WinGuake

If you frequently use Windows' Command Prompt utility, you might want to find a quicker way of accessing it and that's when third-party apps like WinGuake step into action.

You can turn to this app if you want a quick, efficient manner of calling the CMD window. If you're familiar with the Linux version, Guake, or you know about the console feature of certain games, you might know where this is headed.

This application enables you to access the Command Prompt utility by simply pressing a key combination on your keyboard, thus saving you time spent browsing the "Start" menu or typing "CMD" in the the "Run" dialog.

In order to make it work, you need to unpack the contents of the archive it comes in and launch the "Console.exe" executable. After performing these actions you will be able to call the CMD utility by pressing the "Ctrl + Alt + T" key combination on your keyboard.

Doing so launches an instance of CMD at the top of your screen, in a similar way to how some games use the console feature. This window is resized to match the width of your screen and, unfortunately, some of your background windows might get resized as well during this process.

Closing the "console" can be only done by typing "exit", as there is no hotkey support for doing so. Also, there is no sign of an option that would let you change the default hotkey combination.

If you want to access the console via the key combination without launching the "Console.exe" executable each time, you can create a shortcut in your "Startup" folder, so that it's automatically launched at startup.

Bottom line, if you want a quick way to access your CMD utility, you might consider WinGuake. Although it has great potential, there are a bunch of issues that might bug certain users, such as resizing other windows when launched, the inability to easily change the default key combination used to access it, as well as having to type "exit" in order to close it, instead of pressing the same key combo.