You have to type the following command. Type the Name.Log in capital letters in notepad. Save the file with default extension and close it. Falling Matrix Code Effect. It is another fabulous in all notepad hacks that will show a green matrix falling on the black screen. Copy the code.
Change Title Bar Text of Command Prompt Window. This is another cool hack to be used on command prompt. This command is used to change the cmd title. Use this command if you want to use something different and interesting. To do this you just need to execute a following command to change the cmd title text. Title “New title text”. Jul 04, 2020 This command helps you to modify the ARP cache. You can run an arp-a command on each computer to see whether the computers have the correct MAC address listed for each other to ping each other succeed on the same subnet. This command also helps users to find out if anyone has done arp poisoning in their LAN. You can try typing arp-a in command. Sep 19, 2015 Command Prompt also known as cmd is one of the most important tools in the Windows operating system, it looks plain and confusing at first sight. But has so many functions that can save one from some unexpected issues, programmers and hardware specialist often refer back to the command prompt time to time. The command line (or Terminal for you Mac fans) is a throwback to a simpler age of computing, before mouse pointers and application windows and desktop wallpaper. Back when it was just you and a. You can either restart your Mac to see the changes or, using another command, see them instantly: $ killall SystemUIServer. This command stops the graphical front-end to OS X for a split second. Don’t worry, it has to run all the time so as soon as it is stopped, it restarts instantly - but updated with our new option. Take a screenshot.
The CMD commands in Windows are very useful. These commands allow us to do our work very quickly and efficiently. Although, the Windows GUI interface allows us to do pretty much all the stuff sometimes we need to use the command prompt.
Many people when using Windows only deals with the GUI Windows interface, so they don’t have an idea about any cmd commands and even what command prompt is.
CMD Commands Tricks And Hacks
So in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use command prompt for beginners. If you already know about command prompt and want to just have a look at it commands then please skip to the bottom.
Apart from just basic commands, I’ll be talking about some real tricks and hacks that you can do with cmd commands.
Let’s dive right in.
Multiple Ways To Open Command Prompt
So the first way by using the run utility.
Press Windows key + R to open the run dialog box
Then type cmd inside it and hit enter. You’ll see that the command prompt has appeared.
The second way is just by searching your installed programs. Just type in cmd in the search box and choose the option which says cmd.
So the third way is very useful. It made my life a whole lot easier when I discovered that we can open cmd directly inside any folder.
Simply go to the folder where you want to open the cmd.
In the navigation box type cmd and hit enter.
You’ll see that the command prompt has opened in the same folder. This trick saves a lot of time for me.
Many times to make a change on system level you have to open the command prompt as an admin. To open the command prompt as an administrator simply go to the start menu and search for cmd. Then right click on cmd and choose the option run as administrator.
Turn Your Normal CMD To A Hacker CMD
You probably have seen in movies that hackers use terminals with a black screen and green text on it.
This can be done on windows command prompt by just using a simple hack.
Just type in color /? And hit enter. You’ll see a listing of colors that you can use with their respective code.
To make the command prompt text green we will use the command color 02
The first digit is for background color which is 0, it stands for black color and the second digit is for text color which is 2, it stands for green color.
Alternatively, you can also change colors by right-clicking on the top bar and then going to Properties->colors. Play around with this command and find out what color combination do you like the most.
You can also change the prompt name by simply typing prompt <new prompt name>
Now you’ll see that the prompt text has changed to whatever text that you have chosen. This cmd command really allows us to customize the command prompt to our style. Use this trick to name the prompt text to whatever you want.
To change the prompt to default type prompt without any argument and hit enter.
Clear Screen
When you find yourself running a lot of commands on the command prompt your screen will be filled with lots of text.
This will make it harder to read to what is displayed on the screen. So, for our comfort, we use a command called cls.
This command is short for the clear screen and it does the same thing, it clears the cmd screen.
Simply type the command cls and see the magic.
C:cls ↵
Exit Command Prompt
When you have finished all of your work on the command prompt, you can simply type in exit and hit enter.
You’ll be immediately taken out of the cmd window.
C:exit ↵
Change Date & Time Through Command Prompt
I personally think that this hack is the quickest way to change data and time on the windows system.
Simply Open the command prompt as an administrator, and type in the time and hit enter.
Enter the new time, hit enter and there you have it.
For changing the date type the command date and hit enter.
Then type in the new date in the format day/month/year and hit return.
Display Contents Of A Folder
Navigate to the folder whose content you want to see. I showed you a simple trick above, how to open the cmd in any location.
Open the command prompt and type dir /a
This command will list all the directories of the folder in which you currently are.
It will also show you the hidden files that you can’t normally see in the file explorer.
See in the image the folder 2 is not visible, but the cmd is telling me that there is a folder named folder 2. This is because I have hidden that folder, but it is still showing in command prompt.
Changing Folder And Drives
Type cd <folder name>
You’ll be taken to that folder.
If you want to go one step back type in cd.. and hit enter.
For changing the drive, type the drive letter followed by a colon, then press enter. For example k:
You’ll see that your drive has changed successfully.
Basic Files And Folder Operations Using Command Prompt
Basic operations of files and folders include creating, rename, copy, move and delete. So here are all the operations that can be done using windows cmd commands.
Creating A File & Folder
To create a new folder, we use the command md <folder name>.
Alternatively, you can use the command mkdir <folder name> to create a folder.
For creating a file simply type the command start <program name> <file name>
See the image below, how I created a notepad file using the above command.
You can also create a Microsoft word file by typing using the same command. For example, start winword newfile.docx
Note: You don’t need to put the extension when creating a file. The program itself will take care of it.
Rename A File & Folder
To rename a folder or file name, use ren <folder/file name> <new name>
You can also change the name using the command rename.
It’s all your choice use whichever command you like, I personally like to use short forms of these commands. It just makes things easier and quicker.
Copying Files & Folders
For copying a file and folder, you have to use the copy command.
Copy <filename> <new location>
See the example below:
Now, if you want to move a folder or a file then you can use the move command.
Move <filename> <new location>
Pay attention here, that I have used the double quotes around the folder name where I want to move my file. This is because the folder name has spaces in between. So if you don’t have any spaces in the folder name you can neglect the double quotes.
Note: Don’t forget to type the extension of the file that you want to copy or move.
Delete Files & Folders
The cmd command for deleting a file is del.
To delete or remove a file using the command prompt, type del <filename> and hit enter.
This will delete the file completely.
Notice, that I said completely, that means that the file will not go to recycle bin, it will be permanently deleted. So use this cmd command carefully.
For deleting a folder that has some contents inside it, such files and other folders use the command rd /s /q <folder name>.
This will completely delete the folder. Keep that in mind. You can also use rmdir instead of rd if you want to.
Hiding Your Files Using CMD
I guess you already know that we can hide our files by going to its properties and ticking the checkbox that says hidden.
But here I will show you a sneaky command prompt trick. This will allow you to hide files in a way that don’t show even when you have allowed showing the hidden files.
So the trick is to make the file or folder that you want to hide a system file and the hidden file as well.
Use the command attrib <filename> +s +h
Now the files will be hidden and it will become the system files as well. By default, the system files are not shown even when you allow to show the hidden files.
Shutdown, Restart, Logoff Using CMD
Do you know that you can shut down, restart and logoff of your PC using the command prompt?
If not here are the command that will help you to perform all these operations.
Shutdown
You can shut down your PC using the command shutdown /s
If you type this command in your command prompt and hit enter your computer will shutdown in under a minute. So don’t run this command now.
Even if you ran this command you can abort the shutdown by running the command shutdown /a. This will abort the shutdown process.
Furthermore, you can also specify the time frame after which the shutdown will take place. For this, you have to type in shutdown /s /t 120
Here 120 are seconds. This tells the command that shutdown the computer after 120 seconds. You can calculate seconds from minutes and put the time according to your need.
Restart
Restarting a computer is also very easy using cmd commands. Here is what you need to execute shutdown /r.
To specify the time of the restart use /t option followed by seconds as we used above.
Logoff
Similarly, you can logoff your computer by typing the command shutdown /land to hibernating the PC using the command shutdown /h. Just keep in mind that you can use the /t option with the logoff and the hibernate command to specify the time. These commands perform their respective actions instantly.
A-Z List Of Windows CMD Commands
Here is the list of all the command prompt commands that you try. Download the pdf below that contains all the cmd commands sorted in alphabetical order.
Rundown: CMD Commands Tricks And Hacks
This was all about CMD commands tricks and hacks. I hope you liked learning about command prompt commands. If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know in the comments.
Also, subscribe to notifications to get the latest updates.
Terminal
Hey
Terminal is Mac OS X way into the command line world. It is designed for you to typing in specific commands that you would not be able to do otherwise. This is great for customizing your Mac and unveiling hidden features. It is also a good way to destroy you system because you screwed something up.
What I have done is crawl the web look of the Top 50 Terminal commands. These commands are designed to make you make look cooler, act quicker or be generally useful. I have tried to keep commands down to one line, so they are simple and effective to use. Each item will include a description of what it does as well as an appropriate picture is necessary. Many of these commands appear as seperate posts all over the web, but never in one big list. I have tried to keep the amount of sudo commands down to a minimum as this can easily destroy your system. Especially if you go sudoing every thing. I have tried to give the best description I can, if you have a problem leave a comment and I will see if I can solve it. The list is in no particular order. Most of the commands can be reverted by replacing YES with NO and 1 with 0, the opposite. Most of these commands are Leopard compatible and many may not work on Tiger. Try them and see what happens.
1) 2D Dock
This quite a popular hack for the people running Leopard and don’t like the 3D feel. It changes the 3D dock to a flat 2D version. To enter copy and past the following code.
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES
killall Dock
2) Gradient Behind A Stack Item
One of my favourite hacks that enables you to put a small gradient behind an icon. I think this should be enabled by default.
defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean YES
killall Dock
3) Add A Message To The Login Window
This little Terminal command enables you to add a message of your choice to the Login window. Pretty cool and deserved a screenshot if I new how to take on while not logged in. Warning it’s a sudo command which can be dangerous.
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText 'Your Message'
Replace “Your Message” with the message of your choice, don’t make it to long. If you want to revert it do the following.
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText '
4) Add An Exposè Button To The Desktop
If you have reconfigured the F9 and F10 keys to something different you may want to use exposè. This hack adds a bigish blue button onto the desktop to enable you to use exposè. Clicking on it shows all the windows from one application (F10 default), option clicking it shows all windows (F9 default).
defaults write com.apple.dock wvous-floater -bool YES
killall Dock
5) Address Book Debug Menu
If you have some trouble with Address Book it may be useful to open up the debug menu as well as this use some of the hidden features. Make sure address book is closed first before applying the code. If you want to revert it remove YES in the string.
defaults write com.apple.addressbook ABShowDebugMenu -bool YES
6) Increase Dock Magnification Size
This little hack lets you increase the size of the magnification of the dock icons. Don’t go past 512.
defaults write com.apple.dock largesize -int 512
7) Increase Desktop Icon Size
If you want massive icons on you desktop this little hack lets you increase the icons to 512 pixels x 512 pixels. This is massive, may slow down on older machines. I don’t think it goes larger than 512.
defaults write com.apple.finder DesktopViewOptions -dict IconSize -integer 512
killall Finder
8) Changing the Format Of Screen Shots
If you use the screen shot function, you may want to change the format of the images, this is not easily done normally. Where jpg is in the code you can change this to the format your want, png bmp gif etc. You need to log out and back in again, or restart for the changes to take effect.
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
9) Change The Login Picture
If you get a bored of the space picture used on the login screen, you can change it with this little bit of code. Change the file location in the second half of the string to the exact file location of your chosen picture.
defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow DesktopPicture '/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/vortex.png'
10) Change The Loading Bar In Safari To A Pie Chart
This is a Safari 3 hack, so it might not work. This changes the blue bar that goes across the address bar into a small blue pie chart. Insert false instead of true to reverse.
defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugUsePieProgressIndicator -bool true
11) Clear The Open With Menu
If you right click on a file you can open it with many applications. Sometimes your OS can get a little confused and list many applications. This is to clear this list and start again. The code below is all on one line.
/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/
LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister
-kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user
12) Change The Delay When Dragging Windows In Spaces
This simple hack changes the delay time it takes to drag windows around in spaces, its currently set to 0.75
defaults write com.apple.dock workspaces-edge-delay -float 0.5
13) Disable Dashboard
If you don’t want or like the dashboard running you can disable it. Change YES to NO to enable it again.
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES
killall Dock
14) Enable Double Scroll Arrows
This little hack enables the double arrow set for up and down, left or right, to be at both ends of the scroll bar. Handy if you like the double arrows. Use System Preferences to reset.
defaults write “Apple Global Domain” AppleScrollBarVariant DoubleBoth
15) Disable Tooltips In Safari
This quick little hack for Safari that removes the tooltips you get when you hover over certain elements.
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitShowsURLsInToolTips 0
16) Increase The Dock Size
Command #6 enables you to change the magnification. This command enables you to change the size of the dock. Use the sliders in System Preferences to reduce this size. Don’t go larger 256.
defaults write com.apple.dock tilesize -int 256
17) Disable the Crash Dialog Box
This disables the quit dialog box when an application crashes. Type prompt to enable again.
defaults write com.apple.CrashReporter DialogType none
18) Drag A Widget Onto The Desktop
Probably one of the coolest hacks. This command enables widgets to be placed onto the desktop. Drag a widget around and press F12 to drag it onto the desktop. Repeat the process again to drag a widget back onto the dashboard. This may need you to log off or restart for it to take effect.
defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES
19) Enable Debug Menu In Safari
Adding debug menus to programs is great as you can access a whole range of features. This one is for Safari.
defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1
20) Enable The Path View In Finder
One of may favourite hacks as it lets you see the current path of the Finder window you are in. Its great if you work with a lot of windows.
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES
21) Enable Time Machine On Unsupported Drives
Another favourite hack of mine, simply because it enable Time Machine to work on unsupported drives such as a NAS. Use with caution as it is unsupported.
defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1
22) Enable Web Inspector
This is a very detailed web inspector that enables you to find out specific information about a page. It is accessible through the debug menu but this enables you to use it without. You can quickly access it through right-click.
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitDeveloperExtras -bool true
23) Enable Debug in iCal
Another debug menu (I like debug menus) this time its for iCal. You need to restart iCal for the changes to take effect.
defaults write com.apple.iCal IncludeDebugMenu YES
24) Enable Quit In Finder
This is a very useful command for anyone who does a lot of fiddling and needs to quit Finder.
defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool YES
killall Finder
25) Force Mail To Display In Plain Text
If you have problems with HTML emails or you just want emails to be displayed in plain text use the following command. You need to restart Mail for the changes to take effect. Replace with false to revert.
defaults write com.apple.mail PreferPlainText -bool TRUE
26) Increase Time Machine Backups
If you do a lot of work on you Mac, and you want time machine to back up more frequently you need to change the value. It is in seconds. The default is set to an hour which is 3600. Change this value to suit, half and hour is 1800 seconds.
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 1800
27) Kill A Process
Sometimes you just need a process to stop running. If you want to kill it in Terminal with out using Activity Monitor, find the process ID (In Activity Monitor) and then use the following command. Only really useful if you don’t like much clicking or are writing a program.
kill PID 478
28) Let Terminal Talk
If you are bored one day you can get Terminal to quickly talk anything back to you using the voice engine. Replace hello with anything you want.
say hello
29) Make Hidden Applications Icons Transparent
If you hide a lot of applications you can make there icons transparent in the dock. A very good visual clue.
defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -bool YES
killall Dock
30) Make The Dock Spring Loaded
Makes the dock spring loaded so you can open files or windows from within the dock.
defaults write com.apple.dock enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items -boolean YES
31) Recent Applications Stack
This command creates a new stack in your dock so you can view the recently used Applications.
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ 'tile-data' = { 'list-type' = 1; }; 'tile-type' = 'recents-tile'; }'
32) Change The Arrows In iTunes
Normally the arrows in iTunes link to the music store, adding this command enables you to search your library. You need to click on the song first for the arrows to appear.
defaults write com.apple.iTunes invertStoreLinks -bool YES
33) Pin The Dock To The Left
This command pins the dock to the left hand side of the screen. I’m not sure what happens if you have the dock on the left or right edge. Replace start with middle to revert.
defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string start
34) Pin The Dock To The Right
Exactly the same as above except it pins the dock to the right hand side of the screen.
defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string end
35) Play Star Wars Episode IV
Using a simple telnet address you Terminal will connect in and play Star Wars Episode IV in its ASCII glory.
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
36) Quicklook A File
Quicklook is a great little application in Leopard. The command lets you quicklook a file right in Terminal. First you need to change the folder by using the “cd” command and then the folder you want. To enable this command to work you need to type the file name exactly.
qlmanage -p 'Jaguar Aqua Graphite.jpg'
37) Disable The Spotlight Icon
This command removes the spotlight icon. Type 755 to re-enable it, instead of 0.
sudo chmod 0 /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app
killall Spotlight
38) Remove The Stripes In List View
A simple hack that removes the alternating stripes in list view in finder.
defaults write com.apple.finder FXListViewStripes -bool FALSE
killall Finder
39) Turn The Menu Bar White
If you don’t like the menu bar in its cool transparent glory you can change it so it appears white. This requires a password and you will need to restart you mac.
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.WindowServer 'EnvironmentVariables' -dict 'CI_NO_BACKGROUND_IMAGE' 1
40) Turn The Menu Bar Grey
If you don’t like the white version of the menu bar you can change it so it appears gret.
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.WindowServer 'EnvironmentVariables' -dict 'CI_NO_BACKGROUND_IMAGE' 0
41) Revert The Menu Bar Back To Default
If you prefer the transparent menu bar and you want it back type the following into Terminal.
sudo defaults delete /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.WindowServer 'EnvironmentVariables'
42) Set The Expanded Print Dialogue As Default
If you want access to a lot of the extra print menus on by default you can use the following command to enable you to do this. Requires restart.
defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool TRUE
43) Set The Expanded Save Dialogue As Default
Similar as the print dialogue this sets the save dialogue to the expanded view as default. Requires restart.
defaults write -g NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool TRUE
44) Set The Screen Saver As The Wallpaper
This command sets the currently selected screen saver as the desktop background. Use command + c or . to stop while in Terminal. Alternatively you can use wallsaver.
/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background
45) Set The History Limit In Safari To A Number Of Items
If you don’t want a massive history you can set it to a limited number of items. Change the number to suit.
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitHistoryItemLimit 2000
46) Set The History Limit In Safari To A Number Of Days
Similar to the hack above you can set the number of days Safari keeps its history.
defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitHistoryAgeInDaysLimit 30
47) Show Hidden Files In Finder
A lot of the files in Finder are hidden. This is probably a wise choice by Apple as there are countless things you can screw up. But if you want to take a look at how many there are and what they are you can show them within Finder. Be careful as these files are needed by the system, if you screw something up don’t come complaining. Repeat the command with false to revert. The image above, click for larger version, show the amount of files there actually is, with these hidden there is only 4 shown normally.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
48) Skip Disk Image Verification
If you want to save some time you can skip the disk image verification for a disk image. Potentially risky as a whole load of things could go wrong without you knowing.
com.apple.frameworks.diskimages skip-verify TRUE
49) Show SubFolders In Graphical Format In Terminal
This is a very cool little hack that enables you to show an ASCII graphical view of sub folders. Use the cd command to change to a directory other wise the command will list every folder. For more information look here.
ls -R | grep ':$' | sed -e 's/:$//' -e 's/[^-][^/]*//--/g' -e 's/^/ /' -e 's/-/|/'
50) Speed Up Dialogue Boxes
Most dialogue boxes have a cool animation effect that looks cool. If you want to speed this up you can change the speed at which is renders so it appears almost instantly. The default is 0.2.
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSWindowResizeTime 0.01
Thats 50 top Terminal commands, I wanted to go to 100 but I couldn’t find 100 good commands. If you have any tips please leave a comment below explaining what the tips does and why you like it. If you just want to leave a comment you can, just be clear, since garbled comments are hard to understand.
If you want to take your skills with Terminal a bit further I recommend you check out the Terminal Category on this site. If you fancy reading a book there is a couple on Amazon that I regularly see mentioned and recommend, O’reilly Unix Geeks and Unix Under the Hood both are designed for Mac OS X and take Terminal further.