ConsoleZ is a feature-packed enhancement for the Windows command line, an updated and extended fork of the open-source Console 2.

There’s no installation, and ConsoleZ won’t interfere with your existing command line. Just run Console.exe and it opens its own window.

A toolbar offers buttons to split the console horizontally or vertically, enabling (for example) viewing two consoles side-by-side.

There’s no need to spend an age scrolling the window, looking for some key detail– the built-in Search box will find it right away.

Browser-like tab handling allows you to add, rename, detach, clone, close and otherwise manage as many tabs as you need.

Customise your console with wallpaper, tabs, transparency, more

Detaching tabs gave us problems, as for some reason the new command window used a 5-point font, but everything else behaved as expected.

Tabs can be grouped, which means you can enter a command in one, and it’ll be echoed in all the others.

There are a lot of visual tweaks. You’re able to set up custom window styles, adjust transparency, change fonts, select a cursor type, even choose a separate background image per tab, if you like.

This is all ultra-configurable, too. The GUI interface doesn’t mean you’re forced to use the mouse, for instance: just about everything has a keyboard shortcut, and these can all be freely reconfigured to whatever you prefer.

Exploring the Settings dialog reveals further handy extras, including an option to switch ConsoleZ to another monitor whenever you run it full-screen.

As you’ve probably noticed, there’s a lot of functionality here, but it doesn’t get in your way. You’ll figure out how to use basic features like the tabs and Search box in about 15 seconds, and the really advanced stuff – like using ConsoleZ with a shell other than cmd.exe – isn’t visible unless you go looking for it.

ConsoleZ is an open source program for Windows Vista and later. Give it a try.