Fully working: FV Dialog Designer

[CarlosVivaros]

Download the freeware Dialog Designer Version 4.6 from David Baldwin, in an innosetup installation script: https://www.artwerp.be/tvision/setup_fv_dialedit.exe
All files will be installed in c:\dialdesign

DLGDSN.exe is a DOS program, executed under VDOS (https://www.vdos.info/) to run under Win64: fv-dialogs.exe. 
Click on the Desktop shortcut to start the program in Win64 OS.

All functions are tested.  A simple FreeVision test framework is included: testcase.dpr.  Insert Type 1 output from the dialog editor between the marks and run your dialog test program...
A demo is also included: demo.dpr / Type 1: dialog definition diademo.src.  Compiled to Win32 with fpc to demo.exe

I have modified all the runtime files to be compatible with fpc.

I have succesfully compiled and tested to Win32, Win64, Linux32 and Linux64 in Delphi with CrossFPC (http://www.crossfpc.com).

Regards, Carlos Vivaros

[avra]

It does not work for me on Win10x64. I can run demo.exe, but nothing else. Shortcut does not execute anything. Everything is in c:\dialdesign directory. After applying recommended compatibility settings to shortcut, I get vDos exception message: "vDos should not run elevated". If I just click on shortcut nothing happens. If I open shortcut as admin then I get the same message.

[KodeZwerg]

Download the freeware Dialog Designer Version 4.6 from David Baldwin

Why should I?
Show some screensnaps of what all this shall be.
What's the benefit of using (if it would work at all) over the Lazarus Form Designer?

[KodeZwerg]

If I just click on shortcut nothing happens. If I open shortcut as admin then I get the same message.

Take care about malware 

[MarkMLl]

I note that there's a couple of newly-joined members suddenly posting "interesting" links, so unless they introduce themselves (e.g. as longstanding members of the MLs) I think suspicion of malware is entirely valid.

I think the (claimed) intention is to have something similar to https://github.com/MarkMLl/Dialedit3b which I think has by now been copied and worked on by various people. This sort of thing is definitely valid, since it allows a Textual User Interface (TUI) to be designed for programs which don't merit (or systems which don't support) a full GUI.

My opinion is that Linux- and possibly FPC- would have benefited enormously from having something like this 15 or 20 years ago.

MarkMLl

[CarlosVivaros]

I think suspicion of malware is entirely valid.

Please send all the files in this package tot virustotal.com.  You will see there is no malware in these files...
vdos is used to run the dos exe in 64 bit windows.  No idea why it doesn't run in windows 10. 
I can use the software succesfully in windows 10/11.  No elevation / compatibility settings are needed.

If the shortcut doesn't work: delete autoexec.txt and run fv-dialogs.exe.  This is the standard vdos exe.  If you don't trust: download from the vdos site.
Then you can start dos exe: dlgdsn.exe. 

I have written in this FV forum.  I have no intensions to compare it with Lazarus.
This FV dialog editor is far better than: Dialedit3b. 

If you think it is malware: test it, or run it in a sandbox...

Regards
Carlos Vivaros

[MarkMLl]

If you think it is malware: test it, or run it in a sandbox...

I didn't say it was, I said suspicion was justifiable.

I've managed to build a (medium test) program for both a GUI (using Lazarus) and TUI (using dialedit3b) plus of course command line, but the dialedit3b variant was particularly painful. And even going back to the '90s I've been struggling against most OSes' and TUIs' poor support for window size notifications (WINCH on unix).

I will try to take a look at this at some point, because as I've said I believe that this type of thing had- and arguably still has- viable areas of application. In fact one of the most impressive pieces of software I've seen was MS VB for DOS... shame it was BASIC (and Microsoft :-)

MarkMLl

[KodeZwerg]

I barely remember 2 textmode UIs that I've used at that time, Borland Pascal and Norton Commander 

[MarkMLl]

There were a lot- a Hell of a lot- of copies of Desqview sold in the late 80s. However they didn't have any development toolkit to go with it: they had various addon packs to handle e.g. (from memory) local messaging with the same UI "look and feel" but for some reason were more interested in trying to make all APIs "orthogonal" than in making a general-purpose development environment.

There were /lots/ of TUI toolkits (although I think that term hadn't yet been coined), of which TurboVision was but one middling-decent example. But my recollection is that interactive UI development was unheard of until MS brought out Visual BASIC, which was arguably improved upon by Delphi.

MarkMLl

[tetrastes]

I barely remember 2 textmode UIs that I've used at that time, Borland Pascal and Norton Commander 

As for file managers, I used, use and will use Far and Midnight Commander. 

There were a lot- a Hell of a lot- of copies of Desqview sold in the late 80s. However they didn't have any development toolkit to go with it: they had various addon packs to handle e.g. (from memory) local messaging with the same UI "look and feel" but for some reason were more interested in trying to make all APIs "orthogonal" than in making a general-purpose development environment.

I used it, because it gave some sort of multitasking, but I didn't ever suspect that it was somewhat of development environment.

[MarkMLl]

I used it, because it gave some sort of multitasking, but I didn't ever suspect that it was somewhat of development environment.

A vast number of those went to developers so that they could e.g. run a compiler in its own window, until two things happened:

a) One of Quarterdeck's backup tapes vanished.

b) Microsoft brought out Windows-386.

I make no claim that those two events were related.

I'm afraid that I no longer have documentation or software catalogues etc., and my journalist friend- an occasional member of this forum- is hospitalised and in need of our well-wishes (a few decades ago I'd have unashamedly said "prayers").

There was a handful of companion toolkits, to present various types of pop-up information with a "look and feel" similar to the Desqview windows. I suspect that in practice these were TSRs, but possibly with privileged hooks into the memory manager to pick up hotkeys and/or background events. However the thing that sticks in my mind was the attempt at orthogonality in the APIs: somebody had tackled that with what can only be described as obsessive resolve.

The company with which I was associated /tried/ to build a business system using the underlying technology and primitive (NetBIOS over yellow-wire Ethernet) networking, but failed dismally because of what were basically "people problems": a Byte-reading MD to whom the idea of writing a specification was anathema, and his drinking buddies all pulling in their own directions.

MarkMLl

[avra]

Ok, fv-dialogs.exe starts dialog designer if my autoexec.txt consists of just these 2 lines:

DLGDSN.EXE
exit

Directory can be moved out of root.

[CarlosVivaros]

Ok, fv-dialogs.exe starts dialog designer if my autoexec.txt consists of just these 2 lines:

DLGDSN.EXE
exit

Directory can be moved out of root.

Ok.  Great it works now for you  .  I don't know why my setup doesn't work on your computer. 

• Maybe its the line in autoexec.txt: USE C: C:\
  This USE command makes the whole C drive visible in VDOS.  Without this line, you only see the directory where VDOS is installed...
• It is also possible that the shortpath cd \dialde~1 doesn't exist in your system or has another name like: cd \dialde~2. In this case DLGDSN.EXE was not found on your system.

Maybe also interesting: This version of VDOS is also compatible with DWPL/WDOSX (https://dwpl.sourceforge.net/)programs.  So you can run 32-bit protected DOS applications under Win64, with a Turbo Vision look, created with the CLX library in Delphi. 

[funlw65]

It installs in Linux with Wine and can be run with DOSBox.

Launch the installation with :
wine setup_fv_dialedit.exe

Then start DOSBox with dosbox command (if is already installed on your linux distro).

Inside DOSBox console, type the following command (from the start, you are in Z: drive):
mount c ~/.wine/drive_c

Then, the following two commands
c:
cd dialde~1

Now you can launch the designer:
dlgdsn

If the window is too small for your eyes, you can enter (and exit) full screen with the following combination of keys:
Alt+Enter