(Vanity) Tech help - save a LONG screen from CMD.exe

The Windows Vista experience ^ | 26 April 2011 | blueflag

[Blueflag]

NET: WHAT is the DOS command to save a screen full of text in CMD.exe

background) This is a friend's VISTA home premium machine I am 'laying hands on' trying to fix other issues. I don't want it on my network, so I can't print. I *DO* want to save the entire contents of the CMD.exe window to a .txt file.

details:

Because my DOS skills have faded, I need some advice. On a SEPARATE computer, I have the need to SAVE to a notepad file a long report an app created in the CMD.exe window.

I know how to select all; but after selecting all one cannot COPY/PASTE 'cuz ctrl-C does not copy the contents of the CMD.exe windows' selected text.

Also, the CMD.exe window is NOT word-wrapping, so I can't do a screen shot to capture all the text.

NET: WHAT is the DOS command to save a screen full of text in CMD.exe

Many thanks to the FReeper "IT" community.

[Blueflag]

NET: WHAT is the DOS command to save a screen full of text in CMD.exe

This is a friend's VISTA home premium machine I am 'laying hands on' trying to fix other issues. I don't want it on my network, so I can't print. I *DO* want to save the entire contents of the CMD.exe window to a .txt file.

Because my DOS skills have faded, I need some advice. On a SEPARATE computer, I have the need to SAVE to a notepad file a long report an app created in the CMD.exe window.

I know how to select all; but after selecting all one cannot COPY/PASTE 'cuz ctrl-C does not copy the contents of the CMD.exe windows' selected text.

Also, the CMD.exe window is NOT word-wrapping, so I can't do a screen shot to capture all the text.

NET: WHAT is the DOS command to save a screen full of text in CMD.exe

Many thanks to the FReeper "IT" community.

[waynesa98]

not sure you can. but you may be able to do multiple ctrl-prtsc and paste into a email or photo editor to capture the info. BTW whats the issue with your friends computer?

[Blueflag]

shameless self-bump to beg for replies ;-)

[Nervous Tick]

Right click on the Command Prompt window title bar. Edit->Mark. Drag through the text you want.

Again right click on the Command Prompt window title bar. Edit->Copy.

[SolidRedState]

Right click the top bar of the CMD window, Edit, Select All, Copy

[Nervous Tick]

You can also “select all” from the edit menu.

I don’t know if this trick works in VISTA, but it works in Windows 7 and XP so I assume it works in Vista too.

[Blueflag]

Cant’ do the print screen work around ‘cuz cmd.exe didn’t word wrap — a lot of the important stuff disappears off the right side of the window. Thus the need to save the contents to a text file.

This machine belongs to a friend visiting from Germany. She let her virus/ malware definitions get a month old and she got hammered with malware and trojans here in the U.S.

I have managed to get all but one ‘root cause’ (pun intended) bit of malware ID’d and removed mainly using malwarebytes and hitman pro. the techies and malwarebytes.org have been helping and put me onto a freeware utility named VIPRE RESCUE that DID find the source of the recurring “gamevance” infection. THAT program created the screen report in CMD.exe but DID NOT write it out to a log file I can review with the guys from Malwarebytes.org.

harrumph.

The VIPRE RESCUE app DID clean the 3 well-hidden remaining trouble-makers and the 64 registry errors that produce a BSOD on reboot. Now I just gotta tell the tech support guys.

[GMMC0987]

Better to right click in window, click on select all, press Enter. This will get all window text into the clipboard.

[Blueflag]

OOORAH!

We have a winner.

Thanks again to the FReeper community for pointing out the painfully obvious fixes found in the Windows Experience ...

I should have looked for “copy” to un-grey once I selected all.

BUT, thanks for pointing out the ready-made fix.

[SoothingDave]

Can you run the command generating the report from the command prompt? If so simply direct the output to a file.

For example:

dir >foo.txt

will create a file called “foo.txt” in your current directory and send the output from the “dir” command to that file INSTEAD OF to the screen.

[Blueflag]

BTW, in my own defense ... her machine DOES run IN GERMAN, and while I can order a beer and find the airport, my TECHNICAL German is lousy.

Thanks again.

[Spruce]

Use the ">" operator to redirect command output to a new file.

Example:

dir *.txt > myfile.txt

Additionally, the ">>" operator will append to a file.

example:

dir *.txt >> myfile.txt

[Nervous Tick]

*Technical* German?

Hey, if you can order a beer, how much more “technical German” do you really need? :-)

[Blueflag]

I could do that by editing the .bat file that runs the scan, but Nervous Tick saved my arse.

It’s as simple as SELECT ALL, then COPY from the interface. COPY does not un-grey until you SELECT ALL. I kinda feel stupid for not seeing the obvious, but her machine DOES run in German ....

[ShadowAce]

[ShadowAce]

[Blueflag]

and just remember that holding up the thumb orders ONE beer. holding up the first finger orders TWO beers.

;-)

and holding up two fingers — first and second — gets you kicked in the !@#$s by the nice German bar maid ‘cuz you just told her FU. oops.

[tacticalogic]

If it’s Vista, it should have clip.exe and you should be able to run your dos cmd and pipe the output to that, like this:

dir | clip.exe

When it’s finished, the output will already be in your clipboard paste buffer. Just open up whatever you want to paste it into, right-click and hit Paste.

[antiRepublicrat]

Redirect the output:

yourcommand.exe > yourtextfile.txt

[tacticalogic]

And you don’t really need the .exe extension on the pipe to clip.

dir | clip

works just as well.