There are a significant number of options for Windows when it comes to console applications, heck if you install telnet, you can even use the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe). There are a number of REALLY good applications you could use for example; SecureCRT (Paid), MobaXTerm (Limited free version/Paid), Putty, Superputty, MT-putty, Solar-Putty, and more. Only some of the many options have configurations built-in to the GNS3 client. Of course none of these compare in my mind to the plethora of terminal emulators available in Linux.
Microsoft has, fairly recently, released a product that is a continuation of their philosophy of enabling Linux like capabilities in Windows., called Windows Terminal. This is actually a pretty good product. It has theming, supports a few different shell types (Powershell, Command Prompt, and even whatever Linux distributions you might have installed in WSL). It supports tabbed windows AND horizontal/vertical pane splitting! GPU acceleration is also a capability of the Windows Terminal.
For anyone that knows me, you may be thinking, "Uh, Ean you hate Windows, and are a Linux fan-person(?) (trying to learn how to speak/write without the use of gender)!". While this is true, I have recently been exploring using Windows, but trying to make it as Linux like as I can. Windows Terminal to the rescue! Additionally, I do have licenses for Secure CRT, but I would prefer to save those for my primary Linux desktop and laptop.
Unfortunately, at this time, Windows Terminal is not a built-in option in the GNS3 desktop client for console applications (feature enhancement HAS been submitted #3193 ). No worries, I figured it out, and here we go!
Open the Microsoft Store
Search for: Windows Terminal
Select "Windows Terminal", not "Windows Terminal Preview"
Click the "Install" button
Once the installation is complete, start Windows Terminal (This can be accomplished in numerous ways):
Click the "Launch" button in Windows Store
Press the "Windows" key and type: Terminal, then click "Windows Terminal"
Click start, type run, press [ENTER],type wt.exe in the run box and press [ENTER]
Once the Windows Terminal has started, click the small down arrow in the top bar of the app
Click "Settings"
In the left hand bar, under Profiles, click "Windows PowerShell", or whatever you may have selected as your default profile
Click "Advanced"
Click the toggle button for "Suppress title changes" (Future versions will enable this as a CLI argument so that this behavior does not have to be on all the time)
Startup your GNS3 desktop client
Go to Edit->Preferences->General->Console Applications
Click "Edit"
Click the drop-down at the top and select "Custom"
In the textbox at the bottom, delete everything in the box, and paste the following in
wt.exe -w 1 new-tab --title %d telnet %h %p
Click the "Save" button
Name it "Windows Terminal" or whatever you choose. (I called it "TMUX wannabe")
Click "OK"
Click "Apply" and you are done, so give it a try
NOTE: The above command will open new console in new tabs. If you want new windows instead, the below "should work", I have not tested it:
wt.exe --title %d telnet %h %p
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