FAR ?
File Commander ?

Total Commander.

It even has an older 16-bit version which works on Windows 3.1 as well.

windows commander

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-10-08, 10:10:

The point is to use it to launch InstallShield on games that demand a Windows 9X environment, while the executable file for the InstallShield doesn't apply any compatibility setting on it even when set.

I'm not sure I understand this sentence. Do you want to set compatibility settings on a file manager, so that an exe will inherit those settings even if it doesn't have them set directly?

I think so.
In which case, good old fileman.exe from the 95 dir should do too

Azarien wrote on 2024-10-08, 12:03:

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-10-08, 10:10:

The point is to use it to launch InstallShield on games that demand a Windows 9X environment, while the executable file for the InstallShield doesn't apply any compatibility setting on it even when set.

I'm not sure I understand this sentence. Do you want to set compatibility settings on a file manager, so that an exe will inherit those settings even if it doesn't have them set directly?

Correct. Since setting it on an InstallShield setup has no effect. It needs to be put on the temporary file IS creates when the executable is executed, however you can't expose the setting to set compatibility on a non executable file. Although it is possible to do it through ACT Windows XP, however it is still cumbersome

Tried fileman.exe?
Don't you just miss its' clunky simplicity?

I would avoid this idea altogether as they won't know how to deal with modern permissions and special characters.

That's what compatibility mode shims.

Basically, Beennath wants a launcher program that he can set to win95 compatibility mode.

Anything run from there will inherent the compatibility mode.

An old file explorer is the most flexible.

Which is why he asked, and I suggested fileman.exe.
The "explorer" from 3.x that made it into 95.

myne wrote on 2024-10-09, 02:32:

fileman.exe

WINFILE.EXE

leileilol wrote on 2024-10-09, 01:28:

I would avoid this idea altogether as they won't know how to deal with modern permissions and special characters.

I haven't looked at places outside of Program files and the (x86) variant, nor did I look to install at places with more permissions (where could they be?).

Maybe the old File Managers may have issues reading foreign character set, but at present I don't have such a game to test.

Do you have a better idea?

Turboblack wrote on 2024-10-08, 10:18:

windows commander

Is Windows Commander the same as Total Commander? At least that's what Google gives

myne wrote on 2024-10-08, 12:09:

I think so.
In which case, good old fileman.exe from the 95 dir should do too

I don't have Windows 95 on hand now, would be able to share the FILEMAN.EXE?

Grzyb wrote on 2024-10-09, 03:06:

WINFILE.EXE

Grzyb wrote on 2024-10-08, 10:13:

FAR ?
File Commander ?

Worked quite fine, thanks!

Got 98/me?
Should be in there too

The Doszip Commander is an LFN-aware TUI file manager (NC clone) with built-in Zip and UnZip for DOS and Windows.
https://github.com/nidud/doszip

https://betawiki.net/wiki/Windows_95_20_July_1992_build

There is a nice WINFILE.EXE replacement there, called FILEMAN.EXE. It is same thing with added right mouse click functions. It works with normal Windows 3.1x and so on.

marxveix wrote on 2024-10-09, 06:44:

The Doszip Commander is an LFN-aware TUI file manager (NC clone) with built-in Zip and UnZip for DOS and Windows.
https://github.com/nidud/doszip

Dos Navigator has also its modern continuation for multiple operating systems (DOS, Windows x86, Windows x64, Linux, etc.) : http://ndn.muxe.com/download/

BEEN_Nath_58 wrote on 2024-10-09, 06:13:

Is Windows Commander the same as Total Commander?

Yes, at certain point Windows Commander got renamed to Total Commander, as "Windows" was a registered trademark.

zyga64 wrote on 2024-10-09, 07:53:

Dos Navigator has also its modern continuation for multiple operating systems (DOS, Windows x86, Windows x64, Linux, etc.) : http://ndn.muxe.com/download/

By the way, the DOS version of NDN is runnable but veeery slooow on my Pentium MMX 233 MHz, making it unusable on real DOS machines (and I can't imagine how it would work on a 486 for example).
Seems they don't test it on real hardware from the era…

zyga64 wrote on 2024-10-09, 07:53:

Dos Navigator has also its modern continuation for multiple operating systems (DOS, Windows x86, Windows x64, Linux, etc.) : http://ndn.muxe.com/download/

Good to know, thanks.