Jan/090
Change windows command prompt
Changing the command prompt is not only possible in Linux. You can also change the look of your prompt on windows and also dos systems. Following I describe changing the prompt in Windows 2000 and above (Tested in XP and 2003).
You can change the appearance of your windows command prompt in the registry via regedit (Start > Run > regedit > Enter). Then browse to the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment
There create a new option of type REG_EXPAND_SZ (Expanded String Value) named PROMPT.
Now double click the new option and add a value which defines your prompt. You can use the following macros and other global environment variables like %COMPUTERNAME%.
| Prompt Macro | Sign |
|---|---|
| $A | & (Ampersand) |
| $B | | (Pipe) |
| $C | ( left parenthesis |
| $F | ) right parenthesis |
| $D | Date in system date format |
| $E | Escape code (ASCII Code 27) |
| $G | > greater than |
| $L | < less than |
| $H | Backspace |
| $N | Current drive |
| $P | Current drive with path |
| $Q | = Equal sign |
| $S | Space |
| $T | Current time |
| $V | Windows NT version number |
| $_ | Carriage return |
| $$ | $ Dollar sign |
Useful environment variables are for example:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
| %USERNAME% | Current username |
| %COMPUTERNAME% | Local computer name |
| %USERDOMAIN% | Local domain name |
The new prompt will be applied on next re-logon.
You can test your prompt string by open a command line (Start > Run > cmd > Enter) and then enter “prompt <your prompt string>”
My favorite prompt is: $P$_$G$S
This looks as follows:
C:\WINDOWS >
