FG

What algorithm does the Windows Run Dialog use?

Fresh3 days ago
Mar 15, 2026356 views
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Problem

I have a set of files (".r2w") extensions, that have a file association with Attachmate Reflection. I have several of these in a folder, which I've added to the PATH. I've also added .r2w to PATHEXT. This setup appears to be correct for cmd.exe, but does not work from the Run dialog (Win+R). For ex…

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Fix for: What algorithm does the Windows Run Dialog use?

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Well, the run dialog != the NT command interpretter. But my guess is that it uses the same algorithm as ShellExecuteEx. I remember an Old New Thing blog post that shows how you could mimic some of the functionality of the Run Dialog box's search by …

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