CMD: Copy/Paste between window and command console/DOS program

Contributor Icon Contributed by AlexTheBeast Date Icon December 2, 2003  
Tag Icon Tagged: Windows

This tweak explains how to easily copy/paste information into or out of either the command console or a DOS program from a window.


As much as I use the command console, I never understood why windows made it so difficult to copy or paste information into it.

This recipe also works well for pasting information into a DOS program.

To enable QuickEdit Mode:

1. Open a command prompt/command console
2. Right-click on the title bar
3. Select properties
4. Select QuickEdit Mode
5. Select Save Properties for future windows with same title if you want to keep this change forever. Select Apply Properties for current window only if you only want to enable QuickEdit for this session.
6. Click OK

With QuickEdit Mode Enabled:

To Paste Information Into the Command Console:
1. Place information into the clipboard
2. Right click into the console to paste the information

To Copy Information From the Console into the Clipboard:
1. Click and drag to highlight the information in the console
2. Press Enter or Right Click in the console to put this information into the clipboard

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  • tony.kaliss@ilisagvik.cc
    Thanks for the info but in practice I find that in 2000 and XP only the first few words of a paste FROM Windows to dos appear and then some garbage letters. I have found this on many computers and installations of 2000 and XP. Can you help me on this?
    P.S. copy from DOS program to Windows seems to work just fine. All text highlighted copies from the one to other.
  • misterhaan
    well that works kind of stupid with the right click, but at least it's something!

    i didn't have a way to copy from the command prompt before but there is another way to paste into it--try this with or without quickedit:
    - get some text in the clipboard
    - alt-space, e, p
    - it's pasted!
    you can also right-click the title bar or left-click the control box and choose edit/paste from there.
    besides that you can right-click in the window (without quickedit) and choose paste.

    oddly enough, there's a "copy" menu option, but it is always grayed out on the window's context menu (works in the control menu > edit) as you cannot select text other than select all, and when you right-click again the text is unselected.
  • Anonymous
    Select text with your mouse in the dos window, then try the copy feature again.
  • shubhendu
    hey man this tip helped me so much while runing scripts in ccmd
    thanks.............
  • Great! Glad we could help.
  • dikshit
    how can i copy / Paste my newfolder from c:/ to d:/ drive plz tell me
  • dikshit
    how can i copy / Paste my newfolder from c:/ to d:/ drive plz tell me .
  • tree
    Thanks! This worked perfectly! Saved me alot of trouble. Thanks again!
  • mpazda
    This ISNT working for me.

    Still when i try and past into the CMD window... nothing appears? :-(
  • mpazda
    However, i used

    reg.exe add HKCU\Console /v QuickEdit /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

    in the command prompt, and it works fine now...
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