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1. Notable New Features
Directory support on Virtual Drive Z: and major cleanups on this drive The internal virtual drive Z: now supports directories so there is no need to put all files/programs on the root directory of Z drive any more (although one-level directories are currently supported). The Z drive has been cleaned up accordingly as well by categorizing files into directories, with additional programs appearing in some directories.Support for changing current floppy or CD images when running guest systems You can now change the active floppy disk and/or CD images while DOS/Windows 9x guest systems are currently running. There are now menu options "Change current floppy image..." and "Change current CD image..." to change the currently active floppy disk image(s) on drive A:/B: and ISO/CUE image(s) on CD drives.Support for START command on non-Windows platforms to launch host system programs The START command designed to launch host system programs to run outside DOSBox-X has been extended to non-Windows platforms including Linux and macOS. This feature is disabled by default but can be enabled by setting config option "startcmd" to "true" or with the -hostrun command-line option. Type START /? for more information about this command.Significantly improved multi-language support including UTF-8 language file support Multi-language support has been improved significantly in this version, especially for the drop-down menus. Language files encoded with UTF-8 are now supported (and will be automatically saved so) in addition to those encoded with DOS code pages. The welcome banner messages etc have been cleaned up for easier language translations too.Full support for Chinese/Japanese/Korean code pages and displaying CJK characters in TTF output There are huge improvements for Chinese/Japanese/Korean language support in this version. With a CJK code page (932: Japanese, 936: Simplified Chinese, 949: Korean; 950: Traditional Chinese) files/directories with CJK characters can be loaded and mounted properly, and when using the TrueType font (TTF) output and a suitable TTF font (e.g. GNU Unifont), CJK characters can be displayed directly in DOSBox-X without any helper programs, with auto-detection of box-drawing characters and the ability to switch between DBCS and SBCS modes. Even printing is supported (see below). Chinese (Simplified) language file and Japanese language file are added as well.Improved printing features including DBCS support for CJK languages The printing features have been once again improved, including menu option to print the current DOS text screen, and for TTF output the current TrueType font will be used for printing as well by default. Also, support for printing Chinese/Japanese/Korean DBCS (double-byte) characters (when these code pages are active) is added, and you can see the new "printdbcs" config option in [printer] section for more information.Improved TTF word processor support Support for a new TTF word processor type "FE" (for FastEdit, new DOS text editor with functions to view and change text styles) has been added, and for this word processor type all style combinations of bold, italics, underline, and strikeout are supported. Also added "ttf.wpfg" config option to optionally specify a foreground color (0-7) for the TTF output.Improved CONFIG command for configuration The CONFIG command has been improved in various ways, including added special properties such as "hostos", "programdir", "workdir", "configdir", and "userconfigdir" (for example, "CONFIG -GET hostos" will get the host system OS). The command "CONFIG -wl" will show the name of language file being written to and "CONFIG -ln" will show the name of the current language (if any). If a config option can only be changed at run-time, "CONFIG -set" will now show such a message ("CONFIG -setf" will bypass but the change won't take effect in the current session).Improved SETCOLOR command for changing text-mode color schemes in all outputs The SETCOLOR command can now change the text-mode color schemes in all outputs in VGA mode, not just the TrueType font (TTF) output. Type SETCOLOR to view the current text-mode color schemes, or type SETCOLOR /? for more information about this command. If you want to change the text-mode foreground and background colors, use the COLOR command instead.Improved debugging functions including enhanced menu options There is now a top-level "Debug" menu in all debug builds, with additional debug options appearing in this menu. For the DOSBox-X debugger, you can now set the run mode when the debugger starts, including "debugger", "normal", and "watch", either from the drop-down menu or in the config file. You can also change this dynamically from the menu when the debugger is running. Debugger interface also accepts the '0' key as a command to single-step in case F11 isn't an option.
2. Notable Usability Improvements
Allow to auto-maximize the DOSBox-X window at start There is now a "maximize" config option in [sdl] section which allows you to automatically maximize the DOSBox-X window at start, although it is available for all SDL2 builds and Windows SDL1 builds only. Use the full-screen mode for the TrueType font (TTF) output.Allow to auto-select a backend for the NE2000 networking feature With the existence of two backends (pcap and slirp) for the NE2000 networking feature, a default value "auto" is added to "backend" option in [ne2000] section of the configuration which will automatically select the slirp backend if available, then the pcap backend if available.Allow to auto-select a IRQ number for the Sound Blaster The IRQ option for the Sound Blaster now accepts a value of "0" to automatically select a IRQ number (either 5 or 7) based on the actual default IRQ number for the sound card type.Allow to use system mouse pointer for the DOS mouse cursor There is now a "usesystemcursor" config option (in [sdl] section) which when set to true will use host system mouse cursor instead of drawing a DOS mouse cursor when the mouse is not locked. Some people prefer the host system mouse cursor to the actual DOS mouse cursor.Restart DOSBox-X with specified config file from menu Under the "Main" menu there is now a menu option which allows you to restart DOSBox-X with the specified config file automatically. The specified config file can be completely different from the current one, such as loading a different machine type.Changing the refresh rate and A20 gate status from menu You can now change the video refresh rate and the A20 gate status from the drop-down menus, in addition to use commands. The "Refresh rate..." menu option under "Video" menu and the "Enable A20 gate" menu option under "DOS" menu allow you to achieve these.Specifying command shell located on mounted local drive You can now specify a command shell located on a mounted local drive (instead of Drive Z:) via SHELL= command in [config] section of config file after the drive is properly mounted via INSTALL= command.Optimized -silent and -fastlaunch command-line options Both the -silent and -fastlaunch command-line options have been optimized to potential make them even faster and quieter. For example, both options will suppress the possible folder selection dialog and any messages by the "automountall=true" option, and -silent option will disable all sound-related config option as well.More options to convert mouse wheel movements to keys Additional options are added to the "mouse_wheel_key" config option and the "Mouse wheel movements" menu group to allow conversion of mouse wheel movements into Ctrl+up/down arrow (option 4), Ctrl+left/right arrows (option 5), Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn keys (option 6), and Ctrl+W/Z as used by WordStar and EDIT (option 7).
3. Bugfixes and Other Improvements
There are also many bugfixes and other improvements, including fixes and improvements to some existing features (e.g. issues related to screen dimensions in TTF output in CGA/EGA modes since 0.83.12 and updated Windows installer to use the latest Inno Setup to allow features such as administrative install mode via /ALLUSERS option) and ported recent DOSBox SVN commits. Please see the full changelogs below for more information.
4. Full Changelog In This Version
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Added support for directories on the Z drive, so
there is no need to put all files/programs on the
root directory of Z drive any more. Only one-level
directories are currently supported. There are now
six directories on the Z drive by default, namely
4DOS, BIN, DEBUG, DOS, SYSTEM, TEXTUTIL. Most files
that previously appeared on the root directory of
Z drive are now categorized into directories, with
addition of some files/programs, such as additional
4DOS files, text utilities in TEXTUTIL directory
and TITLE command to change window title. (Wengier)
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You can now specify a command shell located on a
mounted local drive via SHELL= command in [config]
section of config file after the drive is properly
mounted via INSTALL= command. (Wengier)
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Extended START command to Linux and macOS systems.
It's disabled by default just like on Windows host
systems, but can be enabled by setting "startcmd"
to "true" or with the -hostrun command-line option
(replacing -winrun command-line option). (Wengier)
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CHCP command in the TrueType font (TTF) output now
allows code page 932, 936, 949, and 950 to display
Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters and file
names with DBCS support enabled in non-PC98 mode.
By default DOSBox-X will enable DBCS characters and
auto-detection for box-drawing characters in these
code pages, and these can be disabled by setting
new options "ttf.autodbcs" and "ttf.autoboxdraw" to
"false". There is also option "ttf.halfwidthkana"
to enable half-width Katakana in Japanese non-PC98
machines. KEYB command (and "keyboardlayout" config
option) also accept "jp", "ko", "cn", "tw", "hk",
"zh" as key layout names for code pages. (Wengier)
-
Added support for printing Chinese/Japanese/Korean
DBCS (double-byte) characters when these code pages
are active, which by default ("auto") is enabled for
the TTF output, but can be enable or disabled for
all outputs by setting option "printdbcs" to "true"
or "false" in [printer] section. (Wengier)
-
Added ability to toggle between Shift-JIS (or Kanji)
and graphical modes using Ctrl+F4 key (or ESC )3 and
ESC )0 escape sequences) in the PC-98 mode. There
is now also an indication of graphical mode in the
function row. (nmlgc)
-
Added the "usesystemcursor" config option (in [sdl]
section) which when set to true will use host system
mouse cursor instead of drawing a DOS mouse cursor
when the mouse is not locked. (Wengier)
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When opening "Save..." or "Save Language File..."
dialogs in the Configuration Tool, the new dialogs
will now automatically be in focus. For the language
file, the name of the current language file will be
filled and modifiable. Pressing ENTER key saves the
config or language file, and pressing ESC key will
close these dialog boxes. (Wengier)
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Command "CONFIG -wl" will show the name of language
file being written to (if there is a language file
loaded then "CONFIG -wl" alone will write to it),
and command "CONFIG -ln" will show current language
name (if any), or you can use command "CONFIG -ln
-wl " to specify a language
name when writting to a language file. (Wengier)
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Added special properties to CONFIG command such as
"hostos", "programdir", "workdir", "configdir", and
"userconfigdir" so that commands like "CONFIG -GET
hostos" and "CONFIG -GET workdir" will get the host
system OS and DOSBox-X working directory. (Wengier)
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If a config option can only be changed at run-time,
"CONFIG -set" will now show such a message. You can
use "CONFIG -setf" to bypass, but the setting won't
take effect in the current session. (Wengier)
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SETCOLOR command can now change the text-mode color
schemes in outputs rather than the TrueType font
output too (VGA mode only). (Wengier)
-
Added support for new TTF word processor type "FE"
for FastEdit, a new DOS text editor with functions
to view and change text styles. (Wengier)
-
Added "ttf.wpfg" config option in [render] section
which can optionally specify a foreground color
(0-7) for the TTF output, similar to "ttf.wpbg" for
the background color in the TTF output. (Wengier)
-
Added "ttf.printfont" config option in [render]
section which when set to true (default) will force
to use the current TrueType font (set via ttf.font)
for printing too when using TTF output. (Wengier)
-
Added additional options to the "mouse_wheel_key"
config option to allow conversion of mouse wheel
movements into Ctrl+up/down arrow (option 4), Ctrl+
left/right arrows (option 5), Ctrl+PgUp/PgDn keys
(option 6), and Ctrl+W/Z as used by WordStar & EDIT
(option 7) . More menu options are added to "Mouse
wheel movements" menu group as well. (Wengier)
-
Added menu option "Print text screen" (under "DOS")
to print current DOS text screen, if the printer
feature has been enabled. (Wengier)
-
Added menu options "Display TTF blinking cursor",
"CJK: Switch DBCS/SBCS mode", "CJK: Auto-detect
box-drawing characters" and "CJK: Allow half-width
Japanese Katahana" under "Video" => "TTF options"
menu group to toggle the TTF options ttf.blinkc,
ttf.autodbcs, ttf.autoboxdraw and ttf.halfwidthkana
in [render] section of the config file. (Wengier)
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Support for UTF-8 encoded language files. Specify
a DOS code page with "country" option in [config]
section of the config file. Windows SDL1 menu and
macOS menu are now also compatible with Unicode
language files and characters. Also improved code
page compatibility for text in the SDL drawn menu
and the Configuration Tool. (Wengier)
-
Cleaned up the welcome banner messages and other
messages involving boxdrawing characters for easier
translations into certain languages. (Wengier)
-
Command-line option -silent now implies -nomenu,
SDL_AUDIODRIVER=dummy and will disable all sound-
related config option as well. (Wengier)
-
Command-line option -fastlaunch will now suppress
messages by "automountall=true" option. Also added
value "quiet" to "automountall" config option to
auto-mount all Windows drives quietly. (Wengier)
-
Added default value "auto" to "backend" option in
[ne2000] section of the configuration which will
automatically select slirp backend if available,
then pcap backend if available. (Wengier)
-
Improved handling of Ctrl+C/Ctrl+Break for shell-
based DOS programs. (Wengier)
-
Setting "irq" to "0" in [sblaster] section of the
config file will use the default IRQ number for the
sound card type. Also fixed "irq=-1", "dma=-1" and
"hdma=-1" not working as desired. (Wengier)
-
Option "dpi aware=auto" now defaults to "true" when
full-screen mode is requested when DOSBox-X starts
in Windows SDL1 builds. (Wengier)
-
The return value of AL in Int21/AX=0Eh is no longer
fixed. The game Jurassic Park may run after moving
Z drive to a different letter (e.g. E:). (Wengier)
-
Added "Change current floppy image..." and "Change
current CD image..." menu options to change the
currently active floppy disk image(s) on drive A: &
B: and ISO/CUE image(s) on CD drives respectively.
This makes it possible to change the active floppy
disk and/or CD images while a guest system (e.g.
Windows 9x) is currently running. (Wengier)
-
Added "Restart DOSBox-X with config file..." menu
option to start DOSBox-X with the specified config
file automatically from the menu. (Wengier)
-
Added "Refresh rate..." menu option (under "Video")
to set the video refresh rate. (Wengier)
-
Added "Enable A20 gate" menu option (under "DOS")
to enable or disable the A20 gate. (Wengier)
-
Added "maximize" config option in [sdl] section to
automatically maximize the DOSBox-X window at start
(SDL2 and Windows SDL1 builds only). (Wengier)
-
Added "allow lmsw to exit protected mode" config
option in [cpu] section to control whether the LMSW
instruction allows the guest to clear the PE bit
(leave protected mode).
-
Added "debuggerrun" config option in [log] section
to set the run mode when DOSBox-X Debugger starts.
You can now also switch them from the menu ("Debug"
=> "Debugger option: ..."), including "debugger",
"normal" and "watch", the later two corresponding
to debugger commands "RUN" and "RUNWATCH". Also,
the built-in DEBUGBOX command without a parameter
will start the DOSBox-X debugger. (Wengier)
-
Debugger interface now accepts the '0' key as a
command to single-step in case F11 isn't an option.
If you are using XFCE's Terminal emulator, this is
helpful because Terminal app takes F11 for itself.
-
"Debug" menu is now a top-level menu for debugging
builds (for non-debugging builds there is "Logging
console" menu group under "Help"). Also added more
debug options including "Generate NMI interrupt"
and "Hook INT 2Fh calls" under this menu. (Wengier)
-
Fixed /S and /F option (date/time-synchronization
ON/OFF) of DATE command not working. (Wengier)
-
Fixed aspect=true not working properly for some
screen modes such as machine=ega. (Wengier)
-
Fixed the mouse not automatically captured when
DOSBox-X starts with the settings fullscreen=true
and autolock=true. (Wengier)
-
Fixed inputs in the Configuration Tool when the
Configuration Tool is scaled. (Wengier)
-
Fixed keys may not work after loading a saved state
for the game Buck Rogers. (Wengier)
-
Fixed Windows detection for the game "Tex Murphy:
Under a Killing Moon". (Wengier)
-
Fixed serial ports 5-9 may not be usable with real
serial ports (directserial). (vkbaf & Wengier)
-
Fixed issues related to screen dimensions in TTF
output in CGA/EGA modes since 0.83.12. (Wengier)
-
Added alternative Windows installer for administrative
install mode on Windows Vista or later. (Wengier)
-
Integrated SVN commits (Allofich)
- r4443: Improve detection of Paradise SVGA in some
installers with additional signature.
- r4453: Improve bittest instructions to wrap more
correctly.
- r4454: Enable A20 routines in BIOS.
- r4456: The numeric keypad can now be used to
navigate the debugger when Num Lock is off.
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