With the most recent versions of Windows, Microsoft introduced the new Windows Terminal, an application that acts as a repository for a wide range of command line interfaces. Next to the new one terminal windowuseful for performing cmdlet and PowerShell scripts, users can use the more traditional command prompt (cmd), but also Azure Cloud Shell and interact with installed Linux distributions thanks to WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Windows Terminal offers a convenient tabbed interface: this means that you can, for example, execute instructions from the command line with cmd while interacting with the GNU/Linux bash.
Microsoft abandons Legacy Console Mode
In December 2023, Microsoft announced that the Legacy Console Mode it now becomes a shelved and no longer supported solution. The change affects all future versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Users interested in restoring this mode can possibly use the section Manage optional features of the operating system.
Legacy Console Modehowever, is a compatibility tool developed by Microsoft to allowrunning command line applications older versions that may not work properly with newer versions of the Windows Command Prompt.
For the vast majority of users this is not a problem: the Legacy Console Mode it was in fact disabled by default. It could be enabled by right-clicking in the address bar of the command prompt window, clicking on Options and finally ticking the box Use legacy console below.
Because saying goodbye to the Legacy Console is not a problem
For years, those who have used the command prompt of Windows, came up against significant limitations. Think, for example, of difficulties when resizing the window or the inability to use the key combination CTRL+V to paste text into the Command Prompt screen.
There is no reason to look back and return to the Legacy Console: primarily because the window that appears when typing already exists cmd for example, it allows you to use a series of shortcuts very useful for text management:
CTRL + A – Select all contents of the prompt window
CTRL + C – Copy text
CTRL + F – Find text
CTRL + M – Select text
CTRL + V – Paste text
CTRL + ↑/↓ – Scroll line by line in both directions
CTRL + Pag. su/Pag. giù – Scrolls the contents of the paged prompt window
With the key combination MAIUSC multiple arrows, you can select specific text strings, you can manage carriage returns, automatically convert symbols and special characters (for example you can remove tabs and convert English quotes…). All things that are not available in the Legacy Console Mode. This is why its abandonment does not represent a problem and the farewell to this functionality should absolutely not be confused with the classic command prompt, which always remains present and available in Windows.