Changing the Default Terminal in Windows 11 22H2 and Other Command Prompt Changes
With the release of Windows 11 22H2, Microsoft has made some changes to the default terminal and command prompt behavior. In this article, we will explore these changes and what they mean for users and developers. We will also provide some code examples to help illustrate these concepts.
Changing the Default Terminal
One of the most notable changes in Windows 11 22H2 is the ability to change the default terminal. This can be done by going to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Terminal and selecting the desired terminal app. This is a welcome change for many users, as it allows them to use their preferred terminal emulator instead of the default one.
Here is an example of how to change the default terminal using PowerShell:
$newTerminal = "Windows Terminal"
$currentTerminal = (Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Process -Filter "name='cmd.exe'").ProcessId
$currentTerminalPath = (Get-Process -Id $currentTerminal).Path
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Console" -Name "DefaultTerminalApp" -Value $newTerminal
Start-Process $newTerminal -ArgumentList "/c start $currentTerminalPath"
Other Command Prompt Changes
In addition to the ability to change the default terminal, there have been several other changes to the command prompt in Windows 11 22H2. These changes include:
- The ability to use the arrow keys to navigate through command history
- The ability to use the Tab key to auto-complete commands and filenames
- The ability to use the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste text
- The ability to change the color scheme and font of the command prompt
Here is an example of how to change the color scheme of the command prompt using PowerShell:
$colorScheme = "Campbell"
$key = "HKCU:\Console"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable07" -Value 0xFF0000
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable08" -Value 0xFFFF00
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable09" -Value 0x00FF00
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable10" -Value 0x00FFFF
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable11" -Value 0x0000FF
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable12" -Value 0xFF00FF
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable13" -Value 0xC0C0C0
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable14" -Value 0x808080
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable15" -Value 0x000000
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "FaceName" -Value "Consolas"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "FontFamily" -Value 0
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "FontSize" -Value 14
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "FontWeight" -Value 400
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "HistoryNoDup" -Value 1
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "QuickEdit" -Value 1
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ScreenBufferSize" -Value "80x500"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "WindowSize" -Value "80x30"
Set-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name "ColorTable" -Value (1..16 | ForEach-Object { "0x$colorScheme" })
With the release of Windows 11 22H2, Microsoft has made some changes to the default terminal and command prompt behavior. These changes include the ability to change the default terminal, as well as several other improvements to the command prompt. These changes are designed to improve the user experience and make the command prompt more powerful and flexible.