Linux-like Ctrl-C (KeyboardInterrupt) for the Windows cmd line?

Question

I've been forced into using a command line in windows and wondered if there were Linux-like keyboard shortcuts? I googled and didn't find what I was looking for.

Things like ^C, ^Z and such?

Renowned

Answer 1

You can trap ^C on Windows with SIGINT, just like Linux. The Windows shell, such as it is, doesn't support Unix style job control (at least not in a way analogous to Unix shells), and ^Z is actually the ^D analog for Windows.

Wayward

I don't know about Unix style job control, but now in Windows you have Powershell Background Jobs. – Limassol

Answer 2

Try Ctrl+Break: some programs respond to it instead of Ctrl+C. On some keyboards Ctrl+Break translates to Ctrl+Fn+Pause.

Note also that nothing can cancel synchronous network I/O (such as net view \\invalid) on Windows before Vista.

Shotgun

Answer 3

There are two keyboard combinations that can be used to stop process in Windows command line.

• Ctrl+C is the "nicer" method. Programmers can handle this in software. It's possible to write programs that ignore Ctrl+C as SIGINT signal completely, or handle Ctrl+C like a regular keyboard combination.

• Ctrl+break is the "harder" method, always sends SIGBREAK signal and cannot be overridden in software.

Multiplier

Answer 4

Ctrl-C does a similar thing in windows as it does in linux.

Jewelry

In Linux Ctrl-C can halt many stuck processes, but it seems that my stuck windows command is Ctrl-C proof! Thanks though! – Renowned

This is simply not true – Utter

@Utter which bit is the "not true" bit? – Jewelry