- Windows Terminal 1.15 is now available as a preview.
- This new version introduces mark mode and scroll marks.
- The update also brings various improvements and fixes.
The Windows Terminal app is getting a new update that bumps the version number to 1.5 and brings new features, fixes, and improvements.
In version 1.5, the Windows Terminal introduces mark mode, scroll marks, PowerShell removes the black bars patch, and several other improvements and fixes.
Mark mode
Starting with the release, you can select content with the keyboard using the “Ctrl + Shift + M” keyboard shortcut. When in “mark mode,” you can use the arrow keys to move to the starting position, then you can hold the “Shift” key and use the arrow keys to make your selection. “Esc” will exit mark mode, and “Ctrl + A” selects all text in the buffer.
The feature also introduces new options, including markMode, which toggles mark mode. toggleBlockSelection allows you to create a block selection using only the keyboard. And switchSelectionEndpoint will switch focus to the other selection marker.
Scroll marks
You can automatically add scroll marks to your profile for each command that’s entered by adding the experimental.autoMarkPrompts setting. This setting will allow you to scroll to each mark with the scroll mark actions (detailed below). However, they won’t be visible in the scrollbar. If you want the scroll marks to appear in the scrollbar, you’ll need to add the experimental.showMarksOnScrollbar setting to your profile.
"experimental.autoMarkPrompts": true,"experimental.showMarksOnScrollbar": true
You can also add marks to buffer with the iterm2 OSC 1337 ; SetMark sequence or with the addMark action.
The feature also introduces new options, including addMark, which adds a scroll mark to your text buffer. If there’s a selection, the mark is placed at the selection. Otherwise, it’s placed in the cursor row.
The addMark action has an optional color parameter that lets you set the color of the scroll mark. The scrollToMark scrolls to the scroll mark in the given direction. The direction parameter for scrollToMark accepts first, previous, next, and last. The clearMark clears scroll mark at the current position, either at a selection if there is one or at the cursor position. And clearAllMarks clears all scroll marks in the text buffer.
Other improvements and changes
In addition, this releases the patch that prevented unexpected black backgrounds from appearing while PowerShell is running.
Windows Terminal now supports the DECPS escape sequence, allowing you to play sounds through the terminal.
If the settings file for the app preview is empty when launching, the file will start as a copy of Windows Terminal’s settings.
Furthermore, color schemes now accept “magenta” and “brightMagenta” in place of “purple” and “brightPurple,” and the terminal project now uses a single coordinate type, a change that was a +3610, -3906 line diff(!).
Finally, you can now use these keyboard accelerators for the shell extension: “T” for Open in Terminal, “P” for Open in Terminal Preview, and “D” for Open in Terminal.
Windows Terminal 1.15 is now available as a preview with the new features mentioned above and several bug fixes, and you can download it from the Microsoft Store or GitHub. If you are using the stable channel of the app, you can now update to version 1.14, which includes all these improvements.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].