[home] ........................ HTML for DOS ........................ [dark] .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | This (work in progress) page (I believe) does the following: | | | | * Lists every known Web Browser for DOS | | * Lists all offline HTML DOS viewers | | * Some misc HTML tools | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | * Personal objective: find a handful of decent DOS-based html renderers to | | serve as viewers for offline HTML content. Also... nostalgia. | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 24mar2025: Have not updated this page since 07may2024. All 'HTML for DOS' | | apps are listed but the page still requires work. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------: B R O W S E R S F O R D O S :--------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Browsers: 1 of 4 (selected viewers) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | links | links filename.htm | | | links -g -mode 640x480x256 filename.htm | | | | | | This browser does not get the attention it deserves. It is both| | | a text and graphical browser for DOS. It is also one of the few| | | browsers that are still being developed and updated for DOS. | | | | | | I am currently using the latest DOS update from 2023. | | | | | | I initialy started with graphic mode screenshots of 640x480 | | | (Ars Technica: screen1 and screen2) but have since switched | | | over to 1024x768: table test and the DOS 2024 Wikipedia page: | | | screen1 and screen2. | | | | | | Links does an equally great job in text mode. Ars Technica: | | | screen1 and screen2, as well as Arachne's table test. | | | | | | This wikipedia article does a great job of summarizing links. | | | | | | Although I'm only interested in looking for offline viewers, I | | | came across an interesting discussion about getting links to | | | work online while in DOS. (a local copy of the first page). | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | [home] [cwsdpmi] [download] [doc] [doc: local] [features] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | DilloDOS | dillodos.bat filename.html : Impressive graphical browser for | | | DOS. Includes SSL support for those using or thinking of using | | | DOS to connect to the internet. | | | | | | The last version of the browser is from 2013 (version 3.0.2b) | | | but keep in mind that: | | | | | | 1) most DOS browsers are older | | | 2) Dillo for Linux is from 2015 (version 3.0.5), only about | | | 1.4mb in total size and its rendering is simply excellent. | | | | | | This is to say that Dillo's rendering engine is top-notch. | | | | | | Here's DilloDOS viewing the 2024 DOS page at Wikipedia: screen1| | | and screen2. Handling Yahoo's tricky 2004 front page, Arachne's| | | HTML 4.0 table test and a 2021 Ars Technica article: 01 and 02.| | | | | | On 04may2024, Dillo saw its first update in 9 years. This, in | | | and of it itself, is great news! Maybe... this might lead to a | | | DOS update at some point down the road. Related: 02jan2024. | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | dillodos-302b.zip (link1, link2, link3), USRGuide.pdf, nullpkt | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Arachne | core.exe filename.htm (help pages say there's a better way) | | | | | | During the mid/late-90s, Arachne was not only a browser, it | | | represented DOS's last stand against a changing landscape. It | | | even became the core engine behind Caldera's own Dr. WebSpyder,| | | which itself gave DOS additional life in the late-90s. | | | | | | Since then, Arachne has continued to see incremental updates. | | | It remains one of the best options for rendering HTML in DOS. | | | Arachne rendering the Wikipedia page for DOS, its table test, | | | and the 2021 Ars Techinica article - screen1 and screen2. | | | | | | note: need to figure out how to adjust the default font and/or | | | background color (if possible) to improve readability. | | | | | | Arachne continues to be one of the best options for accessing | | | the internet (with help from frogfind, etc.. for lack of SSL). | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | [wikipedia] [download] [hotkeys] [arachne.cz; interesting] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | elinks | elinks filename.htm | | | | | | Like links, elinks continues to see regular updates. These | | | updates provide DOS with excellent (light) HTML coverage. | | | | | | I'm currently working with the Dec/2023 update and have been | | | getting remarkable html rendering for the files I'm working | | | with, including tables support. | | | | | | Here is the Ars Technica Article: screen1 and screen2. Here's | | | elinks handling Arachne's table torture test. | | | | | | You'll note that elinks uses 7-bit ascii for tables while links| | | uses the box drawing characters found in the extended character| | | set. Both look great! | | | | | | [github] [about] [wikipedia] [cwsdpmi] [tips] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | MicroWeb | microweb filename.htm | | | | | | It will ask for graphics mode when started this way. | | | | | | What a fantastic new edition to the world of DOS Browsers. I'm | | | working with the latest (2.0) version. Smooth scrolling, 16-bit| | | real mode, support for multiple modes and an executable that's | | | only 121 KB! | | | | | | Microweb has so far delivered a great experience - rendering | | | HTML quickly and accurately on lighter HTML. | | | | | | Ars Technica article: screen1 and screen2. Microweb could not | | | render the table torture test, dropping to DOS instead. I gave | | | it a routine table from w3schools (source/rendered) and it was | | | able to handle the core table but not the borders yet. | | | | | | [home] [download] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Bobcat | bobcat.bat: | | | | | | @echo off | | | lynx file:///%1 | | | | | | Ars Technica article: screen1 and screen2. For a browser not | | | known to do tables, it seemed to handle this one... somewhat. | | | | | | Simple table (html source) | | | | | | [download, standard] [download, latest] [what is bobcat?] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Doslynx | dlynx.bat: | | | | | | @echo off | | | doslynx file:///%1 | | | | | | I love this DOS Browser, even with the hiccups. | | | | | | When it comes to tags it doesn't understand, it'll display the | | | raw information (see issue). When it's able to handle the html,| | | it does so in a way I find visually appealing. | | | | | | Here's the Ars Technica article: screen1 and screen2. Like | | | bobcat (for which there is shared/forked code), DOSLynx manages| | | the simple table test well enough (all things considered). | | | | | | In the end, DOSLynx remains part of my toolchest of viable | | | viewers based on a very subjective criteria. There's too much | | | I like about this browser: color scheme, speed, line-by-line | | | smooth scrolling, the drop-down menus... | | | | | | DOSLynx is just a great, nostalgic-like experience. Using it | | | feels like the very essence of DOS come to life. | | | | | | The latest version of DOSLynx can be found on Fred C. Macall's | | | page as DosLynx v0.44b (real mode, this is what I'm using) or | | | DosLynx v0.44b Protected Mode Add-on (I've never used this but | | | may try at some point). | | | | | | These versions were last updated in 2020 (as I write this on | | | 05may2024). It's exciting to see DOSLynx worked on so recently!| | | | | | [home] [download] [doc] | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | [screen1] | Ars Technica article used for screen1/screen2 test. (Apr/2024) | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | [table02!]| Arachne's own table torture test! The top four listed browsers | | | above were able to render this (links, dillodos, arachne and | | | elinks). I'll admit both links and elinks - as text browsers - | | | looked especially amazing rendering it all. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | SSL/TLS | Will test the SSL/TLS capabilities of your browser. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Browsers: 2 of 4 (not selected) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | lynx2.8.5 | lynx2.8.5rel.1 (c. 2004) | | | | | | The configuration of this application for DOS feels like a bit | | | much right now when all I'm looking for is an HTML viewer. | | | Additionally, the DOS ports mostly lead to links like Wayback | | | machine and other archivers given its age. | | | | | | Despite this, Lynx is still a great processor of HTML for DOS | | | and belongs among the top viewers listed above. | | | | | | Since this is a personal list, I'm going to pass on Lynx (for | | | the time being). It's mostly based on the fact that I already | | | run a modern version of lynx on Linux and have a good number of| | | fast to configure DOS offline HTML browser/viewers. | | | | | | links to follow later... | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | WebSpyder | update, 01may2024: Found Dr. WebSpyder 2.1 beta 2 on vetusware.| | | Was able to do a regular c: drive install. Performing well. I | | | have it set up as 1024x768 (I did not want to go higher). | | | | | | Will update this section with better links, screenshots soon. | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | [email] [setup1] [setup2] [overview, 1999] [wikipedia] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Webboy | In trying to find Webboy information, I tried Wayback Machine | | | and it delivered not only the web pages but the actual, more | | | polished, trial versions of Webboy. | | | | | | * Webboy Home (last Webboy page; 03aug2004) | | | * Download (last updated trial, 03aug2004) | | | | | | In DOSBox, the file wcuss82.exe (800x600x256) worked without | | | any problems. It was the highest resolution available. It seems| | | that a 1024x768x256 trial version was also available but that | | | needed to be requested, at the time, via their online form. | | | | | | The trial version checks the system date and if too much time | | | has passed, it refuses to run. It turns out that (my version | | | of) DOSBox does not allow me to change the date. | | | | | | While there are various tricks to do this, I choose the most | | | god-like of options... Free 4DOS (ver 8.00 : 27 February 2009) | | | | | | A system date of 06-01-1998 (01jun1998) worked. As a trial | | | version, you are limited to 15 minutes per session. It seems | | | that once done, it generates the proper cert and changing date | | | is no longer necessary. (I'm still keeping 4dos:-) | | | | | | I'm finding that the interface is fantastic - very clear, easy | | | to work with. Also finding that the rendering engine isn't as | | | strong as my top choices. It could not load, for example, | | | Arachne's table torture test. Other, less advanced browsers | | | would at least display something. | | | | | | Here is how Webboy did with the Ars Technica article in 640x480| | | mode: 01 and 02. The about page in 800x600 and the same Ars | | | Technica article in 800x600: 01 and 02. As you can see, the | | | rendering is passable - the issue being the default colors for | | | font and/or background. Like Arachne, I have to see whether | | | these default colors can be changed. | | | | | | You can see the rendering engine processing more HTML, as it | | | is being delivered by frogfind.com, in the video below: | | | | | | IBM Webboy DOS Web-Browser (play video at 1/2 speed) | | | | | | Overall, I'm loving it. IBM really delivered (again) for their | | | customers. I won't write about IBM vs Microsoft re: customers. | | | I'm just happy to have another DOS browser to play with. | | | | | | Will remove the links below now that I found the archived page.| | | | | | [old page] [faq] [usage] [limits] [tech info] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | HV | hv.exe needs int5f.com in order to run in regular DOS. | | | | | | int5f /c (CGA); int5f /v (vga) and int5f /r (reverse VGA). | | | int5f /u (unloads). Reverse VGA gives you a black font on a | | | white blackground. | | | | | | HV is a dedicated HTML viewer. Works with WWW/LX to supercharge| | | it into a web browser (similar to the 'own' browser, listed | | | below). It is the reason HV is listed in the browser section. | | | | | | Suffers from the same issue as doslynx in terms of displaying | | | stuff it doesn't understand. Note from the screenshot that I am| | | already 20 screens in and I still haven't gotten to the content| | | | | | Also, the entire screen redraws every time you press the Up/Dn | | | arrow keys, making the experience feel worse. HV doesn't scroll| | | line by line. The Up/Dn arrow keys act like PgUp/PgDn keys. | | | | | | Impressive browser written for the 8088 and devices like the | | | HP 100/200LX. Only 60k in size (~100kb with fonts and int5f). | | | Adequate HTML renderer for some pages; Ars Technica: screen1 | | | and screen2. | | | | | | The PgUp/PgDn, weaker rendering.. puts hv into this category: | | | browsers I like but will not use regularly for offline HTML. | | | | | | [help.htm] [hvdoc.txt] [WWW/LX Page] [download] [int5f/TSR] | | | | | | old screenshots I got from someplace, long ago: | | | | | | altavista01, altavista02, ftp, hotlist and icon | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Minuet | I ran Minuet in the mid-90s. It does not support offline HTML | | | viewing. If I recall, it did not handle HTML itself very well, | | | if at all - viewing only the unrendered HTML for nearly all the| | | pages I attempted. It supported pre-HTML 2.0 standard only. | | | | | | Minuet itself proved a beast to connect with back in the day. | | | I finally did so using SLIP and a modified network cfg file. It| | | was such a visually appealing and well put-together program. | | | | | | It wasn't until I finally connected that I could see it wasn't | | | an option for HTML. I still miss the interface. | | | | | | It wasn't just the menuing system, the colors selected... it | | | was the rare use of multiple windows processing different | | | protocols and directives within a single text interface. It was| | | among one of the most intuitive interfaces for an internet | | | suite I've seen. All within an 80 x 25 text screen. | | | | | | Note: the screenshot below is displaying a gopher site. | | | | | | [wikipedia] [screenshot] [download] [download] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Net-tamer | Net-tamer is similar to Minuet in covering so many different | | | protocols. Like Minuet, it also did not attempt to process | | | offline HTML. | | | | | | Once connected, I do not recall it rendered HTML very well when| | | I used it around ~1997 or ~1998. I used it only a few times to | | | prove that I could connect with with it but never revisited. | | | | | | The author did a nice job with making this an internet suite. | | | I just found that other tools provided a better experience | | | overall. | | | | | | One thing that really impressed was the author's presence on | | | many DOS archives, the publicity and the branding. The home | | | page is a testament to that. To this date, it remains on the | | | internet under the same domain name - over 25 years! | | | | | | [home] [download] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Own | The Open World Navigator (own) worked together with 'gethttp', | | | which retrieved the online pages. In this way, it worked like | | | HV (listed above), in that it is a viewer only of offline HTML.| | | | | | There is a 10 second shareware delay in starting the program. I| | | do not recall it dealing with HTML very well when I used it in | | | ~mid-90s. At the time, I was mostly excited about the gethttp | | | program that came with it since it connected to the internet | | | and retrieved pages without issues. | | | | | | I imagined using gethttp with other offline HTML viewers to try| | | and turn them in pseudo online web browsers. But... the offline| | | viewers that I had access to at the time weren't delivering | | | adequate rendered HTML. The crop of browsers far surpassed | | | anything offline viewers were doing in rendering HTML. | | | | | | During my testing in preparation for this page, it was one of | | | the few programs that crashed both DOSBox and Linux when I | | | tried loading the Ars Techinca article. I previously had no | | | issues on smaller and simpler HTML. | | | | | | Maybe it got stuck on processing the page (~130kb in size) but | | | all I saw was a blank screen. I got "owned":-| Hard pass. | | | | | | [download] [will add other links in the future] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Yan | I remember coming across this package many, many years ago and | | | deciding not to install at the time. I found the pages again | | | on Wayback. | | | | | | In addition to the browser, the author coded the HTML renderer | | | as a separate program to be able to work with offline HTML | | | without having to install/run the complete Yan browser. | | | | | | I went through various archived pages and noted that the last | | | version of the offline browser (browse.exe) available was dated| | | 25jul2003. | | | | | | There was one final update of the browser on 26oct2003, which | | | was renamed to hu.zip. This version was never backed up by the | | | Wayback machine. From what I could tell, I don't think much | | | would have changed. I ran the 2001 version of the offline | | | browser and the actual rendered output looked the same as the | | | 25jul2003 version. | | | | | | Yan is listed in this browser section because it's an actual | | | browser with online capabilities but just happens to have a | | | convenient offline component. | | | | | | The offline browser itself does not do line-by-line scrolling. | | | It only allows PgUp/PgDn. It also did not render the test file,| | | Ars Technica, that well. New paragraphs were not separated by | | | empty lines, creating a wall-of-text (see screenshots): | | | | | | screen1 and screen2 | | | | | | Easy install. Just download, unzip and run: browse file.htm | | | | | | Below are links to the 26oct2003 version of the author's pages | | | and the referenced John Lewis page (who put together an easier | | | to install package of Yan/KA9Q). | | | | | | [home] [download] [john lewis] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Spin | Never publicly released. This was during the time of Arachne's | | | release and continuing public development. I had the privilege | | | of testing the beta version around late-96/early-97. | | | | | | From what I could recall, it lagged on a 386DX-40mhz, 20mb RAM | | | machine I was using at the time. The HTML rendering was on par | | | with the top tier browsers of the period. Prone to crashing. It| | | made more demands of both the processor and memory. | | | | | | It's a shame this was never publicly released (except through | | | the beta-testing program). DOS browsers were being aimed at the| | | 386/486 class machines during this period because newer | | | computers were shipping with pentiums and running Windows 95. | | | | | | Spin would have run better on a 486/Pentium minimum requirement| | | and more memory. That would have placed it outside most DOS | | | users and into Win95 territory. | | | | | | Wayback link to original documentation. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Browsers: 3 of 4 (misc: non-viewers) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | Alice | A browser for both DOS and embedded DOS. Per the linked pages: | | | "Precompiled versions for DOS available". | | | | | | It has now virtually disappeared from the internet. I do not | | | plan on pursuing this further. I never made a request for the | | | DOS version. | | | | | | When I came across the information originally, I was not really| | | engaging with DOS. I saved the information for later and forgot| | | about it. I just recently uncovered it (2024). | | | | | | Here's everything I did collect at the time from 2net.co.uk: | | | | | | * 2net Alice Web Browser (PDF) | | | * 2net Embedded Internet Toolkit For DOS (PDF) | | | * 2net for Embedded Web and Internet Software (HTML) | | | * Request evaluation software (HTML, 2001) | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | I'm starting to use Wayback Machine more (30apr2024), found: | | | | | | * 03feb2003 Alice page on Wayback contains above info & more | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | smxbrowser| I have a digital note that says I tried booting this browser | | | while I was using WinServer 2003. I booted into the machine via| | | floppy (MS-DOS 6.22 with it's own io.sys and command.com). | | | | | | The result "unhandled PIC Interrupt IRQC". I don't remember any| | | of this and yet there it is. I do not plan to revisit except to| | | try and find relevant links (found them:-). | | | | | | I found the site and more information on The Wayback Machine: | | | | | | * Graphical MicroBrowser page (SMX Demo section) | | | * Browser Demo Instructions page | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | I have the actual demo app (image: smxbrowser.zip.png) but it's| | | not something I can distribute without permission. Knowing that| | | it crashes so hard and could possibly damage someone else's | | | system, makes redistribution... unwise. In any case, the final | | | rendering is expected to be poor (1mb app from jan/2000). | | | | | | I set up DOSBox as per the instructions (ie, drive a; etc) and | | | attempted again. I received the same PIC Interrupt error. The | | | worst part... I was forced to reboot my entire environment. | | | Maybe I'll try 86box.net or a VM at some far off future point. | | | | | | It seems like the embedded company either no longer exists or | | | something, something... ruby on rails. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Skipper | Found on Breadbox Ensemble (GEOS). The entire OS and apps were | | WebMagick | incredible. Stable, fast, reliable. It was what Windows 3.x | | | should have been. | | | | | | While I disliked Win 3.x and Microsoft's antics (even in '93 | | | these guys were slimy and did things to derail DOS in favor of | | | Win3), I loved the GEOS-based Breadbox Ensemble. | | | | | | I ran the OS on top of DOS and the browser within Breadbox. I | | | may attempt to run this again out of curiosity but it's not a | | | viable solution as a local html viewer (which is my goal). | | | | | | [screenshots] [youtube] download: link.all, link.lite, search | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Win3.x | I was using DOS longer than most, until about 1999. I remember | | | because soon after I bought my first Windows machine, which was| | | Windows 98... Win98se came out. | | | | | | I had a combination of DOS Browsers and a shell account (lynx) | | | that I used to navigate the web. But from 1997-1999, the web | | | and general softTech had started to diverge enough that DOS | | | needed additional support in a few areas. | | | | | | Long story, short... Win3x stepped in to help cover some areas | | | of 1997-1999 software support. | | | | | | I won't list any Win3 browsers on this page. That would be a | | | separate project on its own. Maybe I'll find a site that has | | | done a similar page like this but for Windows 3. If I find it, | | | I'll link to it here. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | QNX Demo | I struggled whether to include this. It's not a DOS browser but| | | the OS/browser was partially aimed at (business) DOS users and | | | their machines. Given the wow factor at the time, I think it | | | deserves a mention here. | | | | | | I ran the demo version in the late-90s on a 386DX-40 with 20mbs| | | of RAM. The floppy image was highly compressed. It took a very | | | long time to uncompress to memory. Once it did, the entire OS | | | and browser was available and ran smoothly. | | | | | | [download1] [download2] [download & screenshots] | | | | | | [screen1] [screen2] [screen3] [screen4] | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Browsers: 4 of 4 (not viewers) <------<< | | -------------------------------- | | Alternative Web Clients for DOS | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | SSH | In the 90s, I would modem into a shell account. Today... one | | | would SSH with DOS. I've never done this under DOS, much less | | | DOSBox. | | | | | | After a little more reading, it appears there's a fairly recent| | | update to SSH2DOS at github. It makes establishing a connection| | | to a remote server feasible and alternative Web Clients viable.| | | | | | Linux: Lynx, w3m, links, elinks, etal... | | | | | | I wanted to list this as an alternative means for accessing the| | | internet since I want to include all known DOS Browsers as well| | | as all known means of accessing the Internet with DOS. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------: H T M L V I E W E R S F O R D O S :--------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Viewers: 1 of 3 (selected viewer) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | Viewht25 | vh.exe file.htm : This offline viewer performed the best out of| | | all the other viewers I had. | | screen1 | | | screen2 | Written in 1999, it was able to determine that the nearly 500 | | | lines of non-content (lines over 2k long) at the start of the | | | Ars Technica page was not content. | | | | | | Super fast to load, super fast to display the page, smooth | | | scrolling, able to move up/down line by line. Rendered content | | | was easy to read on a full screen display. | | | | | | One of the issues with viewing HTML in DOS is memory. Some | | | browsers might spend many minutes trying to parse a multi-MB | | | file only to fail or worse... crash. | | | | | | View HTML (vh.exe, viewht25.zip) seems immune to crashing. I | | | once gave it a 12mb file to read. It parsed it very quickly | | | and dropped to DOS, reporting 'not enough memory'. It did this | | | quickly and safely. | | | | | | [download1] [download2] [download3] | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Viewers: 2 of 3 (ok but not selected) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | dview172 | view.exe does both a great job and a bad job. It's so fast. | | | Scrolling was silky smooth. | | screen1 | | | screen2 | The problem with the Ars Technica Test file were all the html | | issue | tags and directives. view.exe did not know what to do and so it| | | displayed it all. | | | | | | That meant nearly 500 lines of non-content (see issue link) | | | before it displayed the actual content. When it finally got | | | around to content, it looked great. | | | | | | It was just the content. Words. No links, no bolding, nothing | | | but the actual content. view.exe will shine on many HTML pages.| | | | | | [download] [download] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | htmlvw | htmlview.exe file.htm. The file is only 8.4kb and yet so fast! | | | Displays the nearly 500 lines of internal page data. Was able | | screen1 | to also display the actual content. It did a nice job. Silky | | issue | smooth scrolling. | | | | | | The reading area feels comfortable to the eyes too. | | | | | | [download] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | IntraDOS | Intrados was a 300kb powerhouse. It attempted to bring the | | | wan-based connectivity of the internet to internal business | | screen1 | lans. It handled this Ars Technica file similarly to other | | screen2 | good viewers: | | issue | | | | Super fast load, silky smooth scrolling in addition to a lan | | | based approach. | | | | | | Does a good job of rendering text and keeping it readable. It | | | also, unfortunately, displays the internal raw html at the | | | start of the page. (ntrdos14.zip) | | | | | | [download] [download] [download] [download] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | View | view.exe file.htm: Another similar to the other good viewers. | | | Smooth, line-by-line, scrolling. Displays rendered text in a | | screen1 | readable way. Fast to load. (view.zip) | | screen2 | | | issue | links: trying to find file/zip online... | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Viewers: 3 of 3 (failed) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | EV | Extreme Viewer (ev.exe file.htm): failed. The program nearly | | | crashed my system. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Heavy | Limited to 32kb files as a viewer. Untested this as an editor. | | | The Ars Technica html page is 132kb in size. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | Highview | highv126.zip: highview file.htm : multiple issues. Scrolling | | | not smooth, displayed text not well aligned, missing linefeeds,| | | over 50% was display of non-content tags/data. At least, it | | | managed to display text - it just didn't do it well. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | hlist064 | hlist.exe file.htm : failed. Only managed to display a few | | | links from the top of the page. Nothing else displayed. Also...| | | five lines are used to display file and program information. | | | Too much lost screen real estate. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | hlist081 | hlist.exe file.htm : failed. Smooth scrolling, very fast load | | | and display. The problem. It showed all of nearly 900 lines of | | | internal file info and nothing of content. | | | | | | When I got to the content area, it was all blank. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | knots | I always loved knots. It was a lightweight local graphical | | | browser that was visually appealing to me. It had some issues | | | early on. | | | | | | There was no smooth scrolling with many html files (except its | | | own), it had difficulties handling lots of the simpler html of | | | the time and would choke on file sizes that didn't seem that | | | large to me. | | | | | | Even so, during the mid-90s, when I was more invested in DOS | | | Browsers, I hoped the author would continue to work on it. What| | | html it did support, it displayed in such a beautiful way. | | | | | | I collected a few screens of knots displaying its own pages. | | | | | | Screens: [startup] [features] [limitations] [future of knots] | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | htmlv10c | I tested this a long time ago. On even simple html, it would | | | reports errors and crash. I did not retest. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | l_h | Found L_H inside hpg13.zip. Long ago determined this was not a | | | good html viewer. Did not retest. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | vhtml12 | vhtml.exe : It is like the more command. Displays one screen at| | | a time. No ability to PgUp. No smooth scrolling. There is no | | | way to exit until you reach the end of the file. Its html | | | rendering is basic. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------: H T M L T O T E X T :--------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> HTML to Text: 1 of 2 (selected) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | h2t151b | h2t151b.zip: lots of command-line options to fine tune the | | | output (that can be reused in a batch file). I started with: | | screen1 | | | screen2 | html2txt.exe arsdos.htm -A -b+ (no links, * to bold) | | | | | | As a text file, any text viewer will work. I opted for the | | | famous list.com (Vern Buerg). The program did a nice job, | | | extracting only the actual content and nothing else. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> HTML to Text: 2 of 2 (not selected) <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | h2txt102 | h2txt102.zip: failed. Displayed 100s of lines of internal html | | | non-content. Scrolled more than half-way through document in | | | order to start seeing actual content. | | | | | | The content itself not smooth. Shortened sentences, line breaks| | | not very readible. No screenshots taken. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | htm2txt1 | htm2txt1.zip: Included about 500 lines (80 characters/line) of | | | non-content HTML. Does not process the content in a readable | | | way, no linefeeds (ie, wall of text). Fail. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | htmlco20 | htmlco20.zip: Fail. Same issues as above. Displays hundreds of | | | lines of non-content html. Displays the actual content in a | | | difficult to read manner. | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------| | htmstrip | htms0208.zip: Fail. Very surprised by this. This had always | | | been a great app for html conversion to text. It not only | | | displayed the recurring issue with HTML non-content but it | | | failed to produce any of the actual content itself. | | | | | | This program is still a power-users dream converter. Uses an | | | INI file, tons of options. But... I'm looking for a simple (and| | | and effective) converter. I don't want to spend lots of time | | | tweaking. Still... if I really need to convert html, I would | | | invest the time to get the most out of this program. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------: H T M L E X T R A S :--------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> Support Tools <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | Some tools below are needed by some of the programs on this list. | |-----------.----------------------------------------------------------------| | nullpkt | nullpkt.com | | cwsdpmi | cwsdpmi.exe | | int5f.com | run programs written for the HP 200/LX computer | | | | | tppatch | Turbo Pascal Patch: Pentium Pro 200MHz or a faster bug. | | | The pascal patch isn't needed by any programs here but it's | | | good to have in your toolchest. I have verified it works! | | | | | | links to follow... | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> HTML Creation for DOS <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | htmlc200 | Superb HTML-based Calendar Creator. Nothing comes close:-) | | | | | | DOS writes filenames in upper case. The program writes the | | | calendar filenams in lower case (within the html pages). So if | | | you want to use the resulting calendar pages outside of the | | | case-insensitive DOS, the filenames should be renamed to lower | | | case. | | | | | | In linux, enter the directory where the files are kept and: | | | | | | rename 'y/A-Z/a-z/' * | | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | | htmlcal.exe /a will generate all 12 months of the current year.| | | | | | Many more options are available via its command line switches. | | | | | | I've included here a sample of it's 12-month output for 2024 | | | (htmlcal /a) and its original documentation. Other links to | | | follow as I work toward completing this entire page. | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' .----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | >>------> HTML Editors for DOS <------<< | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | Elvis | I did not expect to include HTML editors for DOS because any | | | editor can serve this function. What sets Elvis apart is that | | | it actually renders HTML, giving the user a WYSIWYG environment| | | | | | While it renders some html well, it also displays html/css/etc | | | that it does not understand - making it a limited HTML viewer. | | | | | | Other features of the editor include accessing the internet | | | directly and following links. I am not certain if this is | | | available in the DOS version. Some comments I've read say it's | | | only available on Win32, Linux and similar. I'll look into this| | | later on. | | | | | | [wikipedia] [home] | '----------------------------------------------------------------------------' 07may2024: last update ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------: E N D O F F I L E :--------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------