- PathMinder
PathMinder is
file manager software , orDOS shell originally designed for use underMicrosoft 'sMS-DOS disk operating system . Published byWestlake Data Corporation ofAustin, Texas , and designed byAlbert Nurick andBrittain Fraley , it was first released on30 September 1984 and became fairly popular. Although theuser interface was composed of text characters, it had many graphical elements, especially when PathMinder Plus was released in1989 , and the Reconfigurable User Interface was introduced.PathMinder won numerous computer industry awards and product comparisons, and was nominated for
PC Magazine 's Technical Excellence award.PathMinder was the first DOS shell to incorporate an integrated
text editor , the first to include an application manager, and the first to include activity logging.The program filled a required niche in the market, as DOS shipped with no graphical file manager, until the generally unsuccessful
DOS Shell that was provided with MS-DOS 4.PathMinder had several key features which contributed to its success, including a virtual loader that required only 4kb of RAM when other programs were running, an important feature when less than 640kb of RAM were available on systems of the day.
PathMinder suffered a terminal decline after the widespread usage of
Microsoft Windows . Westlake Data released a version of PathMinder designed for the Windows 3.1 operating system called PathMinder Does Windows, but it met with little critical or commercial success.ee also
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Comparison of file managers
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