Generally, even the most novice of computer users know and use a few keyboard shortcuts – such as copy and paste with CTRL+C/V. The command prompt is lasting memory of simpler computing times yet it still provides excellent efficiency on many tasks. It is therefor ironic that such a common keyboard shortcut doesn’t function in that environment. The command line is all about using a keyboard and no mouse to accomplish routines. Yet, to copy and paste requires a right-click in the application window!

It doesn’t take long for a command line junky to become annoyed with this default behavior. Evidently Microsoft agrees enough to provide a way to return the copy/paste keyboard shortcut within the command line environment. Right-click on the command prompt window icon and choose Properties.

On the Options tab look for the section titled Edit Options and check off the box next to QuickEdit Mode. Once enabled you now have the ability to copy and paste directly within the command prompt application window – the right-click menu is gone.