @afrazier: I have not experimented with changing %COMSPEC% to a non-CMD-compatible shell, but I assume that changing it to PowerShell would result in .cmd/.bat files trying to execute in PowerShell, so they would fail. I have installed a lot of software which needed to use batch files, so doing that would be a bad idea. Also, I am a bit biased, as I use CMD all the time (actually, TCC, which is an expanded superset), for everyday file managing - I only use PowerShell for system stuff, although I have a lot more to learn, as it is so powerful in comparison. Commented Jun 14, 2011 at 18:26
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    Just for giggles, I've changed %ComSpec% to point to PowerShell on my Win7 system. The first couple .cmd files I tested work just fine. They involve cmd-specific constructs (for, Variable manipulation, if), so PS is apparently smart enough to know when it needs to invoke cmd.exe. Commented Jun 14, 2011 at 18:37
  • For example, changing %ComSpec% to powershell breaks the mercurial version control commands. Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 13:46

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