using windows explorer command line options - /root and /select

(using WinXP Pro SP2)

This MSKB article explains how to use the /root and /select options to customize windows explorer shortcuts. While using either just /root or just /select work as prescribed, I'm having no luck trying to use them in conjunction.

What I would like is to open a two-pane explorer window which has, for example,

left pane root: C:
left pane selected (= right pane content): C:\Windows
right pane selected: don't care​

Using "explorer.exe /e,/root,c:" gives

left pane root: C:
left pane selected: C:
right pane selected: - (focus on left pane)​

Using "explorer.exe /e,/select,c:\windows\temp" gives

left pane root: Desktop
left pane selected: C:\Windows
right pane selected: C:\Windows\Temp​

Simply combining them in sequence, as one would assume should give the desired result, doesn't work though:
Using "explorer.exe /e,/root,c:,/select,c:\windows\temp" gives

left pane root: Desktop
left pane selected: C:\Windows
right pane selected: C:\Windows\Temp​

Just as if the /root option had been omitted.

Noting that the fourth example in the article uses just "select" rather than "/select" and that other sites used different punctuations of the command, I tried all combinations of spaces, commas and slashes that I could come up with. Those that didn't produce errors listed below - none of them does what I want, sadly:

Using "/root,c: select c:\windows" or "/root,c: /select c:\windows" gives

left pane root: Desktop
left pane selected: C:
right pane selected: - ​

Using "/root,c: select,c:\windows" or "/root,c: /select,c:\windows" gives

left pane root: Desktop
left pane selected: C:\Windows
right pane selected: - ​

Am I doing something wrong? Or do I just have to accept that for some
reason /root and /select don't actually work together the way one
would think they should?

TIA,

TeraBlight

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ps: [post=212928]This post[/post] makes it sound like /root and /select are to be used as alternatives only, which would explain why I'm not having success. However, the MSKB article specifically includes an example that uses both, so I'm still not sure what to make of all this...

 

Try this:

%windir%\EXPLORER.EXE /e,/root,C:\Windows

 

Well, that does what it's supposed to do, but I want C: and not C:\Windows as left pane root...

 

Sorry, but that's impossible.

 

If you have an urgent need to do that, you can make a batch file that will open two sessions of Explorer and have them tiled so that the root is opened on one and the Windows directory on the other:

%windir%\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/root,C:\
%windir%\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/root,C:\Windows

Copy/paste those two lines into a Notepad session and save it as NameMe.bat

You can reverse the order of the lines if need be to get the screens on whatever side you want them.

When you first run it, you will need to right click the vacant area of your Taskbar and select the Tile option (vertically or horizontally) that suits you. Thereafter upon opening it will stay tiles until you change the setting in one of the windows.

You could make any number of variations of that batch to suit your purposes.

HTH