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Enable new Command Prompt features in Windows 10

Posted July 2015 by Steve Sinchak

Command Prompt in Windows 10 includes a number of new and very useful features that are disabled by default for compatibility reasons.  When enabled, these new features allow you to use standard copy and paste keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V), easily select text across multiple lines, resize the console width beyond 80 characters, add transparency to the Command Prompt window, and much more.

To get started enabling the new Command Prompt features in Windows 10, open up Command Prompt. Then, right click on the icon in the title bar and select Properties.

enable new command prompt features in windows 10

Remove the check next to "Use legacy console (requires relaunch)."

Remove the legacy mode checkbox to enable new features in the Windows 10 Command Prompt

If you want to adjust the window transparency, click on the color tab and adjust the opacity slider on the bottom of the window. When finished, click OK.

Restart Command Prompt and the new features will be activated.

For more information on the new features available, check out this blog post by the program manager of the console development team at Microsoft.  If you would like to influence future development on the Windows 10 command prompt, visit the "user voice" site here.

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