How can I update the current line in a C# Windows Console App?

Question

When building a Windows Console App in C#, is it possible to write to the console without having to extend a current line or go to a new line? For example, if I want to sho

Answer 1

You can use Console.SetCursorPosition to set the position of the cursor and then write at the current position.

Here is an example showing a simple "spinner":

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    var spin = new ConsoleSpinner();
    Console.Write("Working....");
    while (true) 
    {
        spin.Turn();
    }
}

public class ConsoleSpinner
{
    int counter;

    public void Turn()
    {
        counter++;        
        switch (counter % 4)
        {
            case 0: Console.Write("/"); counter = 0; break;
            case 1: Console.Write("-"); break;
            case 2: Console.Write("\\"); break;
            case 3: Console.Write("|"); break;
        }
        Thread.Sleep(100);
        Console.SetCursorPosition(Console.CursorLeft - 1, Console.CursorTop);
    }
}

Note that you will have to make sure to overwrite any existing output with new output or blanks.

Update: As it has been criticized that the example moves the cursor only back by one character, I will add this for clarification: Using SetCursorPosition you may set the cursor to any position in the console window.

Console.SetCursorPosition(0, Console.CursorTop);

will set the cursor to the beginning of the current line (or you can use Console.CursorLeft = 0 directly).