ConEmu
Windows Terminal

General

Disclaimer Please note, that this document has been written for a long period, and some answers may be obsolete. If you find any Q/A, which differs from other parts of documentation or the actual program behavior, please let us know via ‘Suggest better edit’ link at the bottom of the page.

Q. I found a bug, what should I do?

A. First, make sure that the bug doesn’t occur without ConEmu (e.g. running FAR directly, not via ConEmu). Next, make sure that the bug wasn’t fixed in the latest ConEmu version. If the bug persists, file a thoroughly detailed issue.

Q. What about ConMan, alternative console, etc.?

A. Everything is seamlessly built into ConEmu, but in better way ;) The flag ‘Multiple consoles’ should be enabled. Furthermore, using ConMan with ConEmu is NOT RECOMMENDED. A new console may be created in many ways: using a keyboard shortcut (Win+W by default), by adding -new_console to the executed command in prompt, and so on. The current console can be closed or restarted: Win+~. The long output of a console command or program can be opened in Far’s editor/viewer via plugin or Ctrl+O Far’s Macro. Switching between consoles can be done with Ctrl+Tab or Win+Shift+Q.

Q. What is an Apps key?

A. AppsKey.

Q. What is a Host key?

A. This is sort of ‘substitution’ for key chosed by user. For example you may choose common modifier (from one or more Ctrl/Alt/Shift/Apps) for group of actions. Browse ‘Keys & Macro’ page in the Settings dialog.

Q. Not all characters (hieroglyphs, ellipses, copyright symbols etc.) are displayed

A. For some reason, ConEmu failed to change the font of the real console. Select ‘Debug’ > ‘Properties’ from ConEmu’s system menu, and on the ‘Font’ tab choose a TrueType font.

A. A missing or non-Unicode font was specified in ConEmu’s settings (Settings-ConEmu.reg, ‘ConsoleFontName’ parameter).

Q. Is it possible to run a GUI application in a ConEmu tab?

A. Yes, with certain GUI applications. Example: Putty, Notepad, and others. Please note, that ConEmu can’t modify ChildGui behavior, and you may notice visual or controlling problems with applications, which were not designed for embedding. This is not a ConEmu’s problem, please contact your application author.

Q. How to launch an application in a new ConEmu tab?

A. Indicate the application in the ‘Create new console’ field of the new console creation dialog. This dialog can be opened by using the ‘New console…’ item from ConEmu’s system menu, or by using the corresponding keyboard shortcut (Win-W or Win-Shift-W by default).

A. A new tab can be opened from an existing tab (e.g. from Far) by adding a ‘-new_console’ parameter to the application’s command line. Example: putty.exe -new_console.

Q. How to use the ‘-new_console’ parameter?

A. The setting ‘Inject ConEmuHk’ must be enabled in ConEmu’s configuration. Afterwards, if ConEmu sees the ‘-new_console’ parameter in a launched application’s command line, it is removed from the command line, and the application/command is ran in a new ConEmu tab.

A. Additional launch options are available: -new_console[:bh[N]caru[:user:pwd]]

  • b - Create background tab
  • h<height> - Set buffer height: e.g., h0 - disable buffer, h9999 - enable buffer with 9999 lines
  • n - Disable ‘Press Enter or Esc to close console’ message
  • c - Explicitly enable ‘Press Enter or Esc to close console’ (default)
  • a - RunAs shell verb (as Admin on Vista+, login/password in Win2k and WinXP)
  • r - Run as restricted user
  • u - Open ConEmu choose user dialog
  • u:<user>:<pwd> - specify user/pwd in args. MUST BE THE LAST OPTION.

Example: "%ConEmuBaseDir%\ConEmuC.exe" /c dir "-new_console:bh9999c" c:\ /s. Note that when launching from Far Manager, "%ConEmuBaseDir%\ConEmuC.exe" /c may be omitted.

A. For comfort, when using Far, one can configure a macro bound to ShiftEnter (see example in the distribution package).

A. Pay attention to the parameter -cur_console:h[N], which allows controlling long output of commands or applications when running them from Far Manager.

Q. Which environment variables does ConEmu set?

A. Read wiki page ConEmu Environment.

Q. Launched console program outputs nothing.

This question covers only console applications!

A. Certain programs work with the console’s alternative buffer - e.g. telnet.exe, launched without parameters. A history of this issue can be read here: Issue 65. The problem is fixed in version 120504 (the ‘Inject ConEmuHk’ flag must be set). In previous versions, the workaround was to show the real console (CtrlWinAltSpace), and temporarily work with it.

A. As a result of a ShellExecuteEx bug, on certain operating systems the console process was launched with an incorrect output buffer handle. To fix the problem, the ‘Inject ConEmuHk’ flag must be set. If the problem persists - create a new Issue with a detailed description of the problem, and attach the debug log of the launched program: ‘Settings -> Debug -> Shell and processes’.

Q. A program does not work in ‘Long console output’ mode.

A. Certain programs don’t work correctly with a long console buffer. Some examples are bview, Aurora, and others. There are multiple solutions:

  • Open the program in a new ConEmu tab with scrolling disabled. Example: “bview.exe -new_console:h”
  • Indicate that scrolling should not be enabled. Example: “ac.exe -cur_console:h”
  • Alternatively, entirely disable ‘Long console output’ in the ‘Tabs’ page of the ‘Settings’ dialog, if long console output is not required.
Download    Donate