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Frequently Asked Questions about Take Command

Is Take Command and TCC 100% compatible with the Windows default command processor CMD.EXE?

It's impossible to be 100% compatible with CMD.EXE, because

(1) Take Command has thousands of additional features, and

(2) CMD.EXE itself is incompatible with other versions of CMD.EXE, and

(3) Some of the more mysterious behavior of CMD.EXE is undocumented, so it's difficult to determine whether it's a "feature" or a "bug"!

We strive for 99.9% compatibility (generally more than CMD.EXE manages with differing versions of itself!) . There are always workarounds for the rare situation where Take Command doesn't execute a batch file in an identical way. And TCC has configuration options to duplicate CMD.EXE undocumented behavior / bugs that some developers have incorprated into their batch files.

The best answer would be to download a 30-day fully functional trial of Take Command and test it in your own environment.

What's the difference between Take Command and TCC?

Take Command is a tabbed windowing environment that also includes TCC, the command processor. TCC is also available as a stand-alone product. See Comparing Take Command for more details.

Is there a free trial available?

Take Command, TCC, and CMDebug all have 30-day fully-functional free trials. TCC-RT is free for unlimited use.

If I buy a JP Software product, do I get free upgrades forever?

No -- we provide major and minor updates free for 90 days after you order. If you order Extended Support with your new or upgrade order, we will provide major and minor updates free for one year (renewable).

We try to price major upgrades lower than most software companies -- upgrades are 50% of the original price.

What kind of support does JP Software provide?

Standard Support is included at no additional charge with all products. Standard Support is through our Support Forums.

Extended Support is a paid plan available on an annual basis, and includes Standard Support benefits plus private support via email or telephone (for multisystem licenses only), and electronic delivery of all major upgrades for one year.

Can I upgrade to Extended Support later?

Your first Extended Support can only be ordered with a new or upgrade copy order. Subsequent yearly Extended Support renewals do not require anything else. 

Can I cancel my Extended Support subscription at any time?

Extended Support is renewed yearly. Two weeks before your Extended Support renews, you will be sent an email with a link to your renewal. You can either do nothing and let Extended Support auto-renew, change your payment details, or cancel Extended Support.

How can I check or modify my registration?
Click on "Options / Take Command / Register" in Take Command, or run the OPTION command from the TCC prompt and click on the register tab. Enter your activation key, and click on the "Show License Info" button to display your registration information. You can also choose to unregister a computer, generate a portable key (when installing Take Command on a USB thumb drive), or request a manual (non-internet activated) key if you will be installing on a system without internet access.
Can I get registration keys for earlier versions of JP Software Products?

We can sell and create keys for versions of Take Command back to Version 11. Pricing is the same as current versions.

What happened to 4NT?

4NT is still there. We have renamed it Take Command Console (TCC). It is available either bundled with Take Command, or separately if you don't need the tabbed console windows. If you need it to be named 4NT.EXE (perhaps because you have batch files requiring it), just copy TCC.EXE to 4NT.EXE.

Will JP Software's products work with Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11?

Take Command versions 11 - 16 support XP, Windows 2003, Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8 (and 8.1), Server 2012, and Windows 10. Versions 9 and 10 will work with Windows versions through Windows 8.1, but they will not support the new Windows features introduced in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Take Command version 17 supports Vista, Windows 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8.x, Server 2012, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Take Command versions 18 - 25 support Windows 2008R2, Windows 7, Windows 8.x, Server 2012, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Take Command versions 26-31 support Windows 10, Windows 11, Server 2016, Server 2019, and Server 2022.

Why doesn't Take Command use the full size of the tab window?

Take Command can only display as many columns and rows as the largest possible console window on your system. That is determined by the screen size and the default font size in console windows. (This is a Windows limitation, not Take Command or TCC.) You can reset it by opening a console window (TCC), clicking on the icon in the upper left corner of the title bar, selecting Defaults and then Font. Select a smaller font size, save it, and close the console window. Restart TCMD, and you should be able to display a larger virtual console window.

Is there a 32-bit version of Take Command?

The installer for Take Command versions 26 and later is 64-bit only. We will supply license keys to v25 (which includes 32-bit support & Windows 7 support) upon request.

How do I change the default Windows command processor?

You can change the default command processor by going to the Control Panel / System / Advanced System Settings / Advanced / Environment Variables, and changing the value of "ComSpec" in the System Variables window.

For example, in v31 you'd change it to something like: c:\program files\jpsoft\tcmd31\tcc.exe, depending on where you installed Take Command and TCC.

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