README

DOS Navigator Revived (DNR)

DOS Navigator Revived (DNR) is an ongoing engineering initiative modernizing the legendary DOS Navigator file manager and desktop work environment (originally created by Stefan Tanurkov, Dmitry Dotsenko, Andrew Zabolotny, and RIT Research Labs) into a native, modern, 32-bit Windows console application using exclusively Free and Open Source Software (FPC and NASM).

Current Status (November 2026)

• 100% Monolithic & Portable Executable: dn.exe is a completely standalone PE console executable with built-in embedded dialog and language resources (DN.DLG, DN.LNG, DNRUS.DLG, DNRUS.LNG). Runs standalone from any directory without external dependency files and without resource load crashes.
• Native 32-bit Win32 PE Target: Successfully builds and links src/pascal/DN.PAS into a native Windows console binary (build/dn.exe). No DOSBox, NTVDM, or 16-bit emulation required.
• Modern Responsive Console TUI: Fully responsive terminal layout supporting modern Windows Terminal, ConHost, and PTY environments:
  • Dynamic Startup Viewport: Automatically detects the active console buffer and window geometry (from standard 80×25 up to 300×150+).
  • Live Resize Event Relayout: Listens to Win32 WINDOW_BUFFER_SIZE_EVENT console events and dynamically resizes the view hierarchy (TProgram, TDeskTop, dual file panels TDoubleWindow, menu bar, command line, and status line).
  • Dynamic Frame Buffering: Eliminates legacy 80×50 (4,000 cell) limits and 16-bit Word size overflows via dynamic LongInt heap buffers.
• Byte-Exact CP866 Preservation: All source files and build pipelines enforce strict byte-exact single-byte encoding (latin-1 byte stream) to preserve authentic CP866 extended ASCII box-drawing characters without UTF-8 corruption.
• Automated TUI Testing: Validated through headless PTY automation (tools/surfaces/dn_surface.py via surfacekit).

Features & Modernization Highlights

• Pure FLOSS Toolchain: Built strictly using Free Pascal Compiler (FPC 3.2.2) and the Netwide Assembler (NASM 3.02+).
• Direct Win32 Console API Integration:
  • Console handles managed cleanly through CONOUT$ and CONIN$.
  • Video rendering routed through WriteConsoleOutputA with dynamic CharInfoBuf allocation.
  • Keyboard and mouse events bridged to Win32 ReadConsoleInputA.
• Legacy Borland Pascal 7 / Turbo Vision Compatibility:
  • Flat 32-bit memory and heap compatibility shims (PrefixSeg, HeapOrg, HeapEnd, HeapPtr, MemAvail, MaxAvail).
  • Resolved namespace ambiguities between Objects.TPoint and Windows.TPoint.
  • Replaced 16-bit segmented inline assembly (lds/les) with 32-bit flat register operations.

Prerequisites

1. Free Pascal Compiler (FPC): Version 3.2.2 or later targeting i386-win32 (fpc.exe / ppc386.exe on PATH).
2. Netwide Assembler (NASM): Version 3.02 or later (nasm.exe on PATH).
3. Operating System: Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server, or Linux/macOS with Wine.

Building from Source

Quick Build (Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell)

Run the included automated build batch script:

build.bat

The script compiles the resource compiler (build\RCP.exe), builds binary dialog and language resources, generates embedded resource tables, compiles src/pascal/DN.PAS, and outputs the monolithic executable to both build\dn.exe and dist\dn.exe.

Clean Rebuild

build.bat clean && build.bat

Running DOS Navigator

Launch the compiled executable directly from any console (Windows Terminal, Command Prompt, or PowerShell):

dist\dn.exe

Command-Line Arguments

Usage: dn [options]
  /?          Display help message
  /C<file>    Specify configuration file
  /S<dir>     Specify swap directory
  /P<file>    Specify palette file
  /NOXMS      Disable XMS memory
  /NOEMS      Disable EMS memory

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

DOS Navigator features a comprehensive keyboard layout designed for high-efficiency terminal navigation, file management, and text editing.

1. Function Keys Matrix (F1 – F12)

2. File Panels & File Operations (Alt & Ctrl Alphabet Keys)

3. File Tagging, Selection & Wildcards

4. Navigation & Directory Bookmarks (Quick Dirs)

5. Command Line Integration

6. Window Management & Desktop Controls

7. Internal Text Editor Shortcuts

The built-in text editor supports dual control paradigms: standard modern CUA hotkeys and classic Borland/WordStar two-key sequences.

Cursor Movement & Navigation

Block Operations & Clipboard

Editing, Case Conversion & Utilities

Search & Replace

File & Window Operations in Editor

8. Internal File Viewer Shortcuts

9. Built-in Utilities & Subsystems

SpreadSheet (.WKZ) Table Editor

Low-Level Disk Editor

Automated TUI Testing

Automated testing is driven by the surface test utility in tools/surfaces/dn_surface.py:

:: Run selftest (verifies startup landmark and clean Alt+X exit)
python tools/surfaces/dn_surface.py selftest

:: Capture the active screen layout across the current terminal dimensions
python tools/surfaces/dn_surface.py screen

Repository Structure

DNR/
????????? build/                 # Compiled binaries and unit output artifacts (.exe, .ppu, .o)
????????? dist/                  # Monolithic portable distribution binaries and zip archives
????????? helpers/               # Legacy build and conversion utilities
????????? resource/              # Binary resources, menus, and help definitions
????????? src/
???   ????????? asm/               # Assembly sources modernized for NASM / 32-bit
│   └── pascal/            # Turbo Pascal / Turbo Vision sources (DN.PAS, DRIVERS.PAS, etc.)
├── tools/
│   └── surfaces/          # TUI surface automation drivers (dn_surface.py)
├── build.bat              # One-click native Win32 build script
└── README.md              # Project documentation

License & Credits

DOS Navigator was originally developed by RIT Research Labs (Stefan Tanurkov, Dmitry Dotsenko, Andrew Zabolotny) and open-sourced under the DOS Navigator Open Source License / GNU General Public License. See PROGRESS_LOG.md and source file headers for historical documentation and contributor credits.