Change Windows 2000 Professional command console size and buffer

by Jim Boyce | May 25, 2007 2:24:00 PM

Tags: Construction, Jim Boyce, console, window, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Professional Tips Newsletter

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Takeaway: The command console in Windows 2000 Professional can be limiting, showing only a short amount of information in its data field. If you need more characters displayed when working with a task requiring a lot of text, you can change the console settings to increase your window height while keeping a scrollable history handy.

The command console in Windows 2000 Professional defaults to a standard 80-character by 25-line display. For a lot of tasks that's fine, but when you're working with a long directory listing, telnet or ftp session, or other application or task that involves a lot of data, the default display size is rather limiting. Fortunately, you can configure not only the virtual screen size of the console but also the buffer for the console. This means the window can be bigger (such as a 50-line display), but you can keep a scrollable "history" of the console session to see results of directory lists, past commands, etc.

To configure the console settings, open the console window and go to Control | Properties to open the Properties sheet for the console. Click the Layout tab and use the Height control in the Screen Buffer Size group to specify the number of lines to maintain in the buffer, which determines how much you can see of past commands and output when scrolling the window. Use the Window Size group of controls to specify the screen size for the window. For example, specify a height of 50 to double your window height (the number of lines you can see at a time without scrolling).