Microsoft: New Windows Terminal update is out and it's 'huge'
Microsoft has released Windows Terminal Preview version 0.3, the recently launched command-line interface, which it wants to be the newest and best experience for developers who use Windows Command Prompt and PowerShell.
Windows Terminal is an app aimed at developers who use command-line tools and shells like Command Prompt (cmd.exe), PowerShell, and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL).
It launched in June amid concern that it might replace the familiar Command Prompt and PowerShell. Microsoft is allowing Windows Terminal to co-exist with Windows Console but it believes Terminal will become the favored tool among those who need command-line apps.
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The latest version of the Terminal app is available from the Microsoft Store but it's also available on Microsoft's Releases page on GitHub.
Among the improvements in v0.3 is that the interface can now be dragged regardless of where the mouse pointer is positioned on the title bar.
The title bar itself has also been updated with a resized dropdown button with new colors and stays to the right of the last opened tab. There are also new colors for the minimize, maximize, and close buttons.
Terminal is inheriting some accessibility features that allow tools like Windows Narrator "to interrogate, navigate, and read" the Terminal's user interface controls and text content, according to Kayla Cinnamon, program manager for Windows Terminal, Console and Command-Line.
Cinnamon notes that the new accessibility features are still a work in progress but reckons that overall the update is "HUGE". Indeed, it appears to be the biggest update since the app's launch two months ago.
Terminal users can now define the tab title of each profile within settings, which takes priority over the shell-provided tab and should make it easier to tell the difference between profiles.
There are now more choices for configuring the background image, with an option to add a background image on an acrylic background, as well as position the background anywhere on the screen.
Additionally, Terminal users can now connect to the in-browser command-line called Azure-hosted Cloud Shell, which provides shell access to Azure.
This feature has been added as a new default profile to all users' list of profiles and gives access to files and projects stored on the Microsoft Azure cloud through Windows Terminal. Microsoft has provided more details about the Azure Cloud Shell connector.
Microsoft lists a bunch of bug fixes for this version of Terminal aimed at improving the experience for users, including several issues that were causing crashes.
The Terminal interface can now be dragged anywhere, regardless of where the mouse pointer is positioned on the title bar.