How to turn your Windows Command Prompt (CMD.exe) into a powerful tool.

By default, the Windows command line is not well configured: not enough lines of scrollback, no QuickEdit mode, etc., therefore many people don't use it. but with a few steps, some how-to-use knowledge, and tools like Swiss File Knife and Depeche View, working with the command line is faster than anything else.

Configure the Windows Command Prompt this way:

  1. create a command line shortcut on your desktop:

  - over Start/Programs/Accessories/Command Prompt,
 press right mouse button, then select Copy.
  - go to an empty place on the desktop.
  - select Paste.

  2. on the new desktop shortcut, press right mouse button,
then select Properties.

  3. in the Command Prompt Properties, set
  - Options: activate QuickEdit and Insert mode.
  - Font   : select 7 x 12
  - Layout : Screen buffer size: Width 160, Height 3000
          Window size       : Width 160, Height   30

  4. close Properties by clicking OK.

  5. double-click on the Command Prompt icon to open a shell.

Now you have a well configured power shell:

- any command output is remembered up to 3000 lines,
  so even with long directory listings, you can always scroll back.

- you may select any text you see with the left mouse button, then
  click right button to copy the text to clipboard.

- once you copied something to clipboard, click right button again
  to paste text from clipboard. this way you can copy/paste file-
  names very quickly in the command prompt, running file copies etc.
  much faster than by any explorer click-around.

- to pause a program that dumps output to the shell,
  do a dummy-select of text with the left mouse button.
  to continue program execution, press right button, or enter.

Automatic Command Completion

Question: how do you enter the directory VeryMuchToTypeFooBarSystem ?

Answer 1: type "cd verymuchtotypefoobarsystem"

 this is actually what most users do, and it's a waste of time.

Answer 2: type "cd very" and then press the TAB key.

 since Windows XP, command completion is default.

Under Win98, completion it is NOT default, but can be activated through regedit:

set the registry entry
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft
Command Processor
CompletionChar
to value    9     which is the code of the TAB key.

Using the free Swiss File Knife

Now that you're on the command line level, have a look at the multi-function tool
sfk and the realtime text viewer depeche view, and experience how power searching
and processing of whole directory trees can boost up your daily work.