Vertical bars pass data from one command to the next: This line itself is called a pipe, but officially is known as a vertical bar. In the command prompt, commands are linked to one another with a vertical line (|). Through a pipe, the output of the first command is interpreted as input for the following command. Individual CMD commands can be combined with one another. In this way, you can find the command prompt in the normal execution as well as the administrator version. Alternatively, Windows 8 as well as Windows 10 both offer the “Power User Tasks Menu.” You can open this with the key combination Win + X. But the command prompt is also found via the apps here. With Windows 8, Microsoft replaced the start menu with a start screen. Under Windows 7 and Windows 10, the program is found in the “System Tools” folder. The command prompt has long had a fixed spot in the Windows start menu as well. Then all you have to do is type “cmd” into the search field and press the OK button. The latter is opened under Windows 7, 8, and 10 with the key combination Win + R. (If you right-click on the file, Windows also gives you the option to start the program as an administrator – in case you have the access data for this.) To reach the program more quickly, you can use the search bar or the run menu. This executable file should be found in the system directory of your Windows folder. Technically speaking, the command line is the CMD.EXE program. There are various options for accessing the command line in Windows. In this way, users can create script programs with the PowerShell scripting language. For example, automations can be created better with PowerShell. In addition, however, there’s also the “PowerShell”: This offers more options than CMD.EXE. In general, the connection between operating system – regardless of whether graphical (GUI = graphical user interface) or text-based (CLI = command line interpreter) was condensed under the term “ Shell.” The default command line interpreter for Windows is called CMD.EXE. But even after the switch to graphical operating systems, the command line remained text-based. Instead, you had to type in all commands – the directory structures were then displayed as plain text on the screen. In older operating systems (like MS-DOS), you had to work without a graphical user interface, and oftentimes even navigate without a mouse. This makes it possible, for example, to organize files, start programs, or run other commands linked to the operating system, computer, or network.

The command line (also called the console or terminal) is a text-based interface within the operating system, that forwards commands from the user to the operating system.

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