Terminal-Notepad-DOS is a text editor inspired by Windows Notepad, built entirely from scratch in C++, compiled with Borland Turbo C 3.0, and with the help of Google Gemini for classic MS-DOS environments. It brings a modern, Windows-like GUI experience into a pure 80x25 text-mode terminal. Yes, I know that the whole program is made with the help of AI. Because I'm not good at coding at this level, I only know how to design the user interface, and I love a DOS and retro-futuristic aesthetic.
Designed mainly for mouse-based usage, but keyboard navigation is completely supported.
Main Screen, running under DOSBox
Preview with demo text
Menus preview
Core Engine & Architecture:
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Direct VRAM Rendering: Bypasses standard printf I/O to write directly to VGA memory (0xB800), resulting in instant, flicker-free screen updates.
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Low-Level Hardware Polling: Uses BIOS memory peeking to track Shift, Alt, and Ctrl modifier keys in real-time without blocking the main program loop.
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Custom Mouse Driver Integration: Communicates directly with INT 33h to provide full left/right click, double-click, and click-and-drag support.
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Cross-Compatible Configs: Reads and writes to a config.txt file that is 100% interchangeable with the modern Windows version.
Advanced Editing Capabilities:
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Dynamic Word Wrap: A highly optimised layout engine that wraps text in real-time, with a toggle to respect whole words or break mid-word.
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Undo/Redo Time Machine: Features a robust 10-level state snapshot system, grouped smartly by typing bursts and manual actions.
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Text Selection & Clipboard: Hold Shift with arrow keys or click-and-drag the mouse to highlight text. Includes full Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete mechanics via an internal memory clipboard.
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Decoupled Camera System: Independent horizontal and vertical scrolling allows you to view text far beyond the 80x25 screen limit.
Modern UI/UX in Text Mode:
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Interactive File Browser: A completely custom open/save dialog that reads native DOS directories (<dir.h>). Includes live search filtering, file size formatting, and address path history (Back/Forward).
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100% Keyboard Navigable: True to classic DOS software, the entire GUI can be used without a mouse. Press Alt to drop down menus, use Arrow Keys to navigate, and use Tab to cycle focus through dialog boxes.
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Context Menus: Right-click anywhere on the text canvas to open a modern context menu at the cursor's location.
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Dynamic Theming: Change background, foreground, selection, and critical warning colors in real-time.
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Visual Polish: Includes modern UX touches like mouse hover effects, custom extended ASCII borders, and a "dimmed" background overlay when modal dialogs (like the Exit Warning) appear.
Display settings will be available in the later versions
Graphics settings with theme settings
Other settings will be available in the later versions
A DOS computer and an 80x25 text mode compatible video card.
DOS version 7.10 on DOSBox-X, 16 MB ram
Windows 7 x86 on Real Hardware - Core 2 Quad, 4 GB ram
Windows 98 SE x86 on Real Hardware - Pentium 3, 256 MB ram
DOS 7.10 on Real Hardware - Pentium 3, 256 MB ram