Find more screen utils in the InkUtils and in the DOSPROGS collection.

[updated 2006-08-21]

MOUSEBUF, MouseClip, and xPC-Mouse are similar TSR programs that allow a user to highlight, copy, and paste text from a text mode DOS screen or application using the mouse. DOSCLIP and SNIPPER, older PCMag TSR utilities, also copy and paste screen text – but use the cursor keys rather than a mouse. These programs tend to work best when not run in a secondary shell – like Windows. They have a wide variety of uses: I use them infrequently to copy text from the screen and paste into a document. Others use these programs for more advanced purposes (e.g., grabbing text in terminal programs, manipulating text in editors).

MOUSEBUF is an older and simpler program but has the advantage of being able to operate within programs that already have mouse support. [updated 2005-04-20]

MouseClip is a program that I haven't had time to play with much, but it could be the best choice for the average user because it combines a degree of versatility with ease of use. MouseClip uniquely permits several marking modes (word, stream, line, wrapped line, column, paragraph, definable character classes...) and can both copy to and paste from the Windows clipboard. Importantly, usage is easy to comprehend and help is always available from the command line. [added 2000-04-19, updated 2002-10-03]. MouseClip page.

xPC-Mouse was designed for a broad range of uses (e.g., terminal programs, VI / EMACS-like editors, DOSEMU DOS emulators for SUNPC and Linux, Windows clipboard support). See the comparison chart, below, for a small taste of xPC-Mouse's capabilities. xPC-Mouse can append highlighted text to a file and it can recognize and grab e-mail addresses, URLs, or user-defined character classes. xPC-Mouse also supports cursor positioning (e.g., in mouseless editors) and emulation of arrow keys (e.g., navigate menus in programs that lack mouse support). Included in the xPC-Mouse package are XPCarrow and XPCpaste. These perform only subsets of the functions of xPC-Mouse but also use less memory. [updated 2000-08-29]

Older freeware copy / paste programs of interest:

DOSCLIP avoids some of the potential conflicts associated with using a mouse. Under Windows, DOSCLIP will also transfer copied text to the Windows clipboard (useful in full screen mode). Help screen available. [updated 2004-05-15].

While SNIPPER can't copy to the Win clipboard, it has useful features lacking in DOSCLIP: 1) the option to send marked text to printer or a file 2) the option to quote marked text first, e.g., for use in DOS communications programs. Although SNIPPER is not difficult to use, you'll need to memorize the commands – the online option menu is somewhat hidden (after marking text [Alt-W, ENTER, mark] press ENTER again to get a popup menu of available options). [updated 2005-04-20]

	MOUSEBUF	MouseClip	xPC-Mouse	DOSCLIP	SNIPPER
Version	1.0	1.10	1.4	1.0	2.6
Def. memory req (K)	3	3	4	9	4
Adj. mem buffer	y	y	y	n	n
Uninstall switch	y	y	y	y	n
Mouse support	y	y	y	n	n
Dormant in mouse progs	n	y	y	n	n
Selection modes:
stream	y	y	y	n	n
rectangular (column)	n	y	y	y	y
line	n	y	?	n	n
paragraph	n	y	?	n	n
words, char. classes	n	y	y	n	n
Cursor positioning	n	n	y	n	n
Copy to Win clipboard	n	y	y	y	n
Paste from Win clipboard	n	y	?	n	n
Quote copied text	n	n	n	n	y
Save / append to file	n	n	y	n	y
Swap mouse buttons	n	n	y	n/a	n/a
Arrow key emulation	n	n	option	n	n
Mouse handler settings	n	y	y	n/a	n/a

Tee — Send program's output to both screen and file.

unrated

[added 1999-08-22]

If you want to see the output of a command onscreen, but at the same time wish to save it to disk (with options to append to or overwrite an existing file), tee is the program to do it. Tee is based on a Unix tool of the same name: Other derivatives can be found in the RUTILS4 collection, and in the GNU Shell Utilities and other sets listed on the Unix >> DOS page.

Syntax: <command> | tee <filename>

Author: Brian Friesen / Freezerware (2002).

2002-10-19: v3.2 for DOS16 and Win32 console.

More in these pages from Brian Friesen.

TCAP — TSR logs console text input / output to file.

unrated

[added 1998-06-23, updated 2005-06-10]

TCAP is a text capturing utility. Console I/O is copied to a file. TCAP's purpose is somewhat like the "script" program available on Unix systems, with respect to its ability to log text from the console while it is running. It can remain resident in memory (i.e., as a TSR program) to capture text from several programs or commands, or capture text from a single program. Both program output and text input by the user are captured. Captured text input does not include editing characters, such as backspaces, only the final text is captured. TCAP captures text from both standard-out and standard-error.

Good documentation.

TCAP [options] [filename] [/C command [parameters]]
     /?            display a help screen
     /B=size       specify Buffer size in kilobytes
                   (minimum=7, maximum=64, default=8)
     /ON[-I|-O]    turn capturing ON
     /OFF[-I|-O]   turn capturing OFF
     /OVERWRITE    destroy initial contents of capture file
     /APPEND       Append text to capture file (default)
     /N            No filename swap (with /C option only)
     /P+ or /P-    enable or disable Path searching (with /C option only)
     /I            make entire command-line case-Insensitive
     /L+ or /L-    enable or disable use of Long filenames
     /Lx           prevent filename shortening when long names are unavailable
     /Q            quiet mode
     /U            stop text capture and Uninstall TCAP
     filename      specify the name of the capture file  (defaults to TCAP.TXT)
     /C            run and capture text from 'command', using the indicated parameters

Author: Tim D. Kannel (2002). Suggested by Marianna Van Erp.

2002-07-20: v3.2.

Download tcap32.zip (17K).

TextCap — TSR text mode screen capture utility.

* * * *

[updated 2005-08-03]

TextCap represents an efficient method of quickly capturing single or multiple text mode screens to file(s). Handles screen sizes up to 132 columns and 50 lines. Modifiable hotkey (default is Ctrl-F9) and option to uninstall from memory. Requires about 14K RAM when resident. Captured raw files are automatically saved and named (scn0000x.txt) and must be converted to readable ASCII text using the included filter SCN2ASC.EXE.

USAGE:
/?........display list of available arguments; do not install
/P<path>..Use the path given instead of the current directory.
/K<xxxx>..Use a different hot key specified by the 4 hex digits <xxxx>
/U........Uninstall

Author: Gisbert W. Selke / TapirSoft, Germany (1991).

1991-12-05: v1.0.

Download txtcap20.zip (18K).

TapirSoft Home Page auf Deutsch — in English.

Capture — Capture text mode screens to file (non-TSR).

* * *

Capture is a non-memory resident program that can capture a text mode screen to a file. Note that this is not a TSR, so its use is limited to the command line or batch files. Color screens can be captured either as special VID files (viewable with Capture) or as plain text files.

CAPTURE [play] mode
mode is either C (for colour), M (for monochrome), or T (for plain text)

Author: Jem E. Berkes / PC-Tools.Net, Canada (1997).

1997-11-22: v2.01. Part of the DOS Utilities Collection, copyrighted freeware.

Download dosutils.zip (26K).

More in these pages from Jem E. Berkes.

Screen Thief — Captures Text, VGA+ screens to BMP, TIFF, PCX, TXT.

* * * * *

[added 1998-12-23, updated 2004-06-27]

Excellent program. Formerly shareware, now freeware. GIF support removed.

Author: Jim Hoggarth / Villa Software, UK (1998).

1998-09-12: v2.01.

Download st201f.zip (38K).

VideoThief — Captures VGA, X-mode, SVGA screens.

unrated

[added 12-97, updated 1999-08-16]

... a screen grabber which supports all VGA modes and all VBE 2.0 compliant SuperVGA modes, including text modes, "tweaked" VGA modes (so-called X-modes), banked VESA modes and even LFB VESA modes. Viewer writes BMP files, so you can easily export a picture you've captured. Coded in pure assembler, thus tiny.

Requires 80286, DOS 3.0, VGA, 128K free RAM. Package also includes a file viewer, in 80286 and 80386 versions. Docs in English and Russian.

Author: Andrew Aksyonoff, Russia (1999).

1999-07-07: v0.07.

Download vthf007.zip (20K).

VBEHz — Set refresh rates for DOS programs that use VESA Video Modes.

unrated

[added 2000-08-12, updated 2005-08-03]

• Changes standard refresh rates to user defined ones
• Allows to define if programs are allowed to set their own refresh rates or not
• Runs on any VBE 3.0 compatible video card
• Lets you change h-size, h-pos, v-size, v-pos, pixelclock / refresh rate, h-sync polarity, v-sync polarity
• VBEHZ.COM requires less than 1.1 KB of RAM, may be loaded into UMBs
• Does not lock any file handles
• Runs under DOS as well as under Win 95 or 98
• Displays the number of modes that are supported by your BIOS when loading

Requires 80386+, DOS 2.0+ or Win9x, VBE 3.0+.

Author: Gerhard Strangar, Germany (2003).

2003-03-09: V2.23.

Download vbehz.zip (39K).

Get more info at the VBEHz Page.

Go to the DOS-Tools Page for more software for DOS & Windows, in English & German.

SS (ScreenToggle) — Toggle between 25 and 50 (43 EGA) line modes.

unrated

[added 2000-08-19]

SS is a quick, handy tool that toggles the screen between 25 and 50 (43 EGA) line modes.

SS makes use of the VESA standard for EGA/VGA devices, and it is built-in to your video card (It MUST be EGA or VGA). SS sets the new mode in DOS, and tells DOS to tell the video card to switch to the new mode. SS does not require ANSI.SYS to be loaded.

Works under Win9x, in DOS box or full screen. Does not work under WinNT/2K/2K3/XP.

Author: Michael S. Hooper / C-Shore (2000). Suggested by Howard Schwartz.

2000-01-25: v1.0.

Download ss.zip (8K).

Text Mode (TM) — Provides control of various text screen settings.

unrated

[added 2000-08-19, updated 2003-05-13]

    TM <cols>[x<rows>] -m[<mode>] ,<lines>
       -c[<cols>] -r[<rows>] -f[<height|file>]
       -p[<page>] -s[<attr>] -b[<border>] -d -q
       -w[<height>]

    cols  Number of columns: 40, 80 or 90
    rows  Number of rows: see below
    -m	  BIOS/VESA mode number (in hexadecimal)
    lines Scan lines: 1 = 200, 2 = 350, 3 = 400 or 4 = 480
    -f	  Font height (6 to 16) or a font file
    -p	  Page to display (1 to, at most, 8)
    -s	  Save screen contents or clear screen to color
    -b	  Border/frame/overscan color
    -d	  Display current columns, rows and font height
    -w	  Write the font to file (or all fonts if not specified)
    -q	  Quiet

    An option without a value will display the current setting  (unless
    quiet) and set ERRORLEVEL. Multiple settings will always be displayed in
    the same order, but ERRORLEVEL will be set to the last specified.

Two main programs in package: Text Mode requires 186+. Windowed Text Mode requires 80386+, works in DOS box, but not full screen. Both require VGA. Windowed Text Mode can create 132-column display.

Additional programs are included which allow the font and screen colors to be permanently changed (use BIOS fonts, or a custom font). Source code (C, ASM) included.

Author: Jason Hood, Australia (2003).

2003-05-12 release.

Download tm0305.zip (60K).

More in these pages from Jason Hood.

VMODE — Display or set the current video mode and/or screen rows.

unrated

[added 1998-09-12, updated 2000-04-20]

Call: vmode [ mode /rows  /br|/bl /N ]

              mode = 0-127   [ system default = 3 ]

              rows = 25,30,43,50 (or 2,3,4,5)
                     (Note: 30 rows = video mode 18.)

              /br|/bl = Set ANSI display for bright background or blinking
                        foreground (ANSI.SYS must be installed).

              /N = Do not clear screen when changing video mode.

After setting, or if no arguments, will display status of ANSI.SYS and:

        current mode, rowsXcolumns, #colors, Text-or-Graphics: pixels.

Author: Les Leist (1999).

1999-12-29: v1.4. Part of the DOSPROGS package.

Download dosprogs.zip (130K).

FORCEXT — TSR forces extended text mode display (43, 50 lines).

unrated

[updated 2005-08-03]

This program will force extended textmode (50 lines on VGA or 43 lines on EGA) when other programs terminate. It can also be set to force extended mode when programs change textmode through the BIOS.

Uses less than 1K memory. Option to uninstall.

Usage: FORCEXT [options]
options:
-a[-]... Enable [disable] always forcing extended mode.
-n[-]... Enable [disable] Norwegian letters oe/OE.
-off.... Temporarily disable program.
-on..... Reenable program.
-q...... Quiet. Don't show status messages.
-u...... Uninstall if possible.

Author: Sverre H. Huseby, Norway (1994).

1994-05-11: v3.1.

Download frcext31.zip (17K).

Sverre H. Huseby's Old Freeware for MS-DOS and MS Windows.

More in these pages from Sverre H. Huseby.

MONO — TSR forces B/W display of text mode screens.

* *

[updated 2006-08-21]

I have a subpar grayscale VGA display on my old 386 laptop. Text mode programs intended for color displays often appear muddled – and I'm too lazy to change color attributes in those programs that allow customization. MONO is an old PCMag TSR utility that transforms your screen into a mono (B/W) display. Doesn't work smoothly with some programs but a hot key (alt-M) can toggle mono mode on and off. MONO does not support programs that run in a VGA mode. The /U switch uninstalls MONO from memory. "...some loss in speed must be anticipated, though the amount of degradation will vary with the type and clock speed of the system microprocessor." Source code (ASM & BAS) included.

Not an elegant solution – but neither is MODE MONO.

Author: Michael J. Mefford, for PC Magazine (1989).

1989-01-03: v1.0.

Download v8n06.zip (32K). Also includes other utils.

DimVESA — DPMS power-saving screen blanker.

unrated

[added 1999-09-21]

DimVESA executes the successive DPMS (Display Power Management Signaling) modes STANDBY, SUSPEND, and OFF. User sets a single delay time which applies to all modes. If DPMS is not available, the program can still blank the screen. Compatible with Win3x/9x – see docs for usage instructions under Win9x. Memory requirement: 2K. Optional interactive mode makes setting options a breeze. Based on DIMMER, by Douglas Boling and Jeff Prosise, published in PC Magazine, Vol. 8, No. 17. DimVESA is free for private use only.

Author: Alexander C. Eremeef (1997). Suggested by Howard Schwartz.

1997-02-14: v3.1.

Download dimves31.zip (49K).

DpmSave — DPMS power-saving screen blanker.

unrated

[added 1999-09-21, updated 2005-12-09]

"DpmSave is a screen saver for MS-DOS that switches DPMS compatible computer monitors into power saving mode...Occupies only 544 bytes ...can load itself into upper memory" Don't attempt to use DpmSave if you're uncertain about your monitor's support of DPMS.

Author: Klaus Hartnegg, Germany (1999). Suggested by Howard Schwartz.

1999-02-21: v1.4.

Download dpmsv14.zip (23K).

Blackout — TSR screen blanker permits background processes.

* * *

[updated 1998-12-18]

Blackout (2K) has a couple of unique design features that give it capabilities that are beyond any other screen saver's: namely, the ability to coexist with troublesome applications such as games, and the power to always fully restore the screen. Blackout also allows applications to run while the screen is blank. The program occupies very little memory and can be completely configured and uninstalled from the command-line.

Author: Jem E. Berkes / PC-Tools.Net, Canada (1998).

1999-08-26: v2.0. Copyrighted freeware.

Download blkout20.zip (3.6K).

Blackout page.

More in these pages from Jem E. Berkes.

METAMORF — Screen saver (non-tsr) displays rotating 3D objects.

* * * *

[added 9-97, updated 2005-12-09]

METAMORF is a slick pseudo-screen saver for DOS. It runs on a 286 machine with EGA, but looks best on a fast machine with 256 color capability. Metamorf generates and rotates 3D objects composed of points of color. As a stand-alone program, Metamorf does not function as a memory resident screen saver – but like a screen saver, any keyboard or mouse input will terminate the program.

Author: Pavel Vitis, Czech Republic (1999).

1999-02-20: v2.2. Not widely distributed.

Download mtmrf22.zip, zipped installer EXE (131K).

Acid Warp — Hallucinogenic pattern cycler (usable as non-tsr scr. saver).

* * * *

[added 1998-08-16, updated 2005-12-09]

Hallucinogenic "eye-candy" program, displays a variety of interesting VGA patterns. To exit use Ctrl-Break. Source code (C) included.

Authors: Noah Spurrier and Mark Bilk (1993).

1993-11-05: v4.1.

Download acidwarp.zip (50K).

Find more info and a Linux version at the Acid Warp page.

PLASWAVE — Screen pattern and color cycling.

* * * *

[updated 2004-06-27].

Pattern and color cycling, similar to Acid Warp; maybe more pleasing to the eye. Requires VGA+, runs under DOS or Win32. See the author's page for samples.

Author: Chris Lange, Australia (1997).

1997-01-05: v1.21.

Download PLASWAVE.EXE (36K) [Program, not archived].

Rave! — Kaleidoscope effects.

* * * *

Features some interactive control of drawing parameters. Requires VGA-SVGA.

Author: Ashley Roeckelein (1995).

1995-11-30: v1.1, improved over version 1.0 found at Simtel.Net.

Download rave11.zip (24K).

Stary's Screen Savers — Five non-TSR screen savers.

* * * *

[updated 2001-03-25].

VGA screen savers with better than average effects. Key or mouse action will abort.

BULGE		Distortion effect, use your own pcx image
FURNACE		Average
FLAMES		Who needs a fireplace?
STARFIELD		Starfield with directional changes
DOTTY		3D sphere rotation – similar to Metamorf

Compiled as *.ss files for DOS Navigator, but an included batfile will rename them to *.exe for command line operation (another batfile wil re-rename to *.ss). 32-bit DJGPP builds, all require 80386+, DPMI provider (included), and VGA.

Author: Wojciech Dzierzanowski, Poland (2001).

1999-25-01: v1.2.

Download strss12.zip (232K).

Get installation help and other info at Stary's Screen Savers Home Page.

NNANSI — Fast ANSI.SYS driver replacement.

* * * * *

[added 1994, updated 2005-08-03]

NNANSI.COM (version 5/93) is an improved version of NANSI.SYS (version 2.2, now GPL), by Daniel Kegel, which is in turn such an improvement over ANSI.SYS that *no one* should be without one of these...Works as a device driver or uninstallable TSR.

Based on NANSI.SYS, with additional features. Requires 80286+, may be recompiled (from included ASM source) for older CPUs. Works on EGA/VGA+. Free for non-commercial use.

Author: Tom Almy (1993).

2001-10-28: v5/93 recompiled and reissued.

Download nnans593.zip (75K).

DOS Programs by Tom Almy.

Warp — Device driver speeds up displays.

* * * * *

[added 1999-06-01]

Warp is a [config.sys] device driver for speeding up standard output. Additional features include auto-pause, a shortened BIOS beep, and partial ANSI support...Warp's ANSI support is limited to clear screen, move cursor, and set color...Warp will NOT work with other ANSI drivers (like ANSI.SYS)...Warp requires a PC/XT/AT compatible and DOS 3.0 or higher.

Author: Eric Tauck (1998).

1998-04-19: v2.31 (1995-03-20) reissued.

Download warp231.zip (10K).

ANSISET — Conveniently sets colors / reassigns keys using ANSI driver.

unrated

[added 2000-12-05].

If you have a version of ansi.sys installed, this program conveniently sets screen colors and reassigns keys such as F1 to run programs or type text (ordinarily, to do this one must set the prompt variable, or insert somewhat complex escape key sequences in a text file, and then run that file).

SYNTAX: ansiset option1 option2 ...

Foreground color options:
        black,  red,  green,  brown,  blue,  magenta,  cyan,  white
Background color options:
        bblack, bred, bgreen, bbrown, bblue, bmagenta, bcyan, bwhite
Other color options:
        normal, reverse, bright
Keyboard Reassignment options: form x=y where
        x = ascii code of key (for extended keys, use 0; prefix)
        y = ascii codes or strings separated by semicolons
Misc  options:
        -h, -H, -? for help
        -v, -V     for version number

Author: Venu P. Gopal (1987). Suggested by Howard Schwartz.

1987-11-09: v1.00.

Download ansiset.zip (12.6K).

PERUSE — TSR scrollback buffer utility.

* * *

[updated 2006-08-21]

Peruse is a tsr that allows you to scroll back and forth through multiple recent screens of text. The scroll lock key functions as the hot key. Peruse is also a useful tool for some comm programs that don't have their own scrollback buffer. Peruse can uninstall itself from memory. Requires XMS or EMS memory. ASM source included in package.

/En  tells PERUSE to use nK of EMS memory *
/Xn  tells PERUSE to use nK of XMS memory
/U   removes PERUSE from memory
n must be in the range 16 to 8192.

Authors: Bob Flanders and Michael Holmes, for PC Magazine (1994).

1994-03-21: v1.0.

Download v13n07.zip (130K). Also includes other utils.

SIZEIT — TSR ruler with horizontal and vertical positioning.

unrated

[added 1999-09-21]

This is an old TSR pop-up ruler that can come in handy for lots of programs (e.g., in editors, determine column position, line up code or bullets, check text width for printing; in other programs, quickly determine screen location of text). By default, a horizontal ruler is displayed – the up/down arrow keys allow you to position the ruler anywhere on screen. Indexed in inches or characters. Pressing the INS key will generate a second, vertical ruler (inches) which can also be positioned with the right/left arrow keys.

Notes: Hot Key, Ctrl+Alt+Right Shift, not modifiable. Requires about 4K memory. No uninstall option. In public domain.

Author: Douglas C. Fretz (1987). Suggested by Howard Schwartz.

1987-04-27 release.

Download scsizeit.zip (3.5K).

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