Microsoft now lets Windows 11 users set Windows Terminal as the default terminal application
Microsoft has just released Terminal Preview 1.12 and the company proudly proclaims that this release is "HUGE!".
As you would hope and, indeed, expect, the new version brings with it new features, not least of which is the ability to set it as the default terminal emulator. But this far from being the end of the story. There's also windows restoration, full transparency in Windows 11, and a host of fixes.
See also:
- Microsoft bringing a new Find My Mouse tool and more mouse utilities to PowerToys
- Windows 11 has a handy God Mode for power users
- KB5006670 is the latest Window update to cause printer problems
Windows restoration means that when you relaunch Windows Terminal you can have the same tabs and panes reopened from your last session. Windows 11 users can now enjoy full transparency rather than the use of acrylic, and while there is the ability to set the tool as the default terminal emulator, you'll need to be on the Windows Insider Program Dev Channel or be running Windows 11 to take advantage of this.
Profile matching is another important addition, and Microsoft explains:
Windows Terminal will now appropriately handle matching the executable launched with its terminal profile. This means that all of your customizations will appear if you have a profile with the same executable as the one selected to launch. For example, clicking Command Prompt from the Start menu will open your Command Prompt profile, rather than your default profile running cmd.exe. This feature is only available in Windows Terminal Preview and will move into Windows Terminal in a future release.
But bug fixes are just as important as new features, and Microsoft shares the following list of issues that have been addressed:
Miscellaneous improvements
- You can now select text that has been printed in your buffer with the keyboard!
- Profiles for Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt (VS2017+) and Visual Studio Developer PowerShell (VS2019.2+) will now be automatically generated (Thanks @trippwill!).
- Elevated terminal windows will now display a shield icon to the left of the tabs to make the window more distinguishable.
- You can now enable the "adjustIndistinguishableColors" profile setting to adjust the foreground color to make it more visible, based on the background color.
- You can now select and interact with subtrees of panes (Thanks @Rosefield!).
- When splitting a new pane, SplitState now accepts directional modifiers (Thanks @Rosefield!).
- You can now open the system menu with Alt+Space, which uses the new openSystemMenu action.
Bug fixes
- Using the touch keyboard should now invoke properly when tapping inside the console window (Thanks @yosuemask2!).
- The mouse coordinates are now fixed for when the viewport is scrolled for all events.
- When running multiple actions, selecting a new tab should now focus that tab immediately (Thanks @Rosefield!).
- You can now navigate pane focus without having to zoom out (Thanks @Rosefield!).
Windows Terminal and Windows Terminal Preview are available from the Microsoft Store or from the GitHub releases page.