Windows PowerShell console
This part will handle the PowerShell console.
Starting PowerShell
This can be done on a few ways.
You could just go to the Start button > All Programs > Windows PowerShell 1.0 > Windows PowerShell
On Vista machines you could press the Start button > type powershell into the search box and hit enter.
Another way is to open Run
And type powershell into the run box. (You can have this window also if you just press WindowsFlag + R on your keyboard.)
It's also possible to start PowerShell from Command Prompt. Just type in powershell and hit enter.
Command Prompt vs PowerShell
When we take a closer look to the screenshot above we see the visual differences marked in red. PowerShell has PS in the prompt and the starting message is different. Don't look at the colors because they can be changed.
PowerShell is a command line interpreter and a scripting environment. Your command prompt was only a command line interpreter which means: type something in and get output (DOS-style). PowerShell let's you script inside that console with it's own scripting language based on the .NET Framework. Another difference is that you can use some unix commands here because PowerShell has aliases for the windows commands.
Still not enough? Well you could write your own Aliases, Scripts and PowerShell Commands (cmdlets).
This is a screenshot of how PowerShell V2 looks like:
As you can see, almost nothing changed visually. Just an updated year and the text V2 in the titlebar and description.
Adjusting the console
This can be done when you right click on PowerShell and choose for the option Properties. Find out yourself it's not that hard but I rather let it all default except changing the canvas size sometimes.
Changing the starup directory
It is possible to let your PowerShell prompt start from your own directory.
- Just make a new directory C:\PwrShell.net.
- Create a PowerShell shortcut in that directory or on your desktop. Right-click on the shortcut and select Properties.
- Enter the directory that you created (C:\PwrShell.net) next to the Start in: label.
- Click Ok and launch PowerShell by clicking on your shortcut.
Hooray! The startup directory has been changed :).
Keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys
Here's a little list of useful shortcuts and hotkeys while using PowerShell.
- Page Up - Jumps to the first command in the history buffer
- Page Down - Jumps to the last command in the history buffer
- Up Arrow - goes back one command in the history buffer
- Down Arrow - goes forward one command in the history buffer
- Home - Jumps to the beginning of the command line
- End - Jumps to the end of the command line
- Ctrl+LeftArrow - goes to the left one word at a time
- Ctrl+RightArrow - goes to the right on word at a time
- Esc - Cleares the input
- Tab - Completes the input
- F2 - Copy a character
- F4 - Delete characters where you type
- F7 - Shows history buffer (use the up and down arrow keys to navigate the buffer)
- F8 - Every time you press F8 you will see what you typed in previously
- F9 - Enter commandnumber (see numbers in history buffer F7)
- Selecting text - with mouse by holding down your Left-mousebutton and move
- Copy - Select text and press enter or select text and Right-mouseclick on that selected text
- Paste - Right-mouseclick
- Help - Type in Get-Help
- Clear screen - Type in Clear-Host or cls
- Exit - Type in exit and hit enter