To activate the console in Left 4 Dead 1 or Left 4 Dead 2, there’s a little more steps if you’re not actually using a QWERTY-keyboard (most non-english people in fact).
- First, open your Steam games library and browse to Left 4 Dead 1 or Left 4 Dead 2.
- Right click on Left 4 Dead 1 or Left 4 Dead 2 and select Properties.
- In the Properties window, click on Set Launch Options…
- In the Launch Options window, type -console in the text field and validate.
- Now, when you launch Left 4 Dead 1 or Left 4 Dead 2, the console should appear in front of the main menu. If you touch anything else than the console it will disappear, so be careful and type the required commands directly in the bottom text field.
There is a way to make the console reappear once you’re in a game, but this is not the point of this presentation. If you wish to learn more about it, you can watch the following video.