I don’t know about you but I think the default font of the command prompt is ugly and hard to read. This guide shows you how to change the default font from a Raster font to a Consolas font specially designed for developers.

If your computer doesn’t have the Consolas font this guide shows you where to get it and how to configure the command prompt to recognize it.

Here are before and after screen shots of the command prompt.

Raster font

Consolas font

Change the Command Prompt’s Font

1. Click the Start orb, All Programs, Accessories, and then open the Command Prompt.
2. Right-click the top bar of the command prompt and then select Defaults.
3. Select the Font tab.
4. Change the font to Lucinda Consolas and set the size to 14. If you don’t see the Lucinda Consolas font follow the directions below to install it.

   ^[1]

5. Click OK to save the changes.

Install the Consolas Font

1. Download and install the Consolas font from Microsoft ^[2].
2. Open an elevated command prompt (Start, All Programs, Accessories, right-click Command Prompt and select Run As Administrator) and then type the following: reg add “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Console\TrueTypeFont” /v 00 /d Consolas
3. Press Enter on your keyboard to add the registry key.
4. Restart your computer and follow the instructions under Change the Command Prompt’s Font above.