For the Motorcycle model made by Norton Motorcycles, see Norton Commander (Motorcycle)

Norton Commander is an Orthodox File Manager program, written by John Socha and released by Peter Norton Computing (later acquired by the Symantec corporation).  The program is a file navigator with a user interface for DOS.  The typical screen includes two panels with file lists.  The program makes it easy to copy and move files between the two panels.  There is also a built-in text file viewer and editor. 

Norton Commander was very popular during the DOS era and has been extensively cloned (see OFM).  Some of those clones are Volkov Commander (for DOS), Midnight Commander (for Unix-like systems), FAR Manager and Total Commander (formerly Windows Commander, for Win32).

In the Windows era, a new version of Norton Commander was introduced - Norton Commander for Windows. This version fully integrates with Windows (supports long file names, recycle bin) and also gives support for a Quick View program that enables one to see files such as Word, Excel, Adobe, etc. in one of the panels.

As time goes by Norton commander is beginning to get rarer and more valueable due to the fact that it was not around for very long. Norton Commander was produced in 1986-1999 and is a valued piece of software by computer collectors.

See also

• Dos Navigator
• DOS Shell
• Total Commander
• Volkov Commander