Windows – How to add a folder containing a semicolon to the Windows PATH

environment-variablesescape-characterspathwindows

I noticed that the semicolon ; is a valid character for Windows (NTFS) file and directory names.

The semicolon is, however, used as element delimiter for the PATH environment variable.

Say I have a folder called C:\"main() {printf('%d', 42);}" (heh, nice, also contains a percent sign) — how could I add this folder to the system PATH?

Best Answer

Using double quotes works for me:

SET PATH=%PATH%;"C:\main() {printf('%d', 42);}"

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Windows 7 – Prevent System %PATH% from Being Prepended to User %PATH%

If you only need this to work for command prompt sessions, create a profile/init batch file and configure it in the registry, per https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17404165/how-to-run-a-command-on-command-prompt-startup-in-windows. E.g.,

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor" /v AutoRun ^
  /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "%"USERPROFILE"%\init.cmd" /f

Then simply make modifications to the PATH in that batch file. E.g.,

SET USER_PATH=c:\whatever
SET PATH=%USER_PATH%;%PATH%

Windows – How to determine whether a folder in %PATH% is required in Windows 7

There is no reliable way to ensure this. For example an application can insert the custom path while it is installed, and not log it anywhere else, even in it's own settings/files. In this case there is no way to search anywhere else to ensure it is needed or not, and if you remove the path entry it is going to break.

That is about making sure 100% , in practical cases you can remove any entries related to uninstalled programs and directories which no longer exists with a good level of confidence.

Best Answer

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Windows 7 – Prevent System %PATH% from Being Prepended to User %PATH%

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