up vote 8 down vote favorite
2
share [g+] share [fb]

Resizing is one of the biggest problems I face with the default Windows command prompt. Are there are any free/open source alternatives available?

link|improve this question
89% accept rate
6  
You should consider learning Powershell and use Powershell ISE. ;-) – Tom Wijsman Sep 4 '09 at 11:31
feedback

7 Answers

up vote 14 down vote accepted

ColorConsole is my 'Windows “cmd” Replacement' of choice (actually it's just a GUI wrapper around cmd.exe, not a replacement in the strict sense).

alt text

Features:

Favorites commands

Export to HTML and RTF

Copy,Paste,Cut...

Change font style and color

Tabbed Interface with multi cmd.exe

Fast folder switch

and of course it is resizeable to your likings :)

ColorConsole is freeware and portable.

link|improve this answer
gotte love these downvoters who don't have the courtesy (or is it guts?) to leave a comment. maybe they're just of severely limited intellectual prowess and thus not worth my while, whatever ... – Molly7244 Sep 4 '09 at 12:47
seems a bit bloated to me. Export to HTML? and why the extra command toolbar when the entire window is a command shell? – hasen j Sep 8 '09 at 13:02
i wouldn't consider some 190 kilobytes of code a bloated piece of software. and why not export to HTML/RTF? it's perfect if you need to post/print/keep records of certain commands/results (e.g. netstat, ping, ipconfig /all, to name but a few), unless you prefer the good old screenshot ... but then, everyone to their own. :) – Molly7244 Sep 8 '09 at 14:25
+1, Molly. Because It's free, because it adds lots of features, because you answered the question like everyone else and because downvoters can't win! – A Dwarf Sep 17 '09 at 0:26
-1 It doesn't even support tab for auto-completion... – CyberSnoopy Oct 26 '09 at 4:47
feedback
up vote 10 down vote

If you right click on the title bar you can get to a properties dialog where you can control the fonts, window size and colours etc.

And as Alex points out you can apply the settings to all future command windows, not just the current window.

link|improve this answer
4  
And when you've done that, apply the settings to all windows, not just the current window. That way, the settings become permanent. – alex Sep 4 '09 at 10:34
feedback
up vote 9 down vote

console2 is an open-source console window enhancement.

Note that it's not technically a replacement for cmd.exe as it still uses it in the back to do the real work. Actually it can be configured to use other shells such as bash or powershell.

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 5 down vote

The intuitive "mode" command lets you change the size:

mode 250,80

just about fills my 1680x1050 screen. You could have a batch file that says

cmd.exe /k "mode 250,80"

and launch from there.

link|improve this answer
4  
HKCR\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\Autorun – grawity Sep 4 '09 at 12:39
ooh, brilliant, thanks for that :) – Phoshi Sep 4 '09 at 12:49
Never heard of that switch – Daniel A. White Sep 4 '09 at 13:01
1  
if you do a cmd /? it'll give you a lovely array of fancy things it can do :) – Phoshi Sep 4 '09 at 13:34
i wonder why only cmd.exe is not resizable to fullscreen on Windows Vista!! – Lazer Sep 16 '09 at 22:37
feedback
up vote 4 down vote

It is not cmd you want to replace, it is the console itself. cmd.exe is like /bin/bash - reads commands, prints output. Windows Console is like xterm - displays everything inside a window. These two are independent of each other.

I like "console".

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 4 down vote

Been using 4NT and Take Command from jpsoftware.com for years and years, that is, when I'm on Windows.

Otherwise, it is "the one true shell" - tcsh!

link|improve this answer
Indeed. TC is one excellent console for windows. – A Dwarf Sep 17 '09 at 0:23
sad it's not free. – CyberSnoopy Oct 26 '09 at 4:58
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

TCC/LE is a free compatible replacement for CMD, and works very nicely within Console2.

TCC/LE

link|improve this answer
@lambdor: I reverted your edit, as I don't think TCC/LE is a wrapper for CMD. It is an independent replacement shell as far as I can see. Console2 is a wrapper. – paradroid Sep 5 '11 at 11:33
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.