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XTree is a
file manager A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to manage files and folders. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files include creating, opening (e.g. viewing, playing, editing or pr ...
program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...
originally designed for use under
DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...
. It was published by Underwear Systems, later Executive Systems, Inc. (ESI) and first released on 1 April 1985, and became highly popular. The program uses a character-mode interface, which has many elements typically associated with a
graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inst ...
. The program filled a required niche in the market, as DOS shipped with only a
command-line A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
file manager, until the generally unsuccessful
DOS Shell DOS Shell is a file manager that debuted in MS-DOS and PC DOS version 4.0, released in June 1988. It was discontinued in MS-DOS version 6.22, but remained part of the Supplemental Disk. The Supplemental Disk could be ordered or could be do ...
that was provided with MS-DOS 4.0. Even then, the speed and features of XTreeGold were superior — specifically support for the Zip
compression Compression may refer to: Physical science *Compression (physics), size reduction due to forces *Compression member, a structural element such as a column *Compressibility, susceptibility to compression * Gas compression *Compression ratio, of a ...
format and ability to
undelete Undeletion is a feature for restoring computer files which have been removed from a file system by file deletion. Deleted data can be recovered on many file systems, but not all file systems provide an undeletion feature. Recovering data with ...
files. The program also has the benefit of requiring very little memory, essential at a time when less than 640 kB of memory was available for programs to run.


History

XTree 1.0 was officially introduced on April 1, 1985, at the West Coast Computer Faire and sold for $39.95. Work had begun on XTree in December 1984. The primary developer was Jeffery C. Johnson, who was working for a company named Executive Systems, Inc. (ESI). Additional contributions were made by ESI owners Dale Sinor, Tom Smith, and Henry Hernandez, as well as Ken Broomfield, who provided quality assurance. The XTree name was the concept of Johnson's wife, Arletta, who had made the suggestion: "'XTree'. You know, like 'X-Tree, X-Tree. Read all about it!'". Johnson was the originator of the visual directory tree concept first used in an Epson backup product created by ESI. Johnson describes the creation of a visual directory tree as follows: 'Everyone in the room when I first drew it on a whiteboard ..When I sat down, Tom and Dale both said "it can't be done." Henry, on the other hand, could read me like a book, and seeing the look in my eyes said something like, "... possible, but not on today's computers." That was a Friday afternoon, it was running by Monday morning and by the end of the day verified as being accurate by an office full of skeptics. The
TREE In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...
found in later DOS releases displayed directories in a markedly similar fashion. By 1991, XTree had sold over 3 million copies and was released in over a half-dozen languages. Even in its earliest version XTree contained features like listing all files of a branch, including subdirectories, listing of all files on a disk, or viewing a file's contents in text or hexadecimal format (regardless of its file extension), a feature never added to the built-in Windows file manager. XTree was supplemented by the enhanced XTreePro in 1988, which added features for working with multiple disk drives, speed improvements, and brought the keyboard commands more in line with other common DOS programs. A version of XTreePro with
Novell NetWare NetWare is a discontinued computer network operating system developed by Novell, Inc. It initially used cooperative multitasking to run various services on a personal computer, using the IPX network protocol. The original NetWare product in ...
connectivity debuted in late 1988. XTreeProGold/XTreeGold succeeded Xtree Pro in 1989, adding
pull-down menu In user interface design, a menu is a list of options or commands presented to the user of a computer or embedded system. A menu may either be a system's entire user interface, or only part of a more complex one. Navigation A user chooses a ...
s to enhance the interface, additional file viewers, and the choice of a
Norton Commander Norton Commander (NC) is a discontinued prototypical orthodox file manager (OFM), written by John Socha and released by Peter Norton Computing (later acquired in 1990 by the Symantec corporation). NC provides a text-based user interface for ...
-style split pane between locations on different disks. The first GUI-enabled XTree product was XTreeMac, also launched in 1989, which brought the XTree interface metaphors to the Macintosh System as a Finder replacement. While the Macintosh System software already had competent file management, XTreeMac made it easier to move and copy files and added
undeletion Undeletion is a feature for restoring computer files which have been removed from a file system by file deletion. Deleted data can be recovered on many file systems, but not all file systems provide an undeletion feature. Recovering data with ...
and enhanced file finding tools. Also in 1989, the company ran a four-month "Software Amnesty for Everyone", allowing users of unauthorized copies of XTree to register them for a small fee. Five thousand licenses were sold for $20 each. XTree suffered a terminal decline after the widespread adoption of Microsoft Windows. The built-in
Windows file manager File Manager is a file manager program bundled with releases of OS/2 and Microsoft Windows between 1988 and 1999 and available from 6 April 2018 as an optional download for all modern releases of Windows, including Windows 10. It is a single- ...
had a vaguely similar appearance to XTree, and while it lacked the speed, keyboard shortcuts and power, it did benefit greatly from being included with Windows. In 1992 XTree for Windows was released. The product dropped many of the features liked in the DOS versions, with undeletion and file editing particularly noticeable by their absence. The program also took considerably longer to load than both DOS Xtree and other Windows file managers, and operations like viewing files were slower. Despite this, features like native support for file compression and a wide range of file viewers made it the most feature complete Windows file manager of that year. It was not a success for the company. In 1993, the XTree Company was sold to
Central Point Software Central Point Software, Inc. (CP, CPS, Central Point) was a leading software utilities maker for the personal computer, PC market, supplying utilities software for the DOS and Microsoft Windows markets. It also made Apple II copy programs. Throu ...
, which was in turn acquired by Symantec in 1994, and in 1995 production of XTree products was halted.


Clones

The popularity of the program has led many enthusiasts to develop clone versions that work with modern operating systems. Known clones include
Xfile Xfile is a file manager developed by Rixstep, built as a Finder replacement for the Mac OS X operating system. Its features are mostly congruent with those accessible by generic Unix systems. Some examples of the more advanced features are a c ...
, ZTreeWin, Unixtree and Ytree. The authors and users commonly view these clones as a tribute to the original XTree program, rather than a competitor, especially since XTree is no longer commercially available.


See also

*
Comparison of file managers The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of notable file managers. General information , - ! rowspan="2" , XTree , rowspan="2" , Jeffery C. Johnson , , 1985-04-01 , DOS , , 1992 , rowspan="2" , r ...


References


External links


What happened to XTreeGold?

XTree fan pageZTreeWin File Manager
and ZTreeBold for OS/2
Unixtree File Manager
also in many Linux Distributions
XTree box contents
{{file managers File managers DOS software