Is there a way to determine the .NET Framework version from the command line?

Question

To troubleshoot an installation, sometimes I just want a quick answer to what version of .NET is installed.

Is there a way to determine the .NET Framework version on a standard Windows system, other than looking at the directories?

NOTE: This is not for a development machine, just out-of-the-box windows

The following works, but I'm looking for a simpler way.

dir %WINDIR%\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v*

Directory of C:\Windows\Microsoft.Net\Framework

07/13/2009  07:20 PM    <DIR>          v1.0.3705
07/13/2009  07:20 PM    <DIR>          v1.1.4322
01/20/2010  01:16 PM    <DIR>          v2.0.50727
07/13/2009  09:37 PM    <DIR>          v3.0
01/20/2010  01:02 PM    <DIR>          v3.5
02/10/2010  03:20 AM    <DIR>          v4.0.21006

UPDATE: Not a solution, but another cool directory formatted listing

dir %WINDIR%\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v* /O:-N /B

v4.0.21006
v3.5
v3.0
v2.0.50727
v1.1.4322
v1.0.3705

Answer 1

reg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP" /s /v version | findstr /i version | sort /+26 /r

The top entry is the latest version of the framework installed.

Note: This doesn't work with v1.x of the framework.

Update: I missed the comment that you are looking for something to tell your dad over the phone. If that's the case, the command above is probably not the best approach for you. You might be better off just telling your dad to open Windows Explorer and navigate him to the .NET Framework dir and telling you the numbers in there.