Scott Hanselman

Get on the Windows Terminal PREVIEW train - now with Settings UI

January 28, 2021 Comment on this post [0] Posted in Tools
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Turns out you can install both the Windows Terminal AND the Windows Terminal Preview side by side! This will let you try out all the upcoming features in this "skip next" version. You can grab the next version of the Windows Terminal at https://aka.ms/terminal-preview now.

The two Terminals can be pinned side by side if you like. Here you can see the Preview Terminal has a "Pre" badge in the taskbar.

Windows Terminal rocks

Historically you've had to edit a settings.json file - usually with Visual Studio Code and it's lovely json schema support, natch - but as of Windows Terminal 1.6, you've got a preview of the long-awaited Settings UI.

Get the Terminal 1.6 Preview, press Ctrl+, to get your settings.json, then paste this down by the actions array at the bottom:

{ "command": { "action": "openSettings", "target": "settingsUI" }, "keys": "ctrl+shift+," },

That'll make Ctrl+Shift+, bring up the new Settings UI!

Here is just one section! I thought I know all the settings but there's a TON I missed. You'll also notice all my Profiles on the left PLUS a Base Layer for inheritance. I was pleased to see the Grayscale vs ClearType (subpixel rgb anti-aliasing) choice, as well as some of the more obscure cursor options.

Windows Terminal Settings UI

A real color schema editor is also overdue, so it was awesome to see that as well.

Color schemes

You can, of course, hop between JSON the UI. Here's the UbuntuLegit (from Kayla!) color schema as a UI, above, and as JSON, below.

{
"background": "#2C001E",
"black": "#75F50A",
"blue": "#3465A4",
"brightBlack": "#555753",
"brightBlue": "#729FCF",
"brightCyan": "#34E2E2",
"brightGreen": "#8AE234",
"brightPurple": "#AD7FA8",
"brightRed": "#EF2929",
"brightWhite": "#EEEEEE",
"brightYellow": "#FCE94F",
"cursorColor": "#FFFFFF",
"cyan": "#06989A",
"foreground": "#EEEEEE",
"green": "#300A24",
"name": "UbuntuLegit",
"purple": "#75507B",
"red": "#CC0000",
"selectionBackground": "#FFFFFF",
"white": "#D3D7CF",
"yellow": "#C4A000"
},

I've been using Windows Terminal Preview as my primary lately, even over the "more stable" released version. Fortunately I can run both, but the Preview is my go-to right now.

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About Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.