VS2008 Web Server Here Shell Extension

One of the most useful registry hacks I use on a regular basis is one Robert McLaws wrote, the “ASP.NET 2.0 Web Server Here” Shell Extension. This shell extension adds a right click menu on any folder that will start WebDev.WebServer.exe (aka Cassini) pointing to that directory.

I recently had to repave my work machine and I couldn’t find the .reg file I created that would recreate this shell extension. When I brought up Robert’s page, I noticed that the settings he has are out of date for Visual Studio 2008.

Here is the updated registry settings for VS2008 (note, edit the registry at your own risk and this only has the works on my machine seal of approval).

32 bit (x86)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VS2008 WebServer]

@="ASP.NET Web Server Here"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VS2008 WebServer\command]

@="C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\microsoft shared\\DevServer

\\9.0\\Webdev.WebServer.exe /port:8080 /path:\"%1\""

64 bit (x64)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VS2008 WebServer]

@="ASP.NET Web Server Here"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Directory\shell\VS2008 WebServer\command]

@="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Common Files\\microsoft shared\\DevServer

\\9.0\\Webdev.WebServer.exe /port:8080 /path:\"%1\""

For convenience, here is a zip file containing the reg files. The x64 one I tested on my machine. The x86 one I did not. If you installed Visual Studio into a non-standard directory, you might have to change the path within the registry file.