How to Open the Run Command Box in Windows 10
Having quick access to your run command is required when you don’t have easy access to a program you wish to use. Knowing how to open the Run command in Windows 10, allows you to type in the filename of the file you wish to open.
If you know the command very well, it can be a very quick way to open Windows system related programs.
Opening the Run command
Press down and hold your Windows key ⊞ on your keyboard and tap ‘R’.
Alternative methods
1. Using the Start Menu’s contextual menu
Right-click the Start Menu icon and left-click the ‘Run’ option on the menu.
2. From the search in the Start Menu
- Open the Start Menu by left-clicking on the Start Menu icon. If you aren’t sure how on how to do this, please refer to our other article on how to open the Start Menu.
- Type ‘run’.
- Left-click on the ‘Run’ app search result.
What happens after you open the Run command?
Once you have the window opened, type in the path and filename that you wish to run. Left-click on ‘OK’ to run your program.
Other considerations
System files are an example of a program that you could execute in the Run command that doesn’t require the full path.
So, if you have doubts and it is a third party application you wish to open, it’s best to use the full path to the file to be sure.
An example of a full path: C:\Program Files\Installation Folder\Program to run.exe
If you have spaces in the path or filename, as shown in the above example, you will need to include double quotes as the first character and the last.
You will usually get a prompt to tell you that Windows couldn’t find the file. This can be annoying when you know that you have entered it correctly.
So it would look like this instead: “C:\Program Files\Installation Folder\Program to run.exe”.
This will solve the spacing issue and allow you to run your file.
Conclusion
Now you know a few ways to open the Run command window. This will help you open programs quickly that wasn’t easily accessible before.
