Microsoft updated Windows Terminal with new support for multiple windows, improvements to the console architecture and several other features.
Windows Terminal, the default console app in Windows 10 and 11, received significant updates in both the stable and preview channels. Version 1.22.10352.0 is now available to all users outside the preview channel. It introduces a completely rewritten console host implementation with support for Sixels, emoji with zero-width joiners, command snippets and several other improvements.
One of the main additions in this update is a new version of the Cascadia Code font, which fixes an issue with Arabic glyphs. In addition, a new colour palette is being tested: Ottosson. That offers a consistent distribution of hue and chroma based on the Oklab colour space.
New settings interface
Microsoft designed a new settings interface, including a new compatibility page and a terminal emulation page within Profiles. This allows users to manage application compatibility settings better. Also, users can now set how paths are translated when dragging or copying files to the terminal. Four options are available: no translation (Windows), WSL (/mnt/c), MSYS2 (/c) and Cygwin (/cygdrive/c).
This update also brings some changes in addition to new features. In the command prompt and Python and other applications that use console input, reselecting a previously used command will cause it to be resaved in history, reversing a previous change.
Windows 11 24H2 no longer updates Terminal while it is in use. Translation modes for POSIX paths now correctly escape paths with single quotes. Users can now block applications from writing to the Windows clipboard via a new compatibility setting.
Bug fixes
Some bug fixes have also been made. For example, the Ctrl+Insert hotkey now works correctly to copy selected text in the Command Palette, the Close Window action will no longer bypass the confirmation dialogue, and the schema document has been updated to include the Windows.Terminal.VisualStudio dynamic profile source.
Windows Terminal 1.23.10353.0 is a more significant update with even more improvements. Support for multiple windows has been completely rewritten, significantly improving stability and reliability. The tray icon works more consistently, actions that involve various windows function better, and calling windows is smoother. This makes working with multiple terminal windows much more enjoyable. Should one still experience problems with window or process management, it is recommended to file a bug report.
Also, in this version, the Cascadia Code has been updated to fix problems with Arabic glyphs. The new Ottosson colour palette remains under development, and users can now choose to display the tab bar in full-screen mode via a new setting. The settings interface has been further enhanced with a new, uncluttered customization experience for the New Tab menu, where you can add folders and profile settings. In addition, new simple settings have been added, such as rainbow suggestions, cell width, Web search URL and colour selection. It’s also now easier to set, test and delete call sounds.
Profiles have long been able to adjust foreground, background and selection colours, but these settings were not yet accessible through the UI. This is now the case. Another new addition is an icon picker that allows users to quickly select emoji, built-in icons or external icon files. The appearance settings page now has a new editor for spatial padding.
Another major innovation is that users can now copy screen content with escape sequences by setting a copy action with `”withControlSequences”: true.` Applications can also now use the S8C1T and S7C1T escape sequences to enable or disable C1 controls. DOCS now enables 8-bit control characters on stdin when using ISO2022 encoding.
The full changelog and download links for the latest Windows Terminal Preview are available on GitHub. Users can also download the updates from the Microsoft Store.