We all know that you can run PowerShell without opening the Windows PowerShell window, simply by right-clicking on a command and selecting Run As Administrator while selecting the command. We all know that it is possible to open PowerShell in Windows 8 also, by selecting the View More Options button after clicking on the Start button. That is because PowerShell is a task-based Windows application, and runs on Windows 8 like every other Windows task. It is possible to run PowerShell without the Windows PowerShell window, but it isn’t easy or even possible to do so in Windows 8.
One of the many changes in Windows 10 was that PowerShell had been moved from the Windows System32 folder to the Windows command prompt, again. This meant that getting the command prompt to access PowerShell in Windows 10 required some extra work. That was fixed in Windows 8.1, though. And in Windows 10, the command prompt now works in its own window, rather than in an embedded PowerShell window.
PowerShell may be launched in a variety of ways on Windows 11. All of them are included in this article. In Windows 11, PowerShell is a sophisticated scripting terminal tool. Microsoft first released it in 2008. Although Microsoft prefers that you use Windows Terminal as your main terminal program, PowerShell, like Command Prompt, is still accessible.
PowerShell is a scripting language and engine that includes a large number of built-in commands known as “cmdlets.” Cmdlets may be used to accomplish a variety of activities, ranging from basic file operations to text processing to programming and system administration. Furthermore, using just PowerShell, the user may build custom modules and use.NET methods and assemblies to create sophisticated utilities and services.
In Windows 11, open PowerShell.
PowerShell may be launched in a variety of ways on Windows 11. Aside from the Launch menu shortcut, you may start it from the Run dialog, Task Manager, File Explorer, and a variety of other places. Let’s have a look at these approaches.
Unlike Windows 10, which has a separate PowerShell folder in the list of all applications, Windows 11 groups all system tools into a single folder named “Windows Tools.” From that folder, you may run PowerShell.
Follow these steps to launch PowerShell on Windows 11.
- Click the “All Apps” option on the Start menu.
- Locate the “Windows Tools” folder by scrolling down. It should be opened.
- Open PowerShell, PowerShell ISE, or their corresponding x86 variants from the list of tools.
PowerShell may also be launched on Windows 11 via the Run dialog box, Task Manager, or the powershell.exe command in any folder in File Explorer.
Using the command Powershell.exe
- To launch the Run dialog box, press Win + R, then type PowerShell. To run the command, press Ok.
- Similarly to Run, you can open PowerShell in Windows 11 from the Task Manager. Open Task Manager and click File > Run new task.
- In the Run text box, type powershell.
- To access the traditional PowerShell console, click OK.
- Finally, open File Explorer and enter powershell by clicking the address bar. Enter the code.
That’s how you use the same-named command to get into Windows 11 PowerShell.
Using the Terminal in Windows
Windows 11 comes with a new console program named Windows Terminal by default. It comes with many pre-installed profiles, including Command Prompt and PowerShell. PowerShell is the default, therefore you may use it as PowerShell by just opening Windows Terminal.
How to access Windows Terminal on Windows 11 is covered in detail in a separate post. If you need to launch PowerShell as Administrator on Windows 11, the easiest method is to right-click the Start menu button and choose Windows Terminal or Windows Terminal (Admin).
If you changed the default profile in Windows Terminal, click the ‘profiles’ down arrow button and choose PowerShell.
Finally, you may add Windows Terminal profiles to File Explorer’s context menu and start them straight from the current folder, including the traditional PowerShell and the latest PowerShell 7.x.
How to use Search to launch PowerShell on Windows 11
- To launch Windows Search, press Win + S. Alternatively, go to the Start menu and type “search.” Alternatively, you may just enter the Start menu and begin typing.
- Enter PowerShell. The program will appear in the search results on Windows.
- To launch PowerShell on Windows 11, press Enter. Alternatively, if necessary, select Run as Administrator.
PowerShell may be pinned to the Windows 11 taskbar.
If you use PowerShell often on Windows 11, you may pin it to the taskbar to keep it close at hand. To pin PowerShell to the taskbar on Windows 11, just launch it using any of the methods described in this article, right-click the icon on the taskbar, and choose “Pin to taskbar.”
Note: At the time of writing, Microsoft does not enable pinning applications to the taskbar via drag-and-drop for whatever reason. So don’t even attempt to use that technique to pin PowerShell to the taskbar.
How to make a PowerShell shortcut on the desktop
Create a shortcut to PowerShell on the Desktop to launch it on Windows 11.
- Click “All Apps” from the Start menu.
- Locate and open the Windows Tools folder.
- Find PowerShell, PowerShell ISE, or the x86 versions of these programs.
- To create a shortcut, drag PowerShell to the Desktop.
In Windows 11, there’s another method to create a PowerShell shortcut. You may do it manually by following the steps below.
Manually create a PowerShell shortcut
- On the Desktop or any other folder, right-click and select New > Shortcut.
- In the “Type the location…” box of a new window, type PowerShell.exe.
- Next, give your shortcut a relevant name by clicking Next.
- To finish the procedure, click Finish.
Finally, PowerShell may be launched from the context menu of any folder in Windows 11. There is a built-in command for this in File Explorer, but it is buried by default.
Do the following to launch PowerShell from the context menu in Windows 11.
- To do so, hit Win + E on your keyboard.
- Right-click the folder where you want to launch the PowerShell console and choose Open with PowerShell.
- Hold down the Shift key on the keyboard, then choose Show more choices from the drop-down menu.
- Here, choose Open PowerShell.
On Windows 11, this is how you go to PowerShell. You may use whatever technique you want since they all function as well.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I open Windows PowerShell?
Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting environment that runs on Microsoft Windows.
How do I open Command Prompt or PowerShell in Windows?
You can open Command Prompt or PowerShell by typing cmd or powershell in the search bar.
Can I run PowerShell on Windows 10?
PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting language that is available on Windows 10.
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