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Asked: 2026-05-18T08:29:52+00:00

When I install real editions, the command prompt exists as a tool, but not

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When I install “real” editions, the command prompt exists as a tool, but not in the express edition?

How can I open the special command prompt, and have easier access to the various command-line tools that ship with Visual Studio and the .NET framework?

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  1. Editorial Team

    The VS command prompt is not a standaloneshell, but the standard cmd.exe with some EnvironmentVariables setup — through vcvarsall.bat

    Charmingly, vcvarsall.bat only ships with the c++ edition, and resides in the Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC folder.

    So if you haven’t installed VS c++ Express — and you want to access the shell, you probably have to install VS c++ Express; that’s what I did, anyway.

    1. Select Tools >> External Tools in Visual Studio.
    2. Click Add
    3. Fill in the Title – I used Visual Studio Command &Prompt (C is already assigned to Customize)
    4. Command: cmd.exe (should already be on your PATH)
    5. Arguments: /k "\path\to\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\vcvarsall.bat"
    6. Pick an Initial directory. I used $(ProjectDir)
    7. Click OK

    alt text

    I have these notes @ http://www.xradiograph.com/Programming/VisualStudioExpress which were in turn adapted from http://visualbasic.about.com/b/2010/08/17/the-visual-studio-command-prompt.htm and other sources

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