<s>
XTree	B-Application
is	O
a	O
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
program	B-Application
originally	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
under	O
DOS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	B-Application
uses	O
a	O
character-mode	B-Application
interface	I-Application
,	O
which	O
has	O
many	O
elements	O
typically	O
associated	O
with	O
a	O
graphical	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	B-Application
filled	O
a	O
required	O
niche	O
in	O
the	O
market	O
,	O
as	O
DOS	B-Device
shipped	O
with	O
only	O
a	O
command-line	B-Application
file	B-Application
manager	I-Application
,	O
until	O
the	O
generally	O
unsuccessful	O
DOS	B-Application
Shell	I-Application
that	O
was	O
provided	O
with	O
MS-DOS	O
4.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
then	O
,	O
the	O
speed	O
and	O
features	O
of	O
XTreeGold	B-Application
were	O
superior	O
—	O
specifically	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
Zip	B-General_Concept
compression	B-General_Concept
format	O
and	O
ability	O
to	O
undelete	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	B-Application
also	O
has	O
the	O
benefit	O
of	O
requiring	O
very	O
little	O
memory	O
,	O
essential	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
when	O
less	O
than	O
640	O
kB	O
of	O
memory	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
programs	O
to	O
run	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XTree	B-Application
1.0	O
was	O
officially	O
introduced	O
on	O
April	O
1	O
,	O
1985	O
,	O
at	O
the	O
West	O
Coast	O
Computer	O
Faire	O
and	O
sold	O
for	O
$39.95	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Work	O
had	O
begun	O
on	O
XTree	B-Application
in	O
December	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XTree	B-Application
name	O
was	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
Johnson	O
's	O
wife	O
,	O
Arletta	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
made	O
the	O
suggestion	O
:	O
"	O
 '	O
XTree	B-Application
 '	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
You	O
know	O
,	O
like	O
'	O
X-Tree	O
,	O
X-Tree	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Johnson	O
was	O
the	O
originator	O
of	O
the	O
visual	O
directory	O
tree	B-Device
concept	O
first	O
used	O
in	O
an	O
Epson	O
backup	O
product	O
created	O
by	O
ESI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Johnson	O
describes	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
a	O
visual	O
directory	O
tree	B-Device
as	O
follows	O
:	O
'	O
Everyone	O
in	O
the	O
room	O
when	O
I	O
first	O
drew	O
it	O
on	O
a	O
whiteboard	O
 [ ... ] 	O
When	O
I	O
sat	O
down	O
,	O
Tom	O
and	O
Dale	O
both	O
said	O
"	O
it	O
ca	O
n't	O
be	O
done.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TREE	B-Device
command	I-Device
found	O
in	O
later	O
DOS	B-Device
releases	O
displayed	O
directories	O
in	O
a	O
markedly	O
similar	O
fashion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1991	O
,	O
XTree	B-Application
had	O
sold	O
over	O
3	O
million	O
copies	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
over	O
a	O
half-dozen	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
in	O
its	O
earliest	O
version	O
XTree	B-Application
contained	O
features	O
like	O
listing	O
all	O
files	O
of	O
a	O
branch	O
,	O
including	O
subdirectories	O
,	O
listing	O
of	O
all	O
files	O
on	O
a	O
disk	O
,	O
or	O
viewing	O
a	O
file	O
's	O
contents	O
in	O
text	O
or	O
hexadecimal	O
format	O
(	O
regardless	O
of	O
its	O
file	O
extension	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
feature	O
never	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
built-in	O
Windows	B-Application
file	I-Application
manager	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
XTree	B-Application
was	O
supplemented	O
by	O
the	O
enhanced	O
XTreePro	O
in	O
1988	O
,	O
which	O
added	O
features	O
for	O
working	O
with	O
multiple	O
disk	O
drives	O
,	O
speed	O
improvements	O
,	O
and	O
brought	O
the	O
keyboard	O
commands	O
more	O
in	O
line	O
with	O
other	O
common	O
DOS	B-Device
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
of	O
XTreePro	O
with	O
Novell	B-Operating_System
NetWare	I-Operating_System
connectivity	O
debuted	O
in	O
late	O
1988	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XTreeProGold/XTreeGold	O
succeeded	O
Xtree	B-Application
Pro	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
adding	O
pull-down	O
menus	O
to	O
enhance	O
the	O
interface	O
,	O
additional	O
file	O
viewers	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
choice	O
of	O
a	O
Norton	O
Commander-style	O
split	O
pane	O
between	O
locations	O
on	O
different	O
disks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
GUI-enabled	O
XTree	B-Application
product	O
was	O
XTreeMac	O
,	O
also	O
launched	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
which	O
brought	O
the	O
XTree	B-Application
interface	O
metaphors	O
to	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Application
System	I-Application
as	O
a	O
Finder	B-Application
replacement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Application
System	I-Application
software	I-Application
already	O
had	O
competent	O
file	O
management	O
,	O
XTreeMac	O
made	O
it	O
easier	O
to	O
move	O
and	O
copy	O
files	O
and	O
added	O
undeletion	O
and	O
enhanced	O
file	O
finding	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
in	O
1989	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
ran	O
a	O
four-month	O
"	O
Software	O
Amnesty	O
for	O
Everyone	O
"	O
,	O
allowing	O
users	O
of	O
unauthorized	O
copies	O
of	O
XTree	B-Application
to	O
register	O
them	O
for	O
a	O
small	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XTree	B-Application
suffered	O
a	O
terminal	O
decline	O
after	O
the	O
widespread	O
adoption	O
of	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
built-in	O
Windows	B-Application
file	I-Application
manager	I-Application
had	O
a	O
vaguely	O
similar	O
appearance	O
to	O
XTree	B-Application
,	O
and	O
while	O
it	O
lacked	O
the	O
speed	O
,	O
keyboard	O
shortcuts	O
and	O
power	O
,	O
it	O
did	O
benefit	O
greatly	O
from	O
being	O
included	O
with	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1992	O
XTree	B-Application
for	O
Windows	O
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
product	O
dropped	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
features	O
liked	O
in	O
the	O
DOS	B-Device
versions	O
,	O
with	O
undeletion	O
and	O
file	O
editing	O
particularly	O
noticeable	O
by	O
their	O
absence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
program	B-Application
also	O
took	O
considerably	O
longer	O
to	O
load	O
than	O
both	O
DOS	B-Device
Xtree	B-Application
and	O
other	O
Windows	B-Application
file	I-Application
managers	I-Application
,	O
and	O
operations	O
like	O
viewing	O
files	O
were	O
slower	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
this	O
,	O
features	O
like	O
native	O
support	O
for	O
file	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
and	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
file	O
viewers	O
made	O
it	O
the	O
most	O
feature	O
complete	O
Windows	B-Application
file	I-Application
manager	I-Application
of	O
that	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1993	O
,	O
the	O
XTree	B-Application
Company	O
was	O
sold	O
to	O
Central	O
Point	O
Software	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
in	O
turn	O
acquired	O
by	O
Symantec	O
in	O
1994	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
1995	O
production	O
of	O
XTree	B-Application
products	O
was	O
halted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
popularity	O
of	O
the	O
program	B-Application
has	O
led	O
many	O
enthusiasts	O
to	O
develop	O
clone	O
versions	O
that	O
work	O
with	O
modern	O
operating	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
authors	O
and	O
users	O
commonly	O
view	O
these	O
clones	O
as	O
a	O
tribute	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
XTree	B-Application
program	B-Application
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
competitor	O
,	O
especially	O
since	O
XTree	B-Application
is	O
no	O
longer	O
commercially	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
