How to set C/C++ console text in bold and italic in windows?

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Hi,
I am developing an Visual C++ application in windows console mode, I want to set my console text in to Bold and Italic form. I changed console text color and background color using SetConsoleTextAttribute function and system("COLOR XX") functions. But there is no Win32 API function to changed text mode in to BOLD, Italic or Stroke. Please mention any function or mechanism to achieve it within C/C++ programming boundary in Windows enviornment? Thank you.

What I have tried:

I was struggling with SetConsoleTextAttribute WinAPI function

Posted 31-Jan-17 1:57am

Buddhi Chaturanga

Updated 15-Jan-18 11:44am

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3 solutions

Solution 1

You can't. The console doesn't support "bold" or "italic" text.

Posted 31-Jan-17 2:26am

Dave Kreskowiak

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Buddhi Chaturanga 31-Jan-17 9:49am

Thank you for the reply :D

Solution 3

For bold you can use this function
#include <iostream>

std::ostream& bold_on(std::ostream& os)
{
return os << "\e[1m";
}

std::ostream& bold_off(std::ostream& os)
{
return os << "\e[0m";
}

int main()
{
std::cout << bold_on << "bold" << bold_off << " non-bold" << std::endl;
}

Posted 22-Dec-17 14:51pm

Member 13590663

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Jochen Arndt · Accepted Answer · 2017-01-31T02:31:00

For bold you might set FOREGROUND_INTENSITY with SetConsoleTextAttribute.
But there is no support for italic and strike (besides changing the console font which affects all characters).

In the old MS-DOS days such was realised using ANSI escape sequences. These are now back with Windows 10.

If you use an actual Windows 10, see Console Virtual Terminal Sequences (Windows)[^].

But unfortunately italic (ESC[3m) and strike through (ESC[9m) are not supported.

If you really need these modes you must probably use additional software like GitHub - adoxa/ansicon: Process ANSI escape sequences for Windows console programs.[^] after checking if it supports italic and strike through (I have not checked it for the above).