This list is too good to keep to myself. I’ve been using several of these for years, but there are so many more than I ever knew — many for directories that are incredibly difficult to reach by navigating the folder tree directly.
Shell folders: the best-kept Windows time saving secret
Handy shortcuts to just about any Windows system folder
Most of these shell folder aliases exist in all modern versions of Windows, but TechRadar has noted a version for each alias. Windows 10 removes some of the old ones, mostly due to the continued destruction of the Vista-era Control Panel task centers.
These shortcuts are sure to be useful to any power user or IT pro, and just found a home in my OneNote.
shell:ConnectionsFolder (same as ncpa.cpl)
Open the list of Network Connections
shell:ProgramFiles
Open the Program Files folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:ProgramFilesX86
Displays 32-bit programs stored on 64-bit Windows, or the \Program Files folder on 32-bit Windows
shell:My Music
Open the user Music folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:CommonMusic
Open the Public Music folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:SampleMusic
Open the Sample Music folder
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
shell:My Pictures
Open the user Pictures folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:CommonPictures
Open the Public Pictures folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:SamplePictures
Open the Sample Pictures folder
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
shell:SamplePlaylists
Open the Sample Playlists folder
Applies to Vista
shell:Original Images
Open the folder containing the original versions of images tweaked by Windows Photo Gallery, if installed
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:PhotoAlbums
Open the user Pictures\Slide Shows folder (if present)
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
shell:Podcasts
Open the user Podcasts folder (if Zune is installed)
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:My Video
Open the user Videos folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:CommonVideo
Open the Public Video folder
Applies to XP, Vista, 7, 8
shell:SampleVideos
Open the Sample Videos folder
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
Windows Sync Centre
shell:ConflictFolder
Displays Sync Centre Conflicts
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
shell:SyncCenterFolder
Displays Sync Centre
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
shell:SyncResultsFolder
Displays Sync Centre Results
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
shell:SyncSetupFolder
Open the Sync Centre Setup options
Applies to Vista, 7, 8
System folders
shell:AppUpdatesFolder
Displays installed Windows Updates
shell:Common AppData
Open the Public Application Data folder
shell:Common Desktop
Open the Public Desktop
shell:Common Documents
Open the Public Documents folder
shell:CommonDownloads
Open the Public Downloads folder
shell:Common Programs
Open the Public Start Menu Programs folder
shell:CommonRingtones
Open the Public ringtones folder. This should contain some sample files
shell:Common Start Menu
Open the Public Start Menu folder
shell:Common Startup
Open the Public Startup folder
shell:Common Templates
Open the Public Templates folder
shell:Fonts
Open the Fonts folder
shell:Games
Open the Games folder
shell:HomeGroupFolder
Open the HomeGroup folder (applies to 7, 8)
shell:MyComputerFolder
Open the Computer folder
shell:OEM Links
Displays links provided by your PC manufacturer (if any)
shell:NetworkPlacesFolder
Open the Network Places folder
shell:PrintersFolder
Open the Printers folder
shell:Public
Open the Users\Public folder for quick access to public Music, Downloads, Pictures and more
shell:PublicGameTasks
Open the Public Game Explorer folder
shell:ResourceDir
Open the Windows Resources folder (themes are stored here)
shell:RecycleBinFolder
Open the Recycle Bin
shell:System
Open the Windows System folder
shell:Systemx86
Open the Windows System folder for 32-bit files on 64-bit Windows, or \Windows\System32 on 32-bit Windows
shell:UserProfiles
Open the folder holding all user profiles
shell:Windows
Open the Windows installation folder (usually \Windows)
shell:DocumentsLibrary
Open the Documents library
shell:Libraries
Open the Libraries folder
shell:MusicLibrary
Displays your Music library
shell:PicturesLibrary
Displays your Pictures library
shell:Podcast Library
shell:PublicLibraries
Displays public libraries, if any
shell:VideosLibrary
Displays your Videos library
shell:AppData
Open the user Application Data folder
shell:CD Burning
Open the folder where files are stored before being burned to disc
shell:Contacts
Open the user Windows Contacts folder
shell:CredentialManager
Open the user Credentials folder
shell:Cryptokeys
Open the user encryption keys folder
shell:CSCFolder
Open the Client Side Cache Offline Files folder, if supported
shell:Desktop
Open the user desktop folder
shell:Downloads
Open the user downloads folder
shell:DpAPIKeys
Opens the users AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Protect folder
shell:GameTasks
Open the user Game Explorer folder
shell:History
Open the user History folder
shell:ImplicitAppShortcuts
Open the hidden ImplicitAppShortcuts folder
shell:Links
Open the user Links folder
shell:Local AppData
Open the user Application Data folder
shell:NetHood
Open the user Network Places folder
shell:Personal
Open the user Documents folder
shell:Playlists
Open the user \Music\Playlists folder
shell:PrintHood
Open the user printer shortcuts folder
shell:Profile
Open the user profile folder
shell:Programs
Open the user Start Menu Programs folder
shell:Quick Launch
Open the Quick Launch folder
shell:Recent
Open the user’s Recent Documents folder
shell:Ringtones
Display the user’s Ringtones folder
shell:SavedGames
Open the Saved Games folder
shell:Searches
Open the saved searches folder
shell:SendTo
Open the user Send To folder
shell:Start Menu
Open the user Start Menu folder
shell:Startup
Open the user Startup folder
shell:SystemCertificates
Open the user certificates folder
shell:Templates
Open the user Templates folder
shell:User Pinned
Access shortcuts pinned to the Start menu or Taskbar
shell:UserTiles
Displays your user tiles (the images you can use for your account)
shell:PublicUserTiles
Open the Public user tiles folder
shell:Roaming Tiles
Displays further user tiles