SpecialFoldersView v1.26 - Easily jump to special folders in Windows
Copyright (c) 2008 - 2016 Nir Sofer

See Also

  • NK2Edit - Edit, merge and repair the AutoComplete files (.NK2) of Microsoft Outlook.

Description

Windows operating system have dozens of special folders that are used for storing application settings and files, storing Internet files, saving temporary files, storing shortcuts to other files, and so on.
This utility displays the list of all special folders in your system, and allows you to easily jump to the right folder simply by double-clicking the folder item. You can also save the list of all folder paths into text/html/xml file.

System Requirements

This utility works on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10. Both 32-bit and 64-bit systems are supported. There is also a separated non-unicode download for Windows 98/ME.

Versions History

  • Version 1.26:
    • Added 'Copy Environment String Path'.
  • Version 1.25:
    • Added 'Environment String Path' column, which displays the folder path using environment variables, like %USERPROFILE% , %APPDATA%.
  • Version 1.21:
    • Added support for 'Downloads' folder. (Windows 7 and Windows 8)
  • Version 1.20:
    • Added support for 3 folders on 64-bit systems: Program Files x86, Program Files - Common x86, and System Directory x86. (Works only on the x64 build)
    • Added 'Mark Odd/Even Rows' option, under the View menu. When it's turned on, the odd and even rows are displayed in different color, to make it easier to read a single line.
    • Fixed issue: The properties dialog-box and other windows opened in the wrong monitor, on multi-monitors system.
  • Version 1.15 - Added support for 'Quick Launch' folder.
  • Version 1.14 - Fixed issue: Removed the wrong encoding from the xml string, which caused problems to some xml viewers.
  • Version 1.13 - Fixed the icons problem on Windows 7/x64.
  • Version 1.12 - Added sorting command-line options, and the documentation for command-line options that was missed in the previous versions.
  • Version 1.11 - Added 'Read Only' and 'System' attributes. Also Added a separated version for x64 systems.
  • Version 1.10 - Added 'Folder Properties' option, and 'My Documents' folder that I missed in the previous versions.
  • Version 1.05 - Added 'CSIDL Name' column.
  • Version 1.04 - Add CSIDL (Folder ID) of each folder.
  • Version 1.03 - Added option to select another font.
  • Version 1.02 - New options: Create shortcuts on dekstop.
  • Version 1.01 - When saving as HTML, the folder paths are created as links.
  • Version 1.00 - First release.

Using SpecialFoldersView

SpecialFoldersView doesn't require any installation process or additional DLL files. In order to start using it, simply run the executable file - SpecialFoldersView.exe
The main window of SpecialFoldersView displays the list of all special folders in your system. In order to open the desired folder in Explorer, simply double-click the desired folder item.

Special Folders List Sample

In the following example, you can find the list of all special folders in typical installation of Windows XP with 'Administrator' user. This list was created by using SpecialFoldersView:
Folder Name Folder Path CSIDL CSIDL Name
Application DataC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Application Data0x1aCSIDL_APPDATA
CD BurningC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning0x3bCSIDL_CDBURN_AREA
Common Administrative ToolsC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools0x2fCSIDL_COMMON_ADMINTOOLS
Common Application DataC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data0x23CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA
Common DesktopC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop0x19CSIDL_COMMON_DESKTOPDIRECTORY
Common DocumentsC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents0x2eCSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS
Common FavoritesC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Favorites0x1fCSIDL_COMMON_FAVORITES
Common MusicC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Music0x35CSIDL_COMMON_MUSIC
Common PicturesC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Pictures0x36CSIDL_COMMON_PICTURES
Common Start MenuC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu0x16CSIDL_COMMON_STARTMENU
Common Start Menu ProgramsC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs0x17CSIDL_COMMON_PROGRAMS
Common StartupC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup0x18CSIDL_COMMON_STARTUP
Common TemplatesC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Templates0x2dCSIDL_COMMON_TEMPLATES
Common VideoC:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Videos0x37CSIDL_COMMON_VIDEO
CookiesC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Cookies0x21CSIDL_COOKIES
DesktopC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop0x10CSIDL_DESKTOPDIRECTORY
FavoritesC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Favorites0x06CSIDL_FAVORITES
FontsC:\WINDOWS\Fonts0x14CSIDL_FONTS
HistoryC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\History0x22CSIDL_HISTORY
Local Application DataC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data0x1cCSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA
My DocumentsC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents0x05CSIDL_PERSONAL
My MusicC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Music0x0dCSIDL_MYMUSIC
My PicturesC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Pictures0x27CSIDL_MYPICTURES
NetHoodC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\NetHood0x13CSIDL_NETHOOD
PrintHoodC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\PrintHood0x1bCSIDL_PRINTHOOD
Profile FolderC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator0x28CSIDL_PROFILE
Program FilesC:\Program Files0x26CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES
Program Files - CommonC:\Program Files\Common Files0x2bCSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES_COMMON
RecentC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Recent0x08CSIDL_RECENT
Send ToC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\SendTo0x09CSIDL_SENDTO
Start MenuC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Start Menu0x0bCSIDL_STARTMENU
Start Menu ProgramsC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Start Menu\Programs0x02CSIDL_PROGRAMS
StartupC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Start Menu\Programs\Startup0x07CSIDL_STARTUP
System DirectoryC:\WINDOWS\system320x25CSIDL_SYSTEM
TemplatesC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Templates0x15CSIDL_TEMPLATES
Temporary FolderC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\  
Temporary Internet FilesC:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files0x20CSIDL_INTERNET_CACHE
Windows DirectoryC:\WINDOWS0x24CSIDL_WINDOWS

Command-Line Options

/stext <Filename> Save the list of all special folders into a regular text file.
/stab <Filename> Save the list of all special folders into a tab-delimited text file.
/scomma <Filename> Save the list of all special folders into a comma-delimited text file (csv).
/stabular <Filename> Save the list of all special folders into a tabular text file.
/shtml <Filename> Save the list of all special folders into HTML file (Horizontal).
/sverhtml <Filename> Save the list of all special folders into HTML file (Vertical).
/sxml <Filename> Save the list of all special folders to XML file.
/sort <column> This command-line option can be used with other save options for sorting by the desired column. If you don't specify this option, the list is sorted according to the last sort that you made from the user interface. The <column> parameter can specify the column index (0 for the first column, 1 for the second column, and so on) or the name of the column, like "Folder Name" and "Folder Path". You can specify the '~' prefix character (e.g: "~Folder Name") if you want to sort in descending order. You can put multiple /sort in the command-line if you want to sort by multiple columns.

Examples:
SpecialFoldersView.exe /shtml "f:\temp\folders.html" /sort 2 /sort ~1
SpecialFoldersView.exe /shtml "f:\temp\folders.html" /sort "Type" /sort "Name"

/nosort When you specify this command-line option, the list will be saved without any sorting.

Translating SpecialFoldersView to other languages

In order to translate SpecialFoldersView to other language, follow the instructions below:
  1. Run SpecialFoldersView with /savelangfile parameter:
    SpecialFoldersView.exe /savelangfile
    A file named SpecialFoldersView_lng.ini will be created in the folder of SpecialFoldersView utility.
  2. Open the created language file in Notepad or in any other text editor.
  3. Translate all string entries to the desired language. Optionally, you can also add your name and/or a link to your Web site. (TranslatorName and TranslatorURL values) If you add this information, it'll be used in the 'About' window.
  4. After you finish the translation, Run SpecialFoldersView, and all translated strings will be loaded from the language file.
    If you want to run SpecialFoldersView without the translation, simply rename the language file, or move it to another folder.

License

This utility is released as freeware. You are allowed to freely distribute this utility via floppy disk, CD-ROM, Internet, or in any other way, as long as you don't charge anything for this. If you distribute this utility, you must include all files in the distribution package, without any modification !

Disclaimer

The software is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The author will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential or indirect damages due to loss of data or any other reason.

Feedback

If you have any problem, suggestion, comment, or you found a bug in my utility, you can send a message to nirsofer@yahoo.com

Download SpecialFoldersView for Windows 2000/XP/2003/2008/Vista/7
Download SpecialFoldersView for x64
Download non-unicode version of SpecialFoldersView - for Windows 98/ME
SpecialFoldersView is also available in other languages. In order to change the language of SpecialFoldersView, download the appropriate language zip file, extract the 'specialfoldersview_lng.ini', and put it in the same folder that you Installed SpecialFoldersView utility.

LanguageTranslated ByDateVersion
Arabic housamz.com29/04/2009 
Czech Damned06/01/2013 
Danish Ole Lundsgaard14/12/2009 
DutchJan Verheijen20/01/20161.26
Dutch Sander Lambregts24/04/20091.10
French Eric FICHOT10/10/20141.25
French Papoo29/12/20131.25
Galician Xosé Antón Vicente Rodríguez24/06/2008 
German «Latino» auf WinTotal.de17/01/20161.26
Greek geogeo.gr23/12/20131.41
HungarianTiminoun12/12/2022v1.26
Italian Alessandro Viscone13/09/2011 
Korean 도움돌18/03/2014 
Persian DinoTechno26/03/2022 
Polish localizr.net18/12/2008 
Portuguese PortugalClimatac LTD30/11/2023 
Romanian Jaff (Oprea Nicolae)05/02/20161.26
RussianiNorbert && Dm.Yerokhin16/01/20161.26
Simplified Chinese th_sjy08/08/20161.26
Simplified Chinese Lewen@博雅宇轩26/09/20101.14
SlovakFrantišek Fico13/02/20171.26
Spanish arquer.net22/05/2009 
SwedishI.K.l04/06/20171.26
Traditional Chinese Danfong Hsieh22/01/2016 
Turkish Indeks.Gen.Tr04/09/2009 
Turkish Indeks.Gen.Tr10/09/2011 
Valencian vjatv22/05/2008