Windows has always come with a little command line tool called SUBST. This command line utility is used to create virtual drives that point to folders on the local drives. Using this command line tool is very easy but if you are not familiar with the command line interface then it can be a hurdle for you.
ExtraSubst is a GUI front-end for using the SUBST command line tool. It makes using SUBST very easy. When we launch ExtraSubst, it displays all the available local drives in the Drive Explorer. This list also includes the virtual drives created using the SUBST command.
In another list it displays all the available drive letters which can be used by the SUBST command. We can use these available drive letters for creating virtual drives. After we have selected one of these available drive letters from the list, we have to select the folder to which these drive letters are going to point.
For selecting the folder path, we have to click on the “New Disk” icon. As soon as we select the folder, ExtraSubst creates the virtual drive using the selected drive letter. It also subsequently mounts the newly created virtual drive. We can access this new virtual drive from the Windows File Explorer just like any other drive.
All the virtual drives based on the SUBST command are displayed in the ExtraSubst window. We can mount or unmount them as we please any time. We can also delete these virtual drives anytime we want. It also displays the status of the disk whether it is mounted or if it is busy. A busy drive cannot be unmounted because it is being used.
ExtraSubst offers a graphical user interface for the SUBST command. It makes it very easy to create, delete or manage the virtual drives on a Windows PC. It works on all versions of Windows including Windows 11.
You can download ExtraSubst from https://www.wintools.net/extrasubst/.