How to use Cmd's tab autocomplete effectively?
up vote
37
down vote
favorite
I've used the Bash shell on Linux for years and I'm very fast with it. By frequently appealing for autocomplete by hitting the tab key, I'm able to write long commands in few keystrokes.
Recently at my job I've started using the Windows Command Prompt and Cmd. I'm very slow in Cmd. It has an autocomplete feature, but it works differently. I think I understand how it works, but I don't understand how to use it effectively, in fact it often slows me down. So I ask, how to use how to use Cmd's autocomplete effectively?
Let me give an example. First I'll describe how I use Bash, then how I try to use Cmd, and what goes wrong.
Suppose the folders in the current directory have names made from a continent and a country, eg. africa-nigeria
, asia-india
, europe-france
, and that I want to change folder to europe-norway
.
The way Bash's autocomplete works is that the tab key expands only if there is a unique expansion. Otherwise, nothing happens, but you can press tab a second time to list possible expansions.
So to move to Norway in Bash, I type cd
and then make the following keystrokes:
e tab foreurope-
n tab (nothing happens)
tab again. It listseurope-netherlands
andeurope-norway
as potential expansions.
o tab foreurope-norway
.
Great! Thanks Bash.
However, when I try the same keys in Cmd, it expands e tab to europe-albania
, which happens to be the first folder beginning 'e', but isn't the folder I wanted! What should I do now—is it possible to make Albania into Norway? Or must I cancel the command with Escape and type everything from scratch?
windows bash command-line
migrated from stackoverflow.com Apr 17 '13 at 12:13
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
add a comment |
up vote
37
down vote
favorite
I've used the Bash shell on Linux for years and I'm very fast with it. By frequently appealing for autocomplete by hitting the tab key, I'm able to write long commands in few keystrokes.
Recently at my job I've started using the Windows Command Prompt and Cmd. I'm very slow in Cmd. It has an autocomplete feature, but it works differently. I think I understand how it works, but I don't understand how to use it effectively, in fact it often slows me down. So I ask, how to use how to use Cmd's autocomplete effectively?
Let me give an example. First I'll describe how I use Bash, then how I try to use Cmd, and what goes wrong.
Suppose the folders in the current directory have names made from a continent and a country, eg. africa-nigeria
, asia-india
, europe-france
, and that I want to change folder to europe-norway
.
The way Bash's autocomplete works is that the tab key expands only if there is a unique expansion. Otherwise, nothing happens, but you can press tab a second time to list possible expansions.
So to move to Norway in Bash, I type cd
and then make the following keystrokes:
e tab foreurope-
n tab (nothing happens)
tab again. It listseurope-netherlands
andeurope-norway
as potential expansions.
o tab foreurope-norway
.
Great! Thanks Bash.
However, when I try the same keys in Cmd, it expands e tab to europe-albania
, which happens to be the first folder beginning 'e', but isn't the folder I wanted! What should I do now—is it possible to make Albania into Norway? Or must I cancel the command with Escape and type everything from scratch?
windows bash command-line
migrated from stackoverflow.com Apr 17 '13 at 12:13
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
Can you use a menu, eg. batch menu?
– Endoro
Apr 15 '13 at 15:11
At the moment Stephan's answer is correct for you. Just type thecd e
and then press theTAB
key. What Windows is doing here it start sorting the folders in alphabetical order in words. As If there isEurope-albania
beforeeurope-norway
, just keep pressing theTAB
key continuously until you don't get your desired directory.
– avirk
Apr 20 '13 at 1:26
4
@Avirk, so the quickest way from Albania to Norway is to press the tab key 27 times?
– Colonel Panic
Apr 23 '13 at 15:07
add a comment |
up vote
37
down vote
favorite
up vote
37
down vote
favorite
I've used the Bash shell on Linux for years and I'm very fast with it. By frequently appealing for autocomplete by hitting the tab key, I'm able to write long commands in few keystrokes.
Recently at my job I've started using the Windows Command Prompt and Cmd. I'm very slow in Cmd. It has an autocomplete feature, but it works differently. I think I understand how it works, but I don't understand how to use it effectively, in fact it often slows me down. So I ask, how to use how to use Cmd's autocomplete effectively?
Let me give an example. First I'll describe how I use Bash, then how I try to use Cmd, and what goes wrong.
Suppose the folders in the current directory have names made from a continent and a country, eg. africa-nigeria
, asia-india
, europe-france
, and that I want to change folder to europe-norway
.
The way Bash's autocomplete works is that the tab key expands only if there is a unique expansion. Otherwise, nothing happens, but you can press tab a second time to list possible expansions.
So to move to Norway in Bash, I type cd
and then make the following keystrokes:
e tab foreurope-
n tab (nothing happens)
tab again. It listseurope-netherlands
andeurope-norway
as potential expansions.
o tab foreurope-norway
.
Great! Thanks Bash.
However, when I try the same keys in Cmd, it expands e tab to europe-albania
, which happens to be the first folder beginning 'e', but isn't the folder I wanted! What should I do now—is it possible to make Albania into Norway? Or must I cancel the command with Escape and type everything from scratch?
windows bash command-line
I've used the Bash shell on Linux for years and I'm very fast with it. By frequently appealing for autocomplete by hitting the tab key, I'm able to write long commands in few keystrokes.
Recently at my job I've started using the Windows Command Prompt and Cmd. I'm very slow in Cmd. It has an autocomplete feature, but it works differently. I think I understand how it works, but I don't understand how to use it effectively, in fact it often slows me down. So I ask, how to use how to use Cmd's autocomplete effectively?
Let me give an example. First I'll describe how I use Bash, then how I try to use Cmd, and what goes wrong.
Suppose the folders in the current directory have names made from a continent and a country, eg. africa-nigeria
, asia-india
, europe-france
, and that I want to change folder to europe-norway
.
The way Bash's autocomplete works is that the tab key expands only if there is a unique expansion. Otherwise, nothing happens, but you can press tab a second time to list possible expansions.
So to move to Norway in Bash, I type cd
and then make the following keystrokes:
e tab foreurope-
n tab (nothing happens)
tab again. It listseurope-netherlands
andeurope-norway
as potential expansions.
o tab foreurope-norway
.
Great! Thanks Bash.
However, when I try the same keys in Cmd, it expands e tab to europe-albania
, which happens to be the first folder beginning 'e', but isn't the folder I wanted! What should I do now—is it possible to make Albania into Norway? Or must I cancel the command with Escape and type everything from scratch?
windows bash command-line
windows bash command-line
edited Apr 19 '13 at 23:04
asked Apr 15 '13 at 14:33
Colonel Panic
5,994154673
5,994154673
migrated from stackoverflow.com Apr 17 '13 at 12:13
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
migrated from stackoverflow.com Apr 17 '13 at 12:13
This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.
Can you use a menu, eg. batch menu?
– Endoro
Apr 15 '13 at 15:11
At the moment Stephan's answer is correct for you. Just type thecd e
and then press theTAB
key. What Windows is doing here it start sorting the folders in alphabetical order in words. As If there isEurope-albania
beforeeurope-norway
, just keep pressing theTAB
key continuously until you don't get your desired directory.
– avirk
Apr 20 '13 at 1:26
4
@Avirk, so the quickest way from Albania to Norway is to press the tab key 27 times?
– Colonel Panic
Apr 23 '13 at 15:07
add a comment |
Can you use a menu, eg. batch menu?
– Endoro
Apr 15 '13 at 15:11
At the moment Stephan's answer is correct for you. Just type thecd e
and then press theTAB
key. What Windows is doing here it start sorting the folders in alphabetical order in words. As If there isEurope-albania
beforeeurope-norway
, just keep pressing theTAB
key continuously until you don't get your desired directory.
– avirk
Apr 20 '13 at 1:26
4
@Avirk, so the quickest way from Albania to Norway is to press the tab key 27 times?
– Colonel Panic
Apr 23 '13 at 15:07
Can you use a menu, eg. batch menu?
– Endoro
Apr 15 '13 at 15:11
Can you use a menu, eg. batch menu?
– Endoro
Apr 15 '13 at 15:11
At the moment Stephan's answer is correct for you. Just type the
cd e
and then press the TAB
key. What Windows is doing here it start sorting the folders in alphabetical order in words. As If there is Europe-albania
before europe-norway
, just keep pressing the TAB
key continuously until you don't get your desired directory.– avirk
Apr 20 '13 at 1:26
At the moment Stephan's answer is correct for you. Just type the
cd e
and then press the TAB
key. What Windows is doing here it start sorting the folders in alphabetical order in words. As If there is Europe-albania
before europe-norway
, just keep pressing the TAB
key continuously until you don't get your desired directory.– avirk
Apr 20 '13 at 1:26
4
4
@Avirk, so the quickest way from Albania to Norway is to press the tab key 27 times?
– Colonel Panic
Apr 23 '13 at 15:07
@Avirk, so the quickest way from Albania to Norway is to press the tab key 27 times?
– Colonel Panic
Apr 23 '13 at 15:07
add a comment |
9 Answers
9
active
oldest
votes
up vote
38
down vote
accepted
1 year update: I came to the conclusion that Cmd's autocomplete is unusable, and stopped using it.
I installed Clink which gives you Bash-style autocompletion in Cmd.
Clink combines the native Windows shell cmd.exe with the powerful command line editing features of the GNU Readline library, which provides rich completion, history, and line-editing capabilities
It's brilliant.
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Cygwin will allow you to run a Bash shell (apart from many other POSIX environment software) under Windows.
Otherwise, you might try an alternative shell, rather than than the ancient Command Prompt,
to find one that best fits your needs.
Here is a list of some consoles that emulate bash on Windows :
win-bash
Road Bash
Git Bash described in this article
Other consoles :
Microsoft's Windows PowerShell and its wikipedia article (the most powerful)
Console with an article
ColorConsole
PowerCmd
GS.EXE
PyCmd
[EDIT] I have since discovered Cmder which is an excellent tabular console replacement
that also brings with it much of the Linux shell behavior as well as a port of many Linux
file-handling applications such as grep.
3
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
1
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
To complete the list a bit more: There was also4DOS
or better4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful thancommand.com
orcmd.exe
. It seems thatTake Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).
– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
1
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
add a comment |
up vote
11
down vote
Hitting the TAB key toggles through all existent directories.
Try to enter just cd
then TAB for a few times and you will see the principle.
cd countries/europe-s[TAB][TAB]
for example will bring you to the second match (countries/europe-serbia)
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
Bash in linux attempts to match and autofill all the first characters that are common to all files.
The windows command prompt, on the other hand just autofills the command prompt with the first element that matches.
e.g.:
In linux bash:
After typing cd countrieseTAB,
bash will go upto countrieseurope- since it matches all the filenames that start with e, and then you can enter the next few characters and press TAB again.
In Windows command prompt:
After typing cd countrieseTAB, the command prompt will match the first possible filename that starts with e, europe-albania in your case, but it still remembers that you had only entered an 'e'. So if you press TAB again, it will show the next possible match (alphabetical order), europe-andorra.
If you want to get to europe-norway quicker, you could either:
- Type europe-no and then press TAB or
- Type e and then keep pressing TAB until it shows europe-norway
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
Update: Git Bash is pretty much all I need
Use PowerShell ISE instead of just powershell. This give you access to intelliSense auto-complete, which spawns a list of options upon typing or Ctrl+Space. ISE also opens up a lot of other interesting possibilities like tab completion and other stuff.
Downside is, it doesn't support interactive applications like ssh or python shell.
I have actually started using ConEmu today because of this downside. ConEmu is pretty cool.
The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is one of two hosts for the Windows PowerShell engine and language. With it you can write, run, and test scripts in ways that are not available in the Windows PowerShell Console. The ISE adds syntax-coloring, tab completion, IntelliSense, visual debugging, and context sensitive Help.
The ISE lets you run commands in a console pane, but it also supports panes that you can use to simultaneously view the source code of your script and other tools that can plug into the ISE. You can even open up multiple script windows at the same time, which is especially helpful when you are debugging a script that uses functions defined in other scripts or modules.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd819514.aspx
1
you can useCtrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
Hold Tab key to move forward through the options and Shift+Tab to cycle back.
Right arrow → key will reproduce last cmdline 1 character at a time. I find that useful when renaming files.
eg:
ren file.1.mp4 Guitar.Licks.01.Pentatonic.2.notes.per.string.mp4
Hold right arrow → till 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 2, then type 3, hold right arrow till end. Result would be...
ren file.2.mp4 Guitar.licks.02.Pentatonic.3.notes.per.string.mp4
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work withCtrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow thenHome
orCtrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
In Windows 10, filename and directory name completion can use wildcards.
For the example of changing to europe-norway, either of these commands should work:
cd *nor*<tab>
or
cd *way<tab>
You can use multiple '*'s, and there is not an implicit leading or trailing '*'.
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
In windows 10(7?) use shift + tab to cycle through available autocomplete options given a partial path.
When called with nothing it will cycle through all available options in the directory.
1
This does nothing,Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts likeCtrl+Tab
,Win+Tab
,Alt+Tab
,Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
Quite simply using regedit:
1) Start -> Run -> regedit
2) Traverse to the following for current user or all users of the system,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
3) Double click on command processor and change the value to "9" in decimal or "0x9" in hex.
4) This would enable the TAB to autocomplete.
Reopen your command prompt and try it out.
New contributor
add a comment |
9 Answers
9
active
oldest
votes
9 Answers
9
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
38
down vote
accepted
1 year update: I came to the conclusion that Cmd's autocomplete is unusable, and stopped using it.
I installed Clink which gives you Bash-style autocompletion in Cmd.
Clink combines the native Windows shell cmd.exe with the powerful command line editing features of the GNU Readline library, which provides rich completion, history, and line-editing capabilities
It's brilliant.
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
add a comment |
up vote
38
down vote
accepted
1 year update: I came to the conclusion that Cmd's autocomplete is unusable, and stopped using it.
I installed Clink which gives you Bash-style autocompletion in Cmd.
Clink combines the native Windows shell cmd.exe with the powerful command line editing features of the GNU Readline library, which provides rich completion, history, and line-editing capabilities
It's brilliant.
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
add a comment |
up vote
38
down vote
accepted
up vote
38
down vote
accepted
1 year update: I came to the conclusion that Cmd's autocomplete is unusable, and stopped using it.
I installed Clink which gives you Bash-style autocompletion in Cmd.
Clink combines the native Windows shell cmd.exe with the powerful command line editing features of the GNU Readline library, which provides rich completion, history, and line-editing capabilities
It's brilliant.
1 year update: I came to the conclusion that Cmd's autocomplete is unusable, and stopped using it.
I installed Clink which gives you Bash-style autocompletion in Cmd.
Clink combines the native Windows shell cmd.exe with the powerful command line editing features of the GNU Readline library, which provides rich completion, history, and line-editing capabilities
It's brilliant.
edited Feb 26 '15 at 14:12
answered Apr 4 '14 at 13:26
Colonel Panic
5,994154673
5,994154673
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
add a comment |
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
What an amazing find!
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Yes, Clink is the best for this. I use Clink and Git for Windows to provide a better cmd alternative.
– Matt
Oct 14 '15 at 8:00
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
Unlike the bash shell, this doesn't auto-complete file names.
– Yashbhatt
Jun 17 '16 at 8:21
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Cygwin will allow you to run a Bash shell (apart from many other POSIX environment software) under Windows.
Otherwise, you might try an alternative shell, rather than than the ancient Command Prompt,
to find one that best fits your needs.
Here is a list of some consoles that emulate bash on Windows :
win-bash
Road Bash
Git Bash described in this article
Other consoles :
Microsoft's Windows PowerShell and its wikipedia article (the most powerful)
Console with an article
ColorConsole
PowerCmd
GS.EXE
PyCmd
[EDIT] I have since discovered Cmder which is an excellent tabular console replacement
that also brings with it much of the Linux shell behavior as well as a port of many Linux
file-handling applications such as grep.
3
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
1
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
To complete the list a bit more: There was also4DOS
or better4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful thancommand.com
orcmd.exe
. It seems thatTake Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).
– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
1
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
Cygwin will allow you to run a Bash shell (apart from many other POSIX environment software) under Windows.
Otherwise, you might try an alternative shell, rather than than the ancient Command Prompt,
to find one that best fits your needs.
Here is a list of some consoles that emulate bash on Windows :
win-bash
Road Bash
Git Bash described in this article
Other consoles :
Microsoft's Windows PowerShell and its wikipedia article (the most powerful)
Console with an article
ColorConsole
PowerCmd
GS.EXE
PyCmd
[EDIT] I have since discovered Cmder which is an excellent tabular console replacement
that also brings with it much of the Linux shell behavior as well as a port of many Linux
file-handling applications such as grep.
3
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
1
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
To complete the list a bit more: There was also4DOS
or better4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful thancommand.com
orcmd.exe
. It seems thatTake Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).
– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
1
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
up vote
15
down vote
Cygwin will allow you to run a Bash shell (apart from many other POSIX environment software) under Windows.
Otherwise, you might try an alternative shell, rather than than the ancient Command Prompt,
to find one that best fits your needs.
Here is a list of some consoles that emulate bash on Windows :
win-bash
Road Bash
Git Bash described in this article
Other consoles :
Microsoft's Windows PowerShell and its wikipedia article (the most powerful)
Console with an article
ColorConsole
PowerCmd
GS.EXE
PyCmd
[EDIT] I have since discovered Cmder which is an excellent tabular console replacement
that also brings with it much of the Linux shell behavior as well as a port of many Linux
file-handling applications such as grep.
Cygwin will allow you to run a Bash shell (apart from many other POSIX environment software) under Windows.
Otherwise, you might try an alternative shell, rather than than the ancient Command Prompt,
to find one that best fits your needs.
Here is a list of some consoles that emulate bash on Windows :
win-bash
Road Bash
Git Bash described in this article
Other consoles :
Microsoft's Windows PowerShell and its wikipedia article (the most powerful)
Console with an article
ColorConsole
PowerCmd
GS.EXE
PyCmd
[EDIT] I have since discovered Cmder which is an excellent tabular console replacement
that also brings with it much of the Linux shell behavior as well as a port of many Linux
file-handling applications such as grep.
edited Nov 22 '16 at 12:53
answered Apr 20 '13 at 9:03
harrymc
247k10256542
247k10256542
3
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
1
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
To complete the list a bit more: There was also4DOS
or better4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful thancommand.com
orcmd.exe
. It seems thatTake Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).
– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
1
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
add a comment |
3
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
1
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
To complete the list a bit more: There was also4DOS
or better4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful thancommand.com
orcmd.exe
. It seems thatTake Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).
– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
1
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
3
3
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
+1. Cmd has always been a pathetic excuse for a shell, and Microsoft long ago gave up any development of it. Since you're already performant in bash, your best option will be to continue to use it by installing Cygwin.
– Andrew Schulman
Apr 20 '13 at 11:06
1
1
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
of course, PowerShell is the best on that list ;)
– Taylor Gibb
Apr 24 '13 at 9:50
To complete the list a bit more: There was also
4DOS
or better 4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful than command.com
or cmd.exe
. It seems that Take Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
To complete the list a bit more: There was also
4DOS
or better 4NT
, both rather popular in former times and much more powerful than command.com
or cmd.exe
. It seems that Take Command
(jpsoft.com/take-command-windows-scripting.html) is their successor. However I never used that one personally (and it's commercial).– mpy
Apr 24 '13 at 13:00
1
1
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
On my Win7, PowerShell's Autocomplete (using TAB) (mis)behaves just like in CMD.
– ysap
Feb 26 '15 at 12:31
add a comment |
up vote
11
down vote
Hitting the TAB key toggles through all existent directories.
Try to enter just cd
then TAB for a few times and you will see the principle.
cd countries/europe-s[TAB][TAB]
for example will bring you to the second match (countries/europe-serbia)
add a comment |
up vote
11
down vote
Hitting the TAB key toggles through all existent directories.
Try to enter just cd
then TAB for a few times and you will see the principle.
cd countries/europe-s[TAB][TAB]
for example will bring you to the second match (countries/europe-serbia)
add a comment |
up vote
11
down vote
up vote
11
down vote
Hitting the TAB key toggles through all existent directories.
Try to enter just cd
then TAB for a few times and you will see the principle.
cd countries/europe-s[TAB][TAB]
for example will bring you to the second match (countries/europe-serbia)
Hitting the TAB key toggles through all existent directories.
Try to enter just cd
then TAB for a few times and you will see the principle.
cd countries/europe-s[TAB][TAB]
for example will bring you to the second match (countries/europe-serbia)
edited Apr 18 '13 at 14:45
Brad Patton
9,136123366
9,136123366
answered Apr 15 '13 at 16:39
Stephan
50136
50136
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
Bash in linux attempts to match and autofill all the first characters that are common to all files.
The windows command prompt, on the other hand just autofills the command prompt with the first element that matches.
e.g.:
In linux bash:
After typing cd countrieseTAB,
bash will go upto countrieseurope- since it matches all the filenames that start with e, and then you can enter the next few characters and press TAB again.
In Windows command prompt:
After typing cd countrieseTAB, the command prompt will match the first possible filename that starts with e, europe-albania in your case, but it still remembers that you had only entered an 'e'. So if you press TAB again, it will show the next possible match (alphabetical order), europe-andorra.
If you want to get to europe-norway quicker, you could either:
- Type europe-no and then press TAB or
- Type e and then keep pressing TAB until it shows europe-norway
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
Bash in linux attempts to match and autofill all the first characters that are common to all files.
The windows command prompt, on the other hand just autofills the command prompt with the first element that matches.
e.g.:
In linux bash:
After typing cd countrieseTAB,
bash will go upto countrieseurope- since it matches all the filenames that start with e, and then you can enter the next few characters and press TAB again.
In Windows command prompt:
After typing cd countrieseTAB, the command prompt will match the first possible filename that starts with e, europe-albania in your case, but it still remembers that you had only entered an 'e'. So if you press TAB again, it will show the next possible match (alphabetical order), europe-andorra.
If you want to get to europe-norway quicker, you could either:
- Type europe-no and then press TAB or
- Type e and then keep pressing TAB until it shows europe-norway
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
Bash in linux attempts to match and autofill all the first characters that are common to all files.
The windows command prompt, on the other hand just autofills the command prompt with the first element that matches.
e.g.:
In linux bash:
After typing cd countrieseTAB,
bash will go upto countrieseurope- since it matches all the filenames that start with e, and then you can enter the next few characters and press TAB again.
In Windows command prompt:
After typing cd countrieseTAB, the command prompt will match the first possible filename that starts with e, europe-albania in your case, but it still remembers that you had only entered an 'e'. So if you press TAB again, it will show the next possible match (alphabetical order), europe-andorra.
If you want to get to europe-norway quicker, you could either:
- Type europe-no and then press TAB or
- Type e and then keep pressing TAB until it shows europe-norway
Bash in linux attempts to match and autofill all the first characters that are common to all files.
The windows command prompt, on the other hand just autofills the command prompt with the first element that matches.
e.g.:
In linux bash:
After typing cd countrieseTAB,
bash will go upto countrieseurope- since it matches all the filenames that start with e, and then you can enter the next few characters and press TAB again.
In Windows command prompt:
After typing cd countrieseTAB, the command prompt will match the first possible filename that starts with e, europe-albania in your case, but it still remembers that you had only entered an 'e'. So if you press TAB again, it will show the next possible match (alphabetical order), europe-andorra.
If you want to get to europe-norway quicker, you could either:
- Type europe-no and then press TAB or
- Type e and then keep pressing TAB until it shows europe-norway
edited Jun 26 at 13:31
answered Apr 15 '13 at 17:08
Chirag Bhatia - chirag64
900513
900513
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
Update: Git Bash is pretty much all I need
Use PowerShell ISE instead of just powershell. This give you access to intelliSense auto-complete, which spawns a list of options upon typing or Ctrl+Space. ISE also opens up a lot of other interesting possibilities like tab completion and other stuff.
Downside is, it doesn't support interactive applications like ssh or python shell.
I have actually started using ConEmu today because of this downside. ConEmu is pretty cool.
The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is one of two hosts for the Windows PowerShell engine and language. With it you can write, run, and test scripts in ways that are not available in the Windows PowerShell Console. The ISE adds syntax-coloring, tab completion, IntelliSense, visual debugging, and context sensitive Help.
The ISE lets you run commands in a console pane, but it also supports panes that you can use to simultaneously view the source code of your script and other tools that can plug into the ISE. You can even open up multiple script windows at the same time, which is especially helpful when you are debugging a script that uses functions defined in other scripts or modules.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd819514.aspx
1
you can useCtrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
Update: Git Bash is pretty much all I need
Use PowerShell ISE instead of just powershell. This give you access to intelliSense auto-complete, which spawns a list of options upon typing or Ctrl+Space. ISE also opens up a lot of other interesting possibilities like tab completion and other stuff.
Downside is, it doesn't support interactive applications like ssh or python shell.
I have actually started using ConEmu today because of this downside. ConEmu is pretty cool.
The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is one of two hosts for the Windows PowerShell engine and language. With it you can write, run, and test scripts in ways that are not available in the Windows PowerShell Console. The ISE adds syntax-coloring, tab completion, IntelliSense, visual debugging, and context sensitive Help.
The ISE lets you run commands in a console pane, but it also supports panes that you can use to simultaneously view the source code of your script and other tools that can plug into the ISE. You can even open up multiple script windows at the same time, which is especially helpful when you are debugging a script that uses functions defined in other scripts or modules.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd819514.aspx
1
you can useCtrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
Update: Git Bash is pretty much all I need
Use PowerShell ISE instead of just powershell. This give you access to intelliSense auto-complete, which spawns a list of options upon typing or Ctrl+Space. ISE also opens up a lot of other interesting possibilities like tab completion and other stuff.
Downside is, it doesn't support interactive applications like ssh or python shell.
I have actually started using ConEmu today because of this downside. ConEmu is pretty cool.
The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is one of two hosts for the Windows PowerShell engine and language. With it you can write, run, and test scripts in ways that are not available in the Windows PowerShell Console. The ISE adds syntax-coloring, tab completion, IntelliSense, visual debugging, and context sensitive Help.
The ISE lets you run commands in a console pane, but it also supports panes that you can use to simultaneously view the source code of your script and other tools that can plug into the ISE. You can even open up multiple script windows at the same time, which is especially helpful when you are debugging a script that uses functions defined in other scripts or modules.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd819514.aspx
Update: Git Bash is pretty much all I need
Use PowerShell ISE instead of just powershell. This give you access to intelliSense auto-complete, which spawns a list of options upon typing or Ctrl+Space. ISE also opens up a lot of other interesting possibilities like tab completion and other stuff.
Downside is, it doesn't support interactive applications like ssh or python shell.
I have actually started using ConEmu today because of this downside. ConEmu is pretty cool.
The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is one of two hosts for the Windows PowerShell engine and language. With it you can write, run, and test scripts in ways that are not available in the Windows PowerShell Console. The ISE adds syntax-coloring, tab completion, IntelliSense, visual debugging, and context sensitive Help.
The ISE lets you run commands in a console pane, but it also supports panes that you can use to simultaneously view the source code of your script and other tools that can plug into the ISE. You can even open up multiple script windows at the same time, which is especially helpful when you are debugging a script that uses functions defined in other scripts or modules.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd819514.aspx
edited Jun 28 at 1:34
phuclv
8,68063688
8,68063688
answered Sep 1 '15 at 11:03
ThaJay
1313
1313
1
you can useCtrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
add a comment |
1
you can useCtrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
1
1
you can use
Ctrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
you can use
Ctrl+Space
even in non-ISE environment– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:29
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
Hold Tab key to move forward through the options and Shift+Tab to cycle back.
Right arrow → key will reproduce last cmdline 1 character at a time. I find that useful when renaming files.
eg:
ren file.1.mp4 Guitar.Licks.01.Pentatonic.2.notes.per.string.mp4
Hold right arrow → till 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 2, then type 3, hold right arrow till end. Result would be...
ren file.2.mp4 Guitar.licks.02.Pentatonic.3.notes.per.string.mp4
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work withCtrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow thenHome
orCtrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
Hold Tab key to move forward through the options and Shift+Tab to cycle back.
Right arrow → key will reproduce last cmdline 1 character at a time. I find that useful when renaming files.
eg:
ren file.1.mp4 Guitar.Licks.01.Pentatonic.2.notes.per.string.mp4
Hold right arrow → till 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 2, then type 3, hold right arrow till end. Result would be...
ren file.2.mp4 Guitar.licks.02.Pentatonic.3.notes.per.string.mp4
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work withCtrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow thenHome
orCtrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
Hold Tab key to move forward through the options and Shift+Tab to cycle back.
Right arrow → key will reproduce last cmdline 1 character at a time. I find that useful when renaming files.
eg:
ren file.1.mp4 Guitar.Licks.01.Pentatonic.2.notes.per.string.mp4
Hold right arrow → till 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 2, then type 3, hold right arrow till end. Result would be...
ren file.2.mp4 Guitar.licks.02.Pentatonic.3.notes.per.string.mp4
Hold Tab key to move forward through the options and Shift+Tab to cycle back.
Right arrow → key will reproduce last cmdline 1 character at a time. I find that useful when renaming files.
eg:
ren file.1.mp4 Guitar.Licks.01.Pentatonic.2.notes.per.string.mp4
Hold right arrow → till 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 1, then type 2. Hold right arrow til 2, then type 3, hold right arrow till end. Result would be...
ren file.2.mp4 Guitar.licks.02.Pentatonic.3.notes.per.string.mp4
edited Jun 28 at 1:38
phuclv
8,68063688
8,68063688
answered Aug 9 '17 at 5:00
dchip
191
191
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work withCtrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow thenHome
orCtrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
add a comment |
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work withCtrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow thenHome
orCtrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work with
Ctrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow then Home
or Ctrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
the right arrow trick is cool, but unfortunately doesn't work with
Ctrl+Tab
, and I never press that key just to go to the end of the line. Pressing up arrow then Home
or Ctrl+Tab
to fix a few characters would be much faster– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:39
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
In Windows 10, filename and directory name completion can use wildcards.
For the example of changing to europe-norway, either of these commands should work:
cd *nor*<tab>
or
cd *way<tab>
You can use multiple '*'s, and there is not an implicit leading or trailing '*'.
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
In Windows 10, filename and directory name completion can use wildcards.
For the example of changing to europe-norway, either of these commands should work:
cd *nor*<tab>
or
cd *way<tab>
You can use multiple '*'s, and there is not an implicit leading or trailing '*'.
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
In Windows 10, filename and directory name completion can use wildcards.
For the example of changing to europe-norway, either of these commands should work:
cd *nor*<tab>
or
cd *way<tab>
You can use multiple '*'s, and there is not an implicit leading or trailing '*'.
In Windows 10, filename and directory name completion can use wildcards.
For the example of changing to europe-norway, either of these commands should work:
cd *nor*<tab>
or
cd *way<tab>
You can use multiple '*'s, and there is not an implicit leading or trailing '*'.
answered Oct 9 at 22:36
Timothy
111
111
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
In windows 10(7?) use shift + tab to cycle through available autocomplete options given a partial path.
When called with nothing it will cycle through all available options in the directory.
1
This does nothing,Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts likeCtrl+Tab
,Win+Tab
,Alt+Tab
,Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
In windows 10(7?) use shift + tab to cycle through available autocomplete options given a partial path.
When called with nothing it will cycle through all available options in the directory.
1
This does nothing,Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts likeCtrl+Tab
,Win+Tab
,Alt+Tab
,Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
In windows 10(7?) use shift + tab to cycle through available autocomplete options given a partial path.
When called with nothing it will cycle through all available options in the directory.
In windows 10(7?) use shift + tab to cycle through available autocomplete options given a partial path.
When called with nothing it will cycle through all available options in the directory.
answered Jun 10 '16 at 10:10
Michael.
1011
1011
1
This does nothing,Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts likeCtrl+Tab
,Win+Tab
,Alt+Tab
,Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
add a comment |
1
This does nothing,Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts likeCtrl+Tab
,Win+Tab
,Alt+Tab
,Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory
– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
1
1
This does nothing,
Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts like Ctrl+Tab
, Win+Tab
, Alt+Tab
, Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
This does nothing,
Shift+Tab
just reverses the iterating order, just like adding shift to any other switching shortcuts like Ctrl+Tab
, Win+Tab
, Alt+Tab
, Ctrk+K
... With Tab alone you will also cycle through all available options in the directory– phuclv
Jun 28 at 1:31
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
Quite simply using regedit:
1) Start -> Run -> regedit
2) Traverse to the following for current user or all users of the system,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
3) Double click on command processor and change the value to "9" in decimal or "0x9" in hex.
4) This would enable the TAB to autocomplete.
Reopen your command prompt and try it out.
New contributor
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
Quite simply using regedit:
1) Start -> Run -> regedit
2) Traverse to the following for current user or all users of the system,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
3) Double click on command processor and change the value to "9" in decimal or "0x9" in hex.
4) This would enable the TAB to autocomplete.
Reopen your command prompt and try it out.
New contributor
add a comment |
up vote
0
down vote
up vote
0
down vote
Quite simply using regedit:
1) Start -> Run -> regedit
2) Traverse to the following for current user or all users of the system,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
3) Double click on command processor and change the value to "9" in decimal or "0x9" in hex.
4) This would enable the TAB to autocomplete.
Reopen your command prompt and try it out.
New contributor
Quite simply using regedit:
1) Start -> Run -> regedit
2) Traverse to the following for current user or all users of the system,
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftCommand Processor
3) Double click on command processor and change the value to "9" in decimal or "0x9" in hex.
4) This would enable the TAB to autocomplete.
Reopen your command prompt and try it out.
New contributor
New contributor
answered Nov 14 at 13:42
Porcupine
1
1
New contributor
New contributor
add a comment |
add a comment |
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Can you use a menu, eg. batch menu?
– Endoro
Apr 15 '13 at 15:11
At the moment Stephan's answer is correct for you. Just type the
cd e
and then press theTAB
key. What Windows is doing here it start sorting the folders in alphabetical order in words. As If there isEurope-albania
beforeeurope-norway
, just keep pressing theTAB
key continuously until you don't get your desired directory.– avirk
Apr 20 '13 at 1:26
4
@Avirk, so the quickest way from Albania to Norway is to press the tab key 27 times?
– Colonel Panic
Apr 23 '13 at 15:07