How to Copy and Paste in Windows Command Prompt ?

Many times when I use Command Prompt, I think that it would be better if we could also copy and paste commands in command prompt. Well if you also wish the same, than in this article I have got the solution to that problem. All you need to do is change few settings by following below given tutorial and you will be able to use copy paste feature of Command Prompt (cmd) on windows xp,vista,7 and 8.

According to me using copy and paste in cmd could reduce lots of headaches rather than typing it. It can reduce errors when we are copying the commands. It will also help us, if we want to copy commands from command prompt to notepad so that you can share that file with other people. It could help us in many ways but problem is how we can copy and paste in cmd. Well copying and pasting in command prompt is not as easy as normal which we do by using shortcuts like ctrl + c and ctrl + v, but yes it is possible and below is the way how you can do it.

How to Copy Text in Command Prompt ?

Sometimes it might happen that we need to save few commands so that we can use it in future. You might be thinking that we will have to download some software which can allow us to copy and paste in cmd but no. We ain’t downloading any software or other file to do it, All you have to do is change few settings by following below given steps and then you will be able to copy text from Command Prompt and then you can paste it anywhere you need.

1) Open Command Prompt on your windows computer. In case you don’t know how to open it, press “Windows key + R”, type “cmd” there and hit enter. There are many other ways also to open the command prompt which depends upon the version of the windows you are using but the one which I stated is common on all the versions.

2) After opening the command prompt, we have to make few changes in settings so right click on title bar of command prompt window and go to properties. In that under “Options” tab, check the box corresponding to “Quick Edit Mode” and click on “OK” button.

3) Now you will be able to select the text in command prompt terminal by clicking and dragging the cursor over the text. After you select the desired text, right click on title bar of command prompt window and go to Edit and then click on “Copy”. You can also use the shortcut method to copy by selecting the text and then hit Enter key on keyboard.

In this way you can easily copy the text from command prompt and now you can paste it wherever you want by pressing “Ctrl + V” keys on keyboard. I think this is really handy to save the commands which we want to use in future. This was how you can copy the text from command prompt but what if you want to paste the text in the command prompt ? Just follow below given steps to learn how you can paste the copied text in command prompt.

Read – How to Remove Virus Using Command Prompt ?

How to Paste Text in Command Prompt ?

Obviously you won’t paste any normal text in command prompt, It will be always commands and if there will be single mistake in the command then also it will show you error. To be safe side, it is much more convenient to paste the commands rather than typing it. If you want to learn how you can paste the copied text in command prompt then follow below given steps.

1) First of all copy the text from anywhere which you want to paste in the cmd. In my case I am copying one command from Notepad and I will show you how to paste it in the command prompt.

2) To paste the text, right click on the command prompt window. Go to edit and in that click on paste. It will paste the text. Unlike copy, there is no shortcut for the paste so you have to follow this procedure every time you want to paste the text in command prompt on windows.

In this way you can easily copy and paste the text in command prompt. There are many other alternatives of command prompt which are more advanced and handy to use. If you want then you can download and install them but I would recommend you to use command prompt only than too still if you want then below are few of best command prompt alternatives and yes they do support easy copy & pasting of text.

• ConEmu
• CygWin
• TCC/LE
• FAR Manager
• SysInternals Suite
• NirCMD

You can download any of the above cmd alternatives and if you have any questions or if you know any other easy ways of copying and pasting text in cmd than do tell me in comments section below.