As I mentioned in a previous tip, Windows 10 includes a group of little-known shortcuts that begin with the shell: prefix and allow you to jump directly to defined system folders. You can enter shell: commands in the Run dialog box, in the address bar of File Explorer, or in scripts.

You can also use a shell:command to determine the location of a folder, which you can then use as the target of a shortcut.

Here are a few more useful locations you can get to using shell: commands.

These three commands open the local folders that are used as default storage for media files:

• shell:My Pictures
• shell:My Music
• shell:My Video

Their corresponding libraries, which typically include those local folders but might also include special-purpose folders from apps, are here:

• shell:PicturesLibrary
• shell:MusicLibrary
• shell:VideosLibrary

OneDrive users can jump straight to default locations in their local OneDrive folder using these shortcuts:

• shell:OneDrive
• shell:OneDriveDocuments
• shell:OneDrivePictures
• shell:OneDriveMusic
• shell:OneDriveCameraRoll

You can use shell: shortcuts to navigate to some common Control Panel locations. Use shell:ControlPanelFolder to open the All Control Panel Items page, sorted alphabetically. Enter shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder to open the Programs and Features page, which lists all installed desktop programs, or try shell:Applications to see an alphabetical list of shortcuts to every installed program and utility.

Finally, use shell:PrintersFolder and shell:Fonts to see a full list of installed printers and fonts, respectively.

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