How to change the WindowTop of the Console in C#?

The Console.WindowTop property in C# gets or sets the top position of the console window relative to the screen buffer. This property is useful when you need to programmatically control the console window's vertical position within the buffer area.

Syntax

Following is the syntax to get or set the WindowTop property −

// Get the current WindowTop position
int topPosition = Console.WindowTop;

// Set the WindowTop position
Console.WindowTop = value;

Parameters

The WindowTop property accepts an integer value representing the top row of the console window area within the screen buffer. The value must be non-negative and within the valid range of the buffer height.

Using Console.WindowTop Property

Example

Let us see an example demonstrating how to change the WindowTop of the Console −

using System;
using System.Text;

class Demo {
   public static void Main(string[] args) {
      Console.InputEncoding = Encoding.ASCII;
      Console.WriteLine("Input Encoding Scheme = " + Console.InputEncoding);
      Console.OutputEncoding = Encoding.ASCII;
      Console.WriteLine("Output Encoding Scheme = " + Console.OutputEncoding);
      Console.CursorVisible = false;
      Console.Write("\nCursor is Visible? " + Console.CursorVisible);
      Console.WindowTop = 40;
      Console.Write("\nWindowTop = " + Console.WindowTop);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Input Encoding Scheme = System.Text.ASCIIEncoding
Output Encoding Scheme = System.Text.ASCIIEncoding
Cursor is Visible? False
WindowTop = 40

Practical Example with Window Positioning

Example

Here's a more focused example showing how to manipulate the console window position −

using System;

class WindowTopExample {
   public static void Main(string[] args) {
      Console.WriteLine("Current WindowTop: " + Console.WindowTop);
      Console.WriteLine("Current WindowLeft: " + Console.WindowLeft);
      Console.WriteLine("Buffer Height: " + Console.BufferHeight);
      Console.WriteLine("Window Height: " + Console.WindowHeight);
      
      // Move window to a different position
      Console.WindowTop = 10;
      Console.WriteLine("\nAfter setting WindowTop to 10:");
      Console.WriteLine("New WindowTop: " + Console.WindowTop);
      
      // Reset to original position
      Console.WindowTop = 0;
      Console.WriteLine("Reset WindowTop to: " + Console.WindowTop);
   }
}

The output of the above code is −

Current WindowTop: 0
Current WindowLeft: 0
Buffer Height: 300
Window Height: 25

After setting WindowTop to 10:
New WindowTop: 10
Reset WindowTop to: 0

Key Rules

• The WindowTop value must be non-negative.

• The value cannot exceed BufferHeight - WindowHeight.

• Setting WindowTop only works in console applications, not in GUI applications.

• This property may not work in all console environments or operating systems.

Conclusion

The Console.WindowTop property allows you to control the vertical position of the console window within the screen buffer. It's particularly useful for creating console applications that need precise control over window positioning and scrolling behavior.