Path is an environment variable which specifies the set of directories where executable programs are located. Every executing path has its own PATH string. The commonly used programs can run easily using the PATH command . But if it is not used properly it can even slow down the performance of your computer. When we run a program without specifying the complete path, Windows will look in the paths given in the PATH variable and will try to find the executable we are trying to run. If it doesn’t find the complete application path from there, it will give an error that it is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. Either we will need to specify the full path of the program or we can add the folder where this program is located to the PATH variable. Before adding path to the context menu, it is important to know the concept of environment variables. Environment variables are the variables which tells the environment in which the programs run. They can tell you where is you window installed or what is your current working directory? where are temporary files installed?. Each environment variable contains a variable name and its value. There are two types of variables.
System variablesUser variables
User variables contain information specific to the user account like your user profile information and the temporary files installed on your account while the system variables stores the information same to all user accounts i-e the information related to your system not related to any specific user like where is your windows or system path installed. Path is also an environment variable which comes under both system and user environment variables. Some programs require to know the path of the specific program. You need not to add the path in most cases . The system or user software do that automatically. However, sometimes you require to explicitly mention the path in the environment variables.
Add to Path to Context menu
You can add “Add to path” option in the menu using the following method.
Add to Path through Command Line
Alternatively, if you do not want to install any tool or add anything in the registry file you can add path through command line. Though this is quick but you have to add path for each installation separately. In order to add path through command line, open command prompt and type the following command setx path “%path%;c:\DirectoryPath” For example , if you want to add c:\Users\yourusername to the path variable type the following command setx path “%path%;c:\Users\YourUsername”
The path variable is mostly managed in the background and the system and user software take care of it but for some programs or software you have to add the path manually otherwise your operating system will not work properly and it can result in error if you changed any system or user variable path mistakenly. In such cases, this add to path variable in the context menu can be quite handy. It’s up to you whether you wan to install a software to add the variable in the context menu or you want to add it using command prompt. Also see:
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