The Norton Commander - Symantec Corp.'s operating system enhancement

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1992 by Henry Beechhold

VERSION REVIEWED: 3.0

LIST PRICE: $149

STREET PRICE RANGE: $89-$129

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: 256K IBM compatible; hard-disk drive; CGA, EGA, VGA, or Hercules; mouse optional; DOS 2.0 or higher

PUBLISHER; Symantec Corp., 10201 Torre Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014; (408) 253-9600

The Norton Commander provides a full range of point-and-shoot-menu or hot-key-accessible DOS-management features while leaving the familiar DOS prompt on-screen and available for use in the usual way. In effect, the Commander is a terminate and stay resident (TSR) program.

The basic display of The Norton Commander is a panel with a listing of the files in the currently selected directory. In fact, you can display two such panels for two different directories at the same time. It is through these panels (or, if you prefer, hot-key shortcuts) that you can perform all the usual DOS functions--run programs; copy, move, rename, or delete files; view and edit (ASCII-only) files; and make and change directories. A pop-up menu and its associated drop-down submenus, coupled with the dedicated function keys, provide all the tools for the various tasks.

If you choose to pretend DOS doesn't even exist, the program allows you to define your own auto-bootup menus. These amount to batch files that run automatically when you turn on the computer.

The Norton Commander offers us a rational DOS mediator that you may well find a useful companion.