Tip - Make Command Line Easier to Read

Posted By: Sarah Perez | Apr 25th, 2008 @ 11:31 AM

I just saw this tip for developers over on the IEBlog, but I think it's safe to say that is handy for anyone who uses command line whether they are developers, net admins, or just your average geek. The tip involves how to turn on the Consolas font, a ClearType font) for use in the CMD.EXE window. You don't get as many lines on a screen, but this font is much easier to read. Make the change is really not too hard, just follow these steps below:

Launch the command prompt (in Vista, launch it with elevated privileges)
Type in the command window: reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Console\TrueTypeFont" /v 00 /d Consolas
Logoff
When you log back in, Consolas will be an option in the “Command Prompt” Properties for you to choose.

The IEBlog has screenshots showing the before and after so you can see what a difference this makes. Save your eyes and make the switch!

Tags: ClearType, CMD, command line, fonts, hacks, reghack, registry, tips

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Comments (2)

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Kittyburgers

I don't know what I did wrong (and it really can't be that difficult, can it?) - for the life of me, I can't figure out why this just didn't work for me, even after rebooting.

sarahintampa

In reply to Kittyburgers

#Apr 29th, 2008 @ 2:05 AM

After you do the reg hack, you still have to go in there and change the font - the hack is to give you the option but it doesn't change the font itself...just a guess?