Thread: How to make console output bold

Originally Posted by ColeTrain

... I want the header of these said tables to be bold...how...?

That depends...

I'll show what works for me running from a command prompt in a gnome-terminal window on my Centos 5.8 Linux system. My "normal" display mode is with the default white-background system terminal. (If you want to understand what is in my Strings, you can look up "ANSI Escape Sequences")

public class Z {
    public static void main(String [] args) {
        String boldGrayLine = "\033[1mThis is a BOLD line\033[0m";
        String setBold = "\033[1mThis keeps it bold.";
        String normalLine = "This is a normal (default) line";
        String setNormal = "\033[0mThis un-bolds it.";
        System.out.println(normalLine);
        System.out.println(boldGrayLine);
        System.out.println(normalLine);
        System.out.println(setBold);
        System.out.println(normalLine);
        System.out.println(setNormal);
        System.out.println(normalLine);
    }
}

I'll try to show what the output looks like on my system

This is a normal (default) line
This is a BOLD line
This is a normal (default) line
This keeps it bold.
This is a normal (default) line
This un-bolds it.
This is a normal (default) line


Now, if your system and command window are not implemented to respond to ANSI escape sequences, you will have to try other approaches.

Here is an example: A Splash of text color with your Java There are other ways that may be more suitable for your purposes.

Now, I haven't tried this for the following reason:

As a newcomer to Java, I don't think it's worth my time trying to "dress up" console output for my programs. I just print the text and try to learn how to write Java to solve various problems that I am interested in.

I mean, if I think the target audience for my code wants something that looks "nice" (that is, if I want something to look "better" than plain old text), I try to learn enough of the graphics API (awt and/or swing) to get that particular output to be presentable.

But maybe that's just me. I'm funny that way.


Cheers!

Z

What operating system are you using?

What is the color of the background of your window? I mean, the sequences that I showed are for "light gray" and "dark gray." (I think.) So maybe you want "bright white" and "un-bright white" to show up as "bold" and "not bold" for your background. Or some such thing.

Which brings me to my final question:

Have you looked for any reference material on ANSI Escape Sequences. The fact that your system responds to the sequence is a good sign. Some systems just echo the [1m and 0[m stuff as those characters on the screen and don't change the display characteristics at all.

Cheers!

Z