DOS ain't dead

I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?
In my case it is Volkov Commander 4.99
I tried to use other file managers (and I have about 7 different file managers) on my disk but I always return to Volkov.
I do not exactly know why, NDN and its derivates are much more feature rich but Volkov is my favourite one.

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DOS-u-akbar!

At the DOS days I was a NC fan, I upgraded up to 5.5 which was latest one. Then I liked Volkov, it was so fast! Regarding NDN love its Turbo Vision interface and its features. You can try FAR too-

> I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?
> In my case it is Volkov Commander 4.99
> I tried to use other file managers (and I have about 7 different file
> managers) on my disk but I always return to Volkov.
> I do not exactly know why, NDN and its derivates are much more feature rich
> but Volkov is my favourite one.

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Visit my personal blog at https://www.javiergutierrezchamorro.com

> I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?
> In my case it is Volkov Commander 4.99
> I tried to use other file managers (and I have about 7 different file
> managers) on my disk but I always return to Volkov.
> I do not exactly know why, NDN and its derivates are much more feature rich
> but Volkov is my favourite one.

Volkov has its magic because it is no longer developed and has no sources. It was written by a programmer from Ukraine, probably in assembler. They are very hardworking people. It's a pity that this senseless war has started.

I still prefer Xtree Gold, by far. It is like an old friend that I've known for 35 years. I don't like the two-pane file managers, although NDN is a good and much more modern hybrid. Never like Norton or Volkov. They seemed more like shells than actual programs.

I usually use DOSZIP. If not, then I use DOS Controller. It's very small, but full-featured - great for start-up floppies.

On Windows, I usually install FAR Manager, but I generally rarely use alternative file managers. I've also played with Windows versions of DOSZIP recently. Nidud has also published WIN64 version a while ago. It's nice, but is not as featured as FAR.

On Linux, I usually install Midnight Commander, but I rarely use anything but default file manager (Thunar in XFCE) or standard GNU file management tools. But I regulary follow the development of new and smaller file managers on GitHub like vifm and nnn.

> I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?

Xtree Gold all the way

Loved the shareware version so much
that after using it for just a very few days, bought the full version.

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--
http://glennmcc.org/

> I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?

Most of the time I am using DOS Controller, Norton Commander clone by Søren Kragh:
simtelnet/msdos/fileutil/dc-sk.zip

And sometimes I am switching to FileWizard: LINK

Edit: FileWizard comes with Pascal/ASM source code: LINK

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echo g=ffff:0|debug>nul

For use on MS-DOS without LFN I am very used to using Norton Commander 4.5.

For MS-DOS with LFN I use Volkov Commander 4.99, which is faster and smaller than the previous one.

I not use Necromancer's Dos Navigator (NDN), because it uses different key combinations compared to NC to me they complicate its use a bit.

For Windows For Worgroups 3.11 I use Total Commander 6.58 and for Windows XP / 7 / etc. use Total Commander 10.51

> I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?
> In my case it is Volkov Commander 4.99
+1

Hi all,

i prefer dosshell from m$dos 6.22 or pcdos.

Roberto

I like/use Directory Freedom, a lean, single-panel, file manager that was written by Gordon Haff. It's now GPL. Similar to, but with more capabilities than, a simpler fm utility published in PCMag way back when (might be the same author, can't remember). Even tho single panel, user can select target drive/directory 'on the fly' and toggle between them. A separate configuration program allows customization of features (including colors, hotkeys, file associations, etc).

Binary is still available from author's website, along with assembler source:

http://bitmasons.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/bitmason/dflyer.html

Perhaps an assembly-language programmer might even be interested in trying their hand at extending it's abilities?

- Doug

I liked Volkov Commander but now I am more happy about doszip. DN2 / 3 is not my favourite commander as using it always confuses me as its handling is a little different.

At Windows Total Commander is my favourite commander, it is simple to handle, can run without installation, so it is usable from each external drive, good search functions, multireplace features and its addons / plugins, e.g. treeCopyPlus (search for special files on one side over the whole HD, copy the results with folder structure to the other side), Cloud (yes!), DiskInternals Reader (support different Linux file systems), hash value checker, and a lot of others have got myself out of trouble many times.
Explorer is miles away from this. Copying files by left mouse button is often hazardous because it often happens that a folder opens or changes its position when you finish clicking left mouse. And right mouse button, copy, click on folder, right mouse button, insert is laborious.

> I like/use Directory Freedom, a lean, single-panel, file manager that was
> written by Gordon Haff. It's now GPL. Similar to, but with more
> capabilities than, a simpler fm utility published in PCMag way back when
> (might be the same author, can't remember). Even tho single panel, user
> can select target drive/directory 'on the fly' and toggle between them. A
> separate configuration program allows customization of features (including
> colors, hotkeys, file associations, etc).
>
> Binary is still available from author's website, along with assembler
> source:
>
> http://bitmasons.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/bitmason/dflyer.html
>
> Perhaps an assembly-language programmer might even be interested in trying
> their hand at extending it's abilities?
>
> - Doug

oh, this makes me remember "DR.COM" in the past.
my favorite file manager / directory navigator is "T.COM" from my first PC pre-installed, left is a tree which can be navigated with cursor keys, while right is file listing.

> I am just curious. Which file manager do people here prefer?
> In my case it is Volkov Commander 4.99
> I tried to use other file managers (and I have about 7 different file
> managers) on my disk but I always return to Volkov.
> I do not exactly know why, NDN and its derivates are much more feature rich
> but Volkov is my favourite one.

I got introduced to 4Dos in the early nineties, and at the same time bash on the *nix side of things, and pretty much ditched file managers after that. Some windows explorer work for more basic tasks, but that is it,

I even used 4NT for quite a while on Windows 2000/XP and I still install it on new boxes, if only for the "del /sx" command.

I keep forgetting to mention Display. I used to use that a lot (on older computers). Tons of really impressive and powerful features (e.g. graphics viewing).

I already mentioned (in an aside on one of the FreeDOS mailing lists) that my other favorites were Tutordo, DOS Controller (500 kb text editor space, wow), NDN, and Doszip. Even Morgul Player in DOS I liked. (I did have some version of Norton Commander on one PC.)

You could also use Emacs' Dired.

There was an old text editor called E14_EDIT by David Nye. He also wrote a VERY small and simplified shell in assembly (S14.ZIP ??), but I can't find a copy anymore.

There was another good one called Connect (which oddly came bundled with proprietary Borland tools).

I vaguely recall sending a copy of CP853 (mapping?) to the GVFM guy, but that's another I only barely used.

Oh, RVS was an archiver shell. I did like that for a while. (Sad that I never found the Modula-2 sources.)

> I keep forgetting to mention
> Display. I used to
> use that a lot (on older computers). Tons of really impressive and powerful
> features (e.g. graphics viewing).
>

I prefer NDN, but I also use Total Commander.

NDN can also run in high resolution graphics mode. To display the list of modes, press Shift-F12, then the F3 key and select your mode from the menu (the letter G stands for "G"raphic).

You can also choose from the DoubleScan menu to display only half of the screen.

> I keep forgetting to mention
> Display. I used to
> use that a lot (on older computers). Tons of really impressive and powerful
> features (e.g. graphics viewing).
Display is indeed very exceptional, but I consider it more of (probably the best) graphics viewer for DOS rather than a file manager.

Your posted version, 1.90-td5 is also the very latest one I ever found. I've been unsuccessful in ever finding anything newer. Most other sites don't even have this 1.90 td5 version, rather some old version of 1.89 instead.

Anyone has a later release of DISPLAY than 1.90-td5?

And, as far as I know NDN can't display any graphics files, unlike DISPLAY. Or is this wrong. I believe DISPLAY supports over 30 file formats -- internally.

... And to be included in some boot diskette, you can also use the ultralightweight file manager "Mikro Manazer" - 12 kB

http://rayer.ic.cz/download/mm.com

On my 1st PC with MSDOS and Win 3.11 I started to learn with Norton Commander 5, then CZ clone M602, then DOS Navigator.

On current working PC I use DN-OSP/NDN. I like the rich features. I use it also as text and hexa editor, often use and like programmer's calculator, use file extension association to launch external programs for viewing images, playing audio files, etc.

On old and slow computers I use mostly Volkov Commander and in some special space-tight cases the Mikro Manazer that is extraordinary by features in so small code size (fully written in assembler by Miroslav Nemecek who's still coding e.g. an interesting VGA library for Raspberry Pico)

Under Windows I use Servant Salamander, similar to Total Commander but from CZ authors. Also used FAR sometimes.

Under Linux I'm still missing a good FM for X, Double Commander is usable some way but slow and inferior to Total Commander or Salamander. In console I use Midnight Commander and NDN Linux port.

On Android Phone I use Total Commander. I had also working Midnight Commander on old rooted android console but didn't work on newer androids and I didn't find a newer version that would work.

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DOS gives me freedom to unlimited HW access.

> ..and in some special
> space-tight cases the Mikro Manazer that is extraordinary by features in so
> small code size (fully written in assembler by Miroslav Nemecek who's still
> coding e.g. an interesting VGA library for Raspberry Pico)...
>

See;

https://github.com/Panda381

DOS-Progs/MIKROMAN/
https://github.com/Panda381/DOS-Progs/tree/main/MIKROMAN

> > ..and in some special
> > space-tight cases the Mikro Manazer that is extraordinary by features in
> so
> > small code size (fully written in assembler by Miroslav Nemecek who's
> still
> > coding e.g. an interesting VGA library for Raspberry Pico)...
> >
>
> See;
>
> https://github.com/Panda381
>
> DOS-Progs/MIKROMAN/
> https://github.com/Panda381/DOS-Progs/tree/main/MIKROMAN

oh cool, that means better translation can be done.

I found an interesting project (Star Commander), unfortunately no longer developed, with source code in TP7. There is also a 32-bit beta, the one without the source code.

See:
http://sta.c64.org/sc.html

> For Windows For Worgroups 3.11 I use Total Commander 6.58 and for Windows
> XP / 7 / etc. use Total Commander 10.51

Oh, I forgot about Total Commander. I have a license, but I sparsely use it.

Explorer in recent Windows releases (and specially in Win10) is much more pleasent to work with than the previous versions. Many more options.

> See;
>
> https://github.com/Panda381
>
> DOS-Progs/MIKROMAN/
> https://github.com/Panda381/DOS-Progs/tree/main/MIKROMAN

Didn't have this starred on GitHub. Thanx.

I hope it compiles with jwasm as it uses masm syntax.

> ... And to be included in some boot diskette, you can also use the
> ultralightweight file manager "Mikro Manazer" - 12 kB
>
> http://rayer.ic.cz/download/mm.com

It sould be noted that this version is aPack compressed. Uncompressed version is around 17.1 kb.

There are several version of mm on GitHub. In the root of MIKROMAN directory there is a small version weighting 14.4 kb. The version in MIKROMAN\SOURCE is 17.5 kb.

Then there is a DOSMAN.COM which is 23.1 kb which is a minimized version of a bigger file manager called DOSMAN (there is a separate directory in the source). The big DOSMAN EXE is about 50 kb uncompressed. Although the full distribution with a bunch of helper programs and menus is much larger.

Well, for the most people, it's not that important if the EXE is compressed or not. But if you run them on 8086 or 80186, running uncompressed versions might sometimes save you a few seconds in the execution time.

Apack can be easily unpacked with IUP.