Console Window of Visual Studio 2017 Debugger Answers F10 with Full Screen 43-Line Display
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This is definitely weird, and maybe wonderful. For years, we've been told that you can't run a character mode program in full screen mode on Windows Vista and later. In Windows 10 Professional, Build 1803, there exists at least one special case in which you can! I discovered this by accident a couple of days ago, and finally remembered to document it. Though I cannot imagine, offhand, why you might want it, when you run a console mode program in the Visual C++ debugger (the Native code debugger, that is), select the window, e. g., to copy text into the Windows Clipboard, if you press F11, the window displays full screen in 43-line mode. Thankfully, and as expected, F11 is a toggle; pressing F11 again restores the window to its normal size.
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
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This is definitely weird, and maybe wonderful. For years, we've been told that you can't run a character mode program in full screen mode on Windows Vista and later. In Windows 10 Professional, Build 1803, there exists at least one special case in which you can! I discovered this by accident a couple of days ago, and finally remembered to document it. Though I cannot imagine, offhand, why you might want it, when you run a console mode program in the Visual C++ debugger (the Native code debugger, that is), select the window, e. g., to copy text into the Windows Clipboard, if you press F11, the window displays full screen in 43-line mode. Thankfully, and as expected, F11 is a toggle; pressing F11 again restores the window to its normal size.
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
Hi,
David A. Gray wrote:
For years, we've been told that you can't run a character mode program in full screen mode on Windows Vista and later.
It's true. Support for the real VGA-compatible text modes[^] was removed a long time ago. Rich Turner just blogged about the evolution of the console[^] a few days ago. Looks like there will be more features coming. Interestingly... his blog says that the console is "The most frequently launched executable in all of Windows". Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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Hi,
David A. Gray wrote:
For years, we've been told that you can't run a character mode program in full screen mode on Windows Vista and later.
It's true. Support for the real VGA-compatible text modes[^] was removed a long time ago. Rich Turner just blogged about the evolution of the console[^] a few days ago. Looks like there will be more features coming. Interestingly... his blog says that the console is "The most frequently launched executable in all of Windows". Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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Hi,
David A. Gray wrote:
For years, we've been told that you can't run a character mode program in full screen mode on Windows Vista and later.
It's true. Support for the real VGA-compatible text modes[^] was removed a long time ago. Rich Turner just blogged about the evolution of the console[^] a few days ago. Looks like there will be more features coming. Interestingly... his blog says that the console is "The most frequently launched executable in all of Windows". Best Wishes, -David Delaune
I'm not sure what you are saying is true, but I have pictures to prove that I can display a full screen console on my Windows 10 Professional x64, Build 1803. Not only that, but I've further discovered that it works for any true command prompt window. * The first three pictures show a Visual Studio debugger window, first in normal view, then maximized to full screen by pressing
F11once, then restored to its normal size by pressingF11again. * The next pictures show the same 32-bit character-mode program, compiled from ANSI C sources by the Visual Studio 2017 C/C++ compiler, launched from the File Explorer. * The third set of pictures show the same program, preceded by a series of other programs (ShowVer.exeandDumpBin.exe) run in a newCMD.EXEinstance. Go figure. Meanwhile, I'd be interested in learning whether others can duplicate my observations. So far as I know, there is nothing special about my machine or my Windows installation.David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
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I'm not sure what you are saying is true, but I have pictures to prove that I can display a full screen console on my Windows 10 Professional x64, Build 1803. Not only that, but I've further discovered that it works for any true command prompt window. * The first three pictures show a Visual Studio debugger window, first in normal view, then maximized to full screen by pressing
F11once, then restored to its normal size by pressingF11again. * The next pictures show the same 32-bit character-mode program, compiled from ANSI C sources by the Visual Studio 2017 C/C++ compiler, launched from the File Explorer. * The third set of pictures show the same program, preceded by a series of other programs (ShowVer.exeandDumpBin.exe) run in a newCMD.EXEinstance. Go figure. Meanwhile, I'd be interested in learning whether others can duplicate my observations. So far as I know, there is nothing special about my machine or my Windows installation.David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
Hi, Did you notice the scrollbar on the side of your console window? You are looking at a maximized, borderless "windowed" console at your current monitor resolution. Not a true 80×43 x 640×350 text mode. This is very easy to understand. Let me show you. Step 1.) Press F11 and allow your console to go full screen. Step 2.) Press SHIFT + PRNTSCRN to take a screenshot Step 3.) Press WIN + R to open the Run Dialog and type 'mspaint' Step 4.) Press CTRL-V and paste the screenshot into MS Paint Step 5.) Use the MS Paint Menu and choose File->Properties Notice that the image is exactly the same width as your current screen resolution. That's because your monitor resolution never changed. You are looking at a full screen window at your current monitor resolution. I have not spent much time investigating all of the new ANSI/VT features[^]. But it looks like there has been a lot of enhancements to the console window. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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Hi, Did you notice the scrollbar on the side of your console window? You are looking at a maximized, borderless "windowed" console at your current monitor resolution. Not a true 80×43 x 640×350 text mode. This is very easy to understand. Let me show you. Step 1.) Press F11 and allow your console to go full screen. Step 2.) Press SHIFT + PRNTSCRN to take a screenshot Step 3.) Press WIN + R to open the Run Dialog and type 'mspaint' Step 4.) Press CTRL-V and paste the screenshot into MS Paint Step 5.) Use the MS Paint Menu and choose File->Properties Notice that the image is exactly the same width as your current screen resolution. That's because your monitor resolution never changed. You are looking at a full screen window at your current monitor resolution. I have not spent much time investigating all of the new ANSI/VT features[^]. But it looks like there has been a lot of enhancements to the console window. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
Yes, I discovered that scrollbar later yesterday evening, and today made a few other discoveries that go along with it. * The new clipboard shortcuts (Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V) are fully functional. * Alt-Enter elicits the same behavior as F11. I suspect you surmise correctly that these improvements came along with the ANSI/VT features. In any case, they ware very welcome, since I spend lots of time working in command prompt windows, and I miss the full screens that we once had, back in the day. ;)
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
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Yes, I discovered that scrollbar later yesterday evening, and today made a few other discoveries that go along with it. * The new clipboard shortcuts (Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V) are fully functional. * Alt-Enter elicits the same behavior as F11. I suspect you surmise correctly that these improvements came along with the ANSI/VT features. In any case, they ware very welcome, since I spend lots of time working in command prompt windows, and I miss the full screens that we once had, back in the day. ;)
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
David A. Gray wrote:
I suspect you surmise correctly that these improvements came along with the ANSI/VT features.
I have known about and used these new console features for many months. If you join the Windows Insider Program[^] you can also preview and give feedback on some of the newer features. If you decide to join make sure that you choose an appropriate ring. The 'Fast Ring' can be very frustrating and might not be the best choice for an office development workstation due to frequent updates and instability. Insider Preview Types[^] Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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David A. Gray wrote:
I suspect you surmise correctly that these improvements came along with the ANSI/VT features.
I have known about and used these new console features for many months. If you join the Windows Insider Program[^] you can also preview and give feedback on some of the newer features. If you decide to join make sure that you choose an appropriate ring. The 'Fast Ring' can be very frustrating and might not be the best choice for an office development workstation due to frequent updates and instability. Insider Preview Types[^] Best Wishes, -David Delaune
I just learned about them when I started this thread. How are you using them? As for joining the insider program, I'll pass for now.
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
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I just learned about them when I started this thread. How are you using them? As for joining the insider program, I'll pass for now.
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
Hi,
David A. Gray wrote:
I just learned about them when I started this thread.
I mention VGA text mode emulation in a comment several months ago[^]. I've been on Insider builds for many years now on most of my Windows 10 devices.
David A. Gray wrote:
How are you using them?
Like you I want my terminals to be full screen for that immersive experience. I am not using any of the new ANSI/VT features[^]. I've only done some simple experimentations with the WSL subsystem[^] terminal a few months back. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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Hi,
David A. Gray wrote:
I just learned about them when I started this thread.
I mention VGA text mode emulation in a comment several months ago[^]. I've been on Insider builds for many years now on most of my Windows 10 devices.
David A. Gray wrote:
How are you using them?
Like you I want my terminals to be full screen for that immersive experience. I am not using any of the new ANSI/VT features[^]. I've only done some simple experimentations with the WSL subsystem[^] terminal a few months back. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
Fair enough. What benefit do you derive from being on an insider track?
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
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Fair enough. What benefit do you derive from being on an insider track?
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting
Well, For any software engineer or windows-centric software company I would say that one benefit of being in the Insider Program[^] is getting exposed to features several months before they are available to the public. I also think it's important to test existing products on the insider builds to ensure that existing software isn't affected by breaking-changes. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
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Well, For any software engineer or windows-centric software company I would say that one benefit of being in the Insider Program[^] is getting exposed to features several months before they are available to the public. I also think it's important to test existing products on the insider builds to ensure that existing software isn't affected by breaking-changes. Best Wishes, -David Delaune
I agree, if you are actively developing software for paying customers.
David A. Gray Delivering Solutions for the Ages, One Problem at a Time Interpreting the Fundamental Principle of Tabular Reporting