If you’re a Windows user, you know that the command prompt is a great way to get quick access to the various features of your operating system. But if you’re on a small screen or if your computer is in a tight space, the command prompt can be difficult to see. To make the command prompt wider, you can use one of two methods. The first method is to create an alias for the command prompt in your Start menu. Then, when you type “cmd” into the command prompt, your computer will automatically launch the alias instead of launching the original cmd.exe program. The second method is to use an application called “Window Maker.” Window Maker allows you to create custom windows that are wide enough to see everything inside them. You can also resize and move windows using this application.
Command Prompt
The Command Prompt in Windows is a feature that provides the ability to enter in MS-DOS and other commands to perform tasks in the OS. By default though, it’s not always wide enough for viewing the data you want in an easy to read format.
In this example we’re running the tracert command in prompt. With the default settings we cannot see all of the information in an easy to read format. The data wraps so it can be somewhat difficult to review.
Change Command Prompt Width
Right-click on the prompt boarder and select Properties…
Now select the Layout tab and change the Window Size width, by default it is 80. Here you can change the Screen Buffer Size Width and Window Position. When you’re finished click OK.
Now the window is wider and when we run the same command above, we can see all of the data in a much easier to read format!
If you find yourself using the command prompt and were frustrated about not being able to see everything easily, this quick tweak helps out a lot. If you want to find out more ways of tweaking the Command Prompt, check out our article on how to personalize it.
This will work with in XP, Vista, and Windows 7
