Skip to Content

Learn about Chevy's new hybrid from AutoblogGreen!
AOL Tech

Filed under: Terminal Tips

Terminal Tip: Create a text banner

Want to create a "Happy Birthday" or "Congratulations" banner? Want to skip all the "how do I get a large font to print sideways?" stuff? The command line "banner" command may help. It allows you to create a sideways message that you can open in TextEdit, print out and (with a bit of help from scissors and scotch tape) hang from the rafters.

The banner command defaults to an old style text width of 132 characters, so you'll want to tell it to keep that width down to 72 or 75 if you're going to use TextEdit's default font. (You can always play with the font sizes in TextEdit and the width in the banner command if you want.) Use the -w flag to set the width and put the text you want to bannerize in a string. The bit about "open -f" pipes the results into TextEdit.

banner -w 72 "Happy 75th Birthday" | open -f

Recent Posts

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Tip of the Day

Need a quick way to rename a file or folder in Finder? Instead of click-wait-click, just click once and hit Return (Enter). The name will highlight and be ready to edit.


Follow us on Twitter!

Sponsored Links

Featured Galleries

DNC Macs
Macworld 2008 Keynote
Macworld 2008 Build-up
Podcaster
Apple Vanity Plates
Apple booth Macworld 07
DiscPainter
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
Macworld Expo 2007 show floor
Apple Texas Hold 'Em
The Macworld Faithful in Line
iPhone First Look
Facebook 2 for iPhone
Jack-o-Lantern Screensaver
Ten Fun and Free iPhone apps
Take a stroll down memory lane
First Look: SousChef for Mac
First Look: Grocery iQ for iPhone
Pixelmator 1.3
Earthscape
MacTablet Faux Gallery

 

More Apple Analysis