[RESOLVED] Console programming in Visual Studio

[Gerald Bates]

I have switched to using Visual Studio community 2022 on Windows 10. Producing a hello world to the console is no problem.

My issue is that I can not change the console title (it stays with - Microsoft Visual Studio Debug Console) or do anything with the console provided. I've tried freeconsole() and allocConsole(), even AttachConsole() but nothing I do allows me to manipulate the console window provided by visual studio.?

What am I missing here?

[2kaud]

To set the console window title:

SetWindowText(GetConsoleWindow(), "A window title");

do anything with the console

What have you tried?

These are the console API's:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...sole-functions

[Gerald Bates]

I am trying to move code over when I used CodeBlocks ide. I just don't see my console window like I could in CodeBlocks (CB::Runner). I need to be able to create my own console window and manipulate it, like I could before. In fact, it's code you yourself helped me with!

Console Title still doesn't change.

#include <iostream>
#include <Windows.h>


int main()
{
	SetWindowText(GetConsoleWindow(), TEXT("A window title"));


	std::cout << "Hello" << std::endl;


	return 0;
}

[Gerald Bates]

This doesn't work either.

#include <iostream>
#include <Windows.h>


int main()
{
	SetConsoleTitle(TEXT("My console Window"));


	std::cout << "Hello" << std::endl;


	return 0;
}

[Philip Nicoletti]

It looks like the title changes once the code finishes. try adding the following before "return 0"
(and #include <string>)

std::string s;
std::getline(std::cin, s);

[2kaud]

Console Title still doesn't change.

How are you running the program exe? From the IDE or from within the console? Have you tried running the program direct from within the console?

[Gerald Bates]

I managed to solve this issue early today before logging in here. I am so embarrassed. Everything was working ok, just that my laptop was too fast! Now I have a console debug window as provided by visual studio and my separate console window that I've created. Thanks 2kaud, you were right as well, I was close with my solution.

#include <iostream>
#include <Windows.h>


int main()
{
	FreeConsole();
	AllocConsole();


	SetConsoleTitle(TEXT("My console Window"));


	std::cout << "Hello" << std::endl;


	std::cin.get();


	return 0;
}

[Gerald Bates]

Thanks to Philip Nicoletti also, appreciated.

[ovidiucucu]

Just a little aside note: SetConsoleTitle does his job either with or without the solution you have found.

Visual Studio IDE (afaik since VS2010) has the following feature designed to make the programmer's life a little bit easier: if you start a console application from Visual Studio, it stops when exits the main function, as shown in the picture.

debug-console.jpg

That is to avoid adding (for testing purpose) before main function return, code which is not necessary in the final release, like std::getline() or std::cin.get().

This is what I say: forget the obsolete advices you can find over the Internet! If you want to see how the console window looks when application exits, just put a breakpoint and run a debug build.
brakpoint.jpg