Question: How can I open a cmd window in a specific location without having to navigate all the way to the directory I want?

Answer: 
Use the /K switch. For example

```

cmd /K "cd /d c:\WINDOWS\"

```

Will create a cmd window at the C:\Windows directory
For windows 7 or later, inside the target folder address bar just type cmd. That is it. It will open up command prompt with path set to your present directory.