Using "start" in command prompt

Hello

I understand what the %path% and %pathext% variables are.

typing: "notepad" or "calc" in the command prompt from any directory will open notepad.exe and calc.exe because their directories are in %path% and ".exe" is in %pathext%.

On the other hand "wordpad.exe" and "chrome.exe are not in %path% so typing "wordpad" or "chrome" from a random directory doesn't work.

however, typing "start wordpad" or "start chrome" does work. How come? How does the start command know where to find the executables?

Thanks in advance!

I don't have chrome installed but I do have wordpad installed and I can simply type Wordpad, hit enter and Wordpad starts.

Wordpad is very much located in the path (C:\windows\system32\write.exe), thats why it opens from the run box.

Typing write works
Typing wordpad doesn't work (seems to work for karlsnooks)
Typing "start wordpad" works! My question is how come.

I figured it out. When you use the start command, in addition to looking in the %path% it looks at all file types.

For example if I type "ftype" in the command line, I get:

ChromeHTML="C:\Users\Ralph\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" -- "%1"
...
Wordpad.Document.1="%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\WORDPAD.EXE" "%1"

I tested out other programs to confirm:
"start iexplore"
"start winamp"

As long as there is a subkey for the program under this registry key, it can be launched from the Run box.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths

This is not true from a Command Prompt.Try this from the run box or a Command Prompt (all on one line):

cmd /c reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths" /s > app_paths.txt & notepad app_paths.txt & del app_paths.txt

Notepad will open with the contents of that registry key then delete the file when you close notepad.