anrotr ‘Useful Commans Prompt (CMD) Tricks You Shou Know 18 Useful Command Prompt Tricks You Might Not Know Last Updated: September 27, 2016 When you have such an attractive interface, using Command Prompt might seem like a old fashioned thing. When you can easily navigate to a location or access different settings in your PC customize them, why go for complex commands and a dull interface? Well, it might not be as bad as one might think. Command Prompt might be a bit complex, but it makes all the manual tweaking just a single command's work. The current users of Command Prompt understand how powerful it is, which is why they don’t mind learning few tricks or commands to take care of daily work in a snap. So learning at least basics of Command Prompt is worth saving few seconds of extra work everyday. We have created this list of Command Prompt commands and tricks that may help you work better. Whether you just started using Command Prompt or you are a regular user, you should be able to find a trick to ease things up a bit. Update: If you want the latest Command Prompt tricks, you can also check out our fresh post on cool Command Prompt tricks (Part 2). Some Useful Command Prompt Tricks 1. Get help on almost every Command Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! wnsanrotr ‘18 Useful Conmans Prompt (CMO) Tricks You Shou Know BE Administrator: CAWindows\:ystem?2\emdexe eae Cee eer eee Caer) Snare are Coet cena cee a2 Se eee ee gee eee eee egress PSSM NSC m SIT Citar acess ts peoaes! Fresiretazees Eres ir erate Feist ipconfig ‘release xCont Prenat gett entencarntes Petr eC ce ae PENCLISTEE eet dor renewed. eee eso Neer Rieti etre Rrra t met rare PC acres Com een Cs Recreate bs rerrer stu fics trainees Pema Tem ee Mc trts Chae mars Berreree met iettare Reece! Poerroniey rset eet ecco Lay y pe aereacony os This is especially helpful for beginners, but advanced users may get to learn few things too. You can easily get info on almost every command you provide in the Command Prompt. Information includes complete details of what a command dot used, it may also show some examples. ind what process are ‘To get the help, just type “/?” at the end of the command of which you need info. For example, you can type “ipeonfig/?”, and you will get all the info. Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! 21sanrotr ‘Useful Commans Prompt (CMD) Tricks You Shou Know 2. Use Function Keys You can use function keys (F1, F2, F3, etc.) right inside command prompt and get different results, Below are the uses of functions keys in Command Prompt: + Fi: Pastes per character last used command + F2: Pastes last used command only to a specified command character + Fg: Pastes Last used command + F4: Delete command only to a specified command character + F5: Pastes last used command without cycling + F6: Pastes *Z * F7: Provides a list of already used commands (selectable) + F:8 Pastes cycleable used commands + Fo; Will let you paste command from the list of recently used commands 3. Save a Command to a File If you want to save results of a command to a .txt for future referen , then it is quite easy as well. All you need to do is add “> (destination/file name with .txt extension)” at the end of the command you are about to execute. epebebom comicammand-prampt tricks! ansanvaosr ‘18Usetl Commarea Prompt (CMD) Treks You Shoulé Know For example, you can type “ipconfig > c:\Networkdetails.txt”, this command will create a .txt file in C drive with name “Networkdetails”. 4. Copy Data from the Command Prompt Cee Score Mark cS reas Baste cS CeCe SelectAll PST coe Tete scroll PS re mca} PSE ee Eind, Petpet rs baeureroes ora ened rosa e hd Loa ae hd pays aes ier ested New folder <2> eDrive Pictures ever ones BYTE Peeters Copying data from the Command Prompt isn’t just a Ctrl+C away, the process is actually different. It is not that hard, just right click anywhere in the window and click on “Mark” from the menu. After that, just select the text you want to copy and hit Enter to copy it. Important Note: With Windows 10, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V commands to copy/paste has been enabled in Command Prompt. So you don't need to follow the above process, if you are using Windows 10. Also, In Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts for CMD are enabled by default which wasn’t the case with earlier version of Windows. 5. Cycle Through Folders Specifying exact directories can be a bit frustrating task if you don’t have the destination copied. However, if you just know in which drive or folder the required folder is located, Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! ansanvaosr ‘18Usetl Commarea Prompt (CMD) Treks You Shoulé Know then you can cycle through all the folders to reach it. To do this, just type specified drive and start press TAB key on your keyboard to cycle through all the folders inside it. 6. Use QuickEdit Mode Command Prompt comes with QuickEdit Mode to quickly copy and paste content with just your right-click. In QuickEdit mode, you can highlight content and right-click to copy it or right-click in a blank area to paste content from the clipboard (if there is any). To enable QuickEdit Mode, right-click on the top of the Command Prompt interface (where exit button is located) and select “Properties”. In the properties, check the checkbox next to “QuickEdit Mode” to enable it (you will have to disable it later). 7. Check IP address of any Website Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! 55anrotr ‘Useful Commans Prompt (CMO) Tricks You Shou Know EM ern eecsesSo stam SO ese cy Sees Cae rs reery coer aCe ELT CREE eeettess You can see IP address of any website just by the name of the websit. IP address. y entering “nslookup” command along with For example, you can type “nslookup beebom.com” to find its 8. Execute Multiple Commands epebebom comicammand-prampt tricks! aisanrotr ‘8 Useful Commans Prompt (CMO) Tricks You Shou Know FE Administrator: C\Windowe\:ystem?2\emdexe NUsers\Adninistrator> ipconfig && dir eee Fey Caste a reteCaAg ce H iar eres erste e ota LLe | ca eras = 192.168.1.100 iat ts : aera Defaule Gatewa Errietr seen eo Po remets Se eter Cee eae eee ccd ieiirestipercss H ir tae hae ena Se eer aS cS i PSreeere Meee Te Ery Peete oN een erecta 3/31/2015 Fett : mete : et Pry series MRO TESS Ccrtetes You can easily execute one command after another by provide all the commands and putting “&&” between each command (may save some time). For example, you can type “ipconfig && dir” to execute both commands one after anoth: 9. Check Default Programs Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! m8anrotr ‘Useful Commans Prompt (CMD) Tricks You Shou Know creme eee ray eruniiStsery mien rina tea mre rE e rg Mier res Meow erin sed Pema BRU Neco ere CU een re Lea Tse Irenny acento tagreckrsii st RIiteurem tery Etrichentines er etcenenes You can check which applications are used to open specific types of programs. For this purpose, just type “assoc” in the Command Prompt and hit enter. You will see all the extensions and their associated program that opens them written next to them. 10. Get PC Drivers List Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! ansanrotr ‘8 Useful Commans Prompt (CMD) Tricks You Shou Know BBE Administration C\Windows\:ystem32\emdexe esc cere rere eee at ee UL 1394 ONC! Compliant Ho Kernel Leesa a most PaUara ACPI Powex Meter Drive Kernel Rear peng cores eer cre Prey ores Eau rast miter preter) paar PET a Piste rma iss Beery Pesto Tee Set gegttt ea ee paren ry Ate Ce eae eres’ raeetiy Pareeny Beer CeCe ted Beatty geet reas Oty TT aera Brg ete Petey rere eter Appid Driver ers PBterr yy ate ate Peres prterey era eter Stores Kgteri ey ates ever eet ee ere ese PAeer TT Ete e rasa eres 472472013 = bteles ieee ted tet tery You can open list of all the drivers installed on your PC with just a single command, Just type “driverquery’ in the Command Prompt and press Enter. After a short delay, you will see all the drivers installed in your PC along with, Name, Type and Link date. 11. Scan System Files Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! ansanrotr ‘Useful Conmans Prompt (CMO) Tricks You Shou Know rT Ce) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Sera) eee eso CTU SECC ee GBS Log windir\Logs\GBS\CES og. For exanple SUE NG Rye ae td $ s 5 " ‘The system files can also be scanned and repaired from the Command Prompt. Type “sfe/scannow’ and press enter, the scan will start and may take quite some time depending on your PC speed (up to an hour may be). It will either automatically repair the files or let you know if there is a problem and provide its details. 12. Change Command Prompt Color epebebom comicammand-prampt tricks! 10sanrotr ‘Useful Commans Prompt (CMD) Tricks You Shou Know You can als dull and a bit ea eyes. To do so, right-click at the top corners of Command Prompt and sclect “Properties” from the menu, In the properties, navigate to “Colors” tab and you will find all the options to change color of both text and background change command prompt color to make it look | 13. Create Undelete-able Folders esc cere rere You can create undeletable folders using specific set of keywords. In the Command Prompt, type the name of the drive where you want to create the folder (it must not have Windows installed in it). After that, type any of these keywords “md con\” or “md Ipt1\” and press Enter. So it should look something like this “D: md con\”. This will create a folder with th: me name that could not be deleted or renamed. To delete the folder replace “md con\” with “rd con\” or “md Ipti\’ with “rd Ipt1\”. 14. Get Network Details epebebom comicammand-prampt tricks! 15anrotr ‘8 Useful Conmans Prompt (CMO) Tricks You Shou Know id Aarariarvon CAWadovAjerszcrdom Eas esc cere rere COE Cesc TentsCny OCC Coe CCR CCC Ce noes ce sec ts aan et ete cere’ Mee rec terete rey rar een eure tyaeti webct) Et ry SE Sea a berks a ana. Ses thernet adapter Local Area Connection 2: Cees ee reared PTs tire CLS ee ee CS ea Lr Cee ee reeeeeeeccce| Connect ion-spe . You can get quick network details, like IP address and subnet mask or Default Gateway with a single command. Type “ipconfig” and press Enter, you will see all the details of your network. 15. Hide Files and Folders using Command Prompt epebebom comicammand-prampt tricks! wnsanrotr ‘8 Useful Commans Prompt (CMO) Tricks You Shou Know re ate rS tec You can hide folder with the help of Command Prompt that cannot be accessed using the traditional hide feature of Windows. To do this, type the drive name where the folder is located and then enter this command “Attrib +h +s +r” and afterwards, enter the name of the file/folder you want to hide. So it should look something like this “D: Attrib +h +s +r haider’. If the folder is inside another folder, then the command must come before the folder/file the folder, use the same "from “Attrib +h +s +r”. you want to hide not just after the Drive name. To again s process above but change the command to “Attrib -h -s 16. Compare Two Files epebebom comicammand-prampt tricks! 195anvzos7 18Useiul Commara Prompt (CM) Treks You Should Know BE C\Windowa\cystern32\emd exe oa & Me 2087 Microsoft Corporation. ALL rights NON Sear eses Tees CCU SMe aeons Uc eee ot ecg OUTCAST ECLy neountered You can also compare two text files in command prompt and see the difference. The results won't be as good as third-party available file comparison tools, but it is worth a shot and fun do! All you need to do is type “FC” command and then enter directories of both text files (the files must be in .txt format for proper working). For example, you can type “fe C:\haider\samplet.txt C:\haider\samplez.txt” and hit enter to get comparison of both files with answer such as, files are different or both files are identical. In the above example, “C:” is the drive where text file is located, “haider’” is the name of the folder in which the text file in located and “Sample1.txt” is name of the text file. Both files can be located anywhere in your PC, you just need to provide the right directory. If both the files have different content then running this command will show the different content and if both the files have exact same content, the command will return this message ‘no difference encountered’. 17. Watch Star Wars Episode IV Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! wisanrotr ‘8 Useful Conmans Prompt (CMD) Tricks You Shou Know IB Telnet towel blinkenlights eS sa Coe ee Cy eee eae ee Tee Ty Eee ee eee ec} ete tien Ce Ce LTT) ee eC ee a cae) Prete te) fy Crh This is a really cool trick, although not productive, but fun to do. You can actually watch the famous Star Wars Episode IV right inside your Command prompt. It will be an ASCII version so don’t hope for a HD movie. The process is simple, open Command Prompt and enter this command “telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl” and hit Enter. The movie will start automatically without any delay. Note: Make sure Telnet is enabled in your PC, you can get information to install and enable Telnet from Microsoft website. 18. Create Wi-Fi Hotspot using Command Prompt Fhpboebom comicommand-pramp-rcks! ss18