I realize I'm a little late to this party, but I've got a couple of comments.
The first thing I think to note is that DOSShell was MUCH more than just a program launcher. It include the same basic implementation and functionality that were in early versions of Windows (3.x) to perform task-switching. With DOSShell, you could literally have several DOS applications running at the same time and switch between them with a few keystrokes. This was similar to other task-switching programs from the same era, like DesqView and Software Carousel. It sounds like that level of functionality is not required here. I always found DOSShell to be "clunky" and even though I experimented with it a little I never really liked it for what I was trying to do. I personally never tried any of the other task-switching programs besides DOSShell (and, of course, Windows). Many of the suggested alternatives are really designed as file managers, which you can also be used to start programs by "selecting" an appropriate executable file and having the file manager "shell out" and start running the executable. Some of them have a more "advanced" menu system where you have a special list of programs where the file manager knows where the appropriate executable file is so you don't need to "look for" the executable file yourself (DOSShell had this also). I remember using an old program called Pop-Up DOS which was basically a simpler version of the more advanced modern file manager programs. Pop-Up DOS came bundled with some versions of the Logitech mouse drivers (if you bought a Logitech mouse Pop-Up DOS came included on the disk with the mouse drivers). Even though I don't use it myself (I prefer the command-line), I developed a menu system that simply uses a batch file and some DOS utilities (like ANSI and CHOICE). I also use a couple of my utility programs, SCANCODE to automatically select the "Screen Saver" from the menu if nothing is selected for a long time and MOUSKEYS to enable use of the mouse to select things instead of just the keyboard. I can create a ZIP file with the main MENU.BAT file and some of the utilities if anybody is interested. You configure/customize the Menu by editing the batch file so it's less "automated" than some of the other options (though you could have one of the menu options set up to edit the MENU.BAT file with your favorite text editor). One advantage to using a batch file is that it provides more free memory than a regular executable since it doesn't need to "shell out" to execute another program. _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
