Editing XTree (section)

==History==
XTree 1.0 was officially introduced on April 1, 1985, at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]] and sold for $39.95. Work had begun on XTree in December 1984. The primary developer was Jeffery C. Johnson, who was working for a company named [[Executive Systems, Inc.]] (ESI).  Additional contributions were made by ESI owners Dale Sinor, Tom Smith, and Henry Hernandez, as well as Ken Broomfield, who provided quality assurance. The XTree name was the concept of Johnson's wife, Arletta, who had made the suggestion: "'XTree'. You know, like 'X-Tree, X-Tree. Read all about it!'". Johnson was the originator of the visual directory tree concept first used in an Epson backup product created by ESI. Johnson describes the creation of a  visual directory tree as follows: 'Everyone in the room when I first drew it on a whiteboard [...] When I sat down, Tom and Dale both said "it can't be done." Henry, on the other hand, could read me like a book, and seeing the look in my eyes said something like, "...&nbsp;possible, but not on today's computers." That was a Friday afternoon, it was running by Monday morning and by the end of the day verified as being accurate by an office full of skeptics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The missing essential link |first=Slobodan |last=Vujnovic |date=26 November 2012 |work=Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/299529223440983/permalink/435630136497557/}} (Facebook account and log-in required.)</ref>

By 1988 XTree was, ''[[InfoWorld]]'' said, "perhaps the most popular [[DOS shell]] on the market".{{r|walkenbach19880118}} The <code>[[TREE (DOS command)|TREE]]</code> [[command (computing)|command]] found in later DOS releases displayed directories in a markedly similar fashion. By 1991, XTree had sold over 3 million copies and was released in over a half-dozen languages.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Official XTREE MS-DOS, Windows, & Hard Disk Management Companion |edition=3rd |author=Beth Slick |year=1992 |publisher=IDF Books World Wide, Inc.|chapter=Appendix E - An Unapologetic History of XTree |isbn=1-878058-57-6 |url=http://www.jeffreycjohnson.com/xtreehistory.html}}</ref>

Even in its earliest version XTree contained features like listing all files of a branch, including subdirectories, listing of all files on a disk,<ref>{{cite book |title=Managing your hard disk|author1=Don Berliner |author2=Chris DeVoney|year=1986|publisher=Que Corp |pages=396–397 |isbn=0-88022-265-4}}</ref> or viewing a file's contents in text or hexadecimal format (regardless of its file extension),<ref>{{cite book |title=The Software catalog: Microcomputers, Part 2|publisher=Elsevier |year=1986|page=35}}</ref> a feature never added to the built-in Windows file manager.

XTree was supplemented by the enhanced XTreePro in 1988, which added features for working with multiple disk drives, speed improvements, and brought the keyboard commands more in line with other common DOS programs.{{r|walkenbach19880118}} A version of XTreePro with [[NetWare|Novell NetWare]] connectivity debuted in late 1988.<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UBMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19 |page=19|work=Network World|date=23 May 1988|title=Netnotes }}</ref> XTreeProGold/XTreeGold succeeded Xtree Pro in 1989, adding [[Menu (computing)|pull-down menu]]s to enhance the interface, additional file viewers, and the choice of a [[Norton Commander]]-style split pane between locations on different disks.<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT99 |title=My Favorite DOS Shells, and Why One Is Just Not Enough|work=InfoWorld|date=11 December 1989 |author=Michael J. Miller|page=76}}</ref> The first GUI-enabled XTree product was XTreeMac, also launched in 1989, which brought the XTree interface metaphors to the [[Classic Mac OS|Macintosh System]] as a [[Finder (software)|Finder]] replacement. While the Macintosh System software already had competent file management, XTreeMac made it easier to move and copy files and added [[undeletion]] and enhanced file finding tools.<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT31 |title=Xtree Mac Makes the Mac Desktop More Powerful |author=Tracey Capeh|pages=8, 10|date=3 July 1989 |work=InfoWorld}}</ref>

Also in 1989, the company ran a four-month "Software Amnesty for Everyone", allowing users of unauthorized copies of XTree to register them for a small fee. Five thousand licenses were sold for $20 each.<ref>{{cite news |page=3 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5_hDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,167617|title=Software Piracy Is Tempting|author=Larry Blasko |agency=Associated Press |date=4 January 1990|newspaper=Durant Daily Democrat}}</ref>

XTree suffered a terminal decline after the widespread adoption of [[Microsoft Windows]]. The built-in [[File Manager (Windows)|Windows file manager]] had a vaguely similar appearance to XTree, and while it lacked the speed, keyboard shortcuts and power, it did benefit greatly from being included with Windows.

In 1992 '''XTree for Windows''' was released. The product dropped many of the features liked in the DOS versions, with undeletion and file editing particularly noticeable by their absence. The program also took considerably longer to load than both DOS Xtree and other Windows file managers, and operations like viewing files were slower. Despite this, features like native support for file compression and a wide range of file viewers made it the most feature complete Windows file manager of that year.<ref>{{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n1EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134|title=XTree for Windows looks good, runs slow|work=InfoWorld|date=12 October 1992 |author=Patrick Marshall|pages=133–134}}</ref> It was not a success for the company. In 1993, the XTree Company was sold to [[Central Point Software]],<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19|page=19 |work=InfoWorld |title=Pipeline: Acquisitions- Central Point finishes merger with XTree|date=15 November 1993}}</ref> which was in turn acquired by [[NortonLifeLock|Symantec]] in 1994,<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E2DC1E3FF936A35757C0A962958260|title=Symantec to Buy Central Point Software in Stock Deal|date=5 April 1994|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> and in 1995 production of XTree products was halted.