Troubleshooting Common Issues in NDN (Necromancer’s Dos Navigator)

Mastering NDN: Tips & Tricks for Necromancer’s Dos Navigator UsersNecromancer’s Dos Navigator (NDN) is a powerful orthodox file manager inspired by classic DOS-era tools but extended with modern conveniences and customizability. Whether you’re returning to a familiar interface or discovering it for the first time, this guide gathers practical tips, productivity tricks, and configuration ideas to help you get the most from NDN.

What is NDN and why use it?

NDN is a dual-panel file manager designed for keyboard-driven efficiency. It emphasizes speed, predictable navigation, and extensive keyboard shortcuts. Users who value minimal mouse use, automation via scripts, and a highly tweakable environment will find NDN particularly productive. Typical use cases include file management for development projects, batch operations, editing configuration files, system maintenance, and working on remote or archived file systems.

Getting started: interface essentials

• Panels: NDN uses two side-by-side panels (left and right). Use them for source/target operations (copy, move, compare).
• Command line: A built-in command prompt lets you run OS commands without leaving the manager.
• Quick view / viewer: Pressing the viewer key previews files (text, hex, or some binary formats) without launching external apps.
• Directory hotlist: Store frequently used directories for instant navigation.
• File selection: Use keyboard ranges and toggles to select multiple files for batch operations.

Basic navigation keys (common defaults):

• Arrow keys / PageUp / PageDown — move and scroll
• Enter — open file or directory
• Tab — switch panel focus
• F5 — copy
• F6 — move/rename
• F8 / Delete — delete
• F3 — view
• F4 — edit

Check your NDN configuration file to confirm or remap these keys.

Configuration tips: make NDN yours

• Keybindings: Remap keys you use often to ergonomic positions. Frequent file ops should be one-hand reachable.
• Panels layout: Adjust panel columns (name, size, date, attributes) to show the most relevant information for your workflow.
• Color schemes: Use high-contrast themes for readability, or subtle hues for long sessions. Change colors for file types (archives, executables, scripts) to spot them quickly.
• File masks and filters: Create masks (e.g., *.log, *.conf) for quick filtering. Assign hotkeys to common masks.
• Directory hotlist and bookmarks: Keep a curated list of project roots, remote mounts, and commonly edited config directories.
• External tools integration: Configure NDN to call your preferred editor, archive manager, or terminal multiplexer.

Pro tip: Keep a separate, version-controlled config file if you use NDN across multiple machines.

Productivity tricks and workflows

• Two-panel copying: Use one panel for the source and the other for the destination. Select files, press F5, confirm options (preserve timestamps, overwrite rules).
• Synchronize directories: Use file selection + compare features to find differences before copying. Some builds support directory comparison to show new/changed files.
• Batch renaming: Use built-in rename masks or external scripts to rename many files (regex or sequential numbers).
• Quick-editing: Configure your favorite text editor to open with F4. For quick edits, use an embedded editor if available.
• Use the command line for complex ops: Run find/xargs/rsync/zip commands from NDN’s command prompt for advanced batch tasks.
• Archive handling: Treat archives as directories when supported — extract selectively rather than the whole archive.
• File viewers: Use hex view for binary debugging; use text viewer with line-wrapping and search for logs and code browsing.

Example workflow: managing a website

1. Left panel: local build directory. Right panel: remote FTP mount.
2. Use filters to show changed files only.
3. Compare and copy updated assets.
4. Open config files with F4 and push changes.

Scripting and automation

NDN often supports external scripts and macros. Use them to automate repetitive chores:

• Predefined macros for common sequences (navigate → select → compress → move).
• Hook scripts triggered on file operations (post-copy verification, checksum generation).
• Integrate with system cron or scheduled tasks: run scripts that operate NDN-style commands for backups.
• Use portable scripts (Bash, PowerShell, Python) and call them from NDN to keep workflows consistent across platforms.

Example: a small script to archive log files older than 7 days and move them to an archive folder. (Conceptual — adapt to your shell/platform.)

Troubleshooting common issues

• Missing keybindings: Check the user config file and ensure you’re editing the active configuration, then restart NDN.
• Encoding/display issues: Adjust code page or Unicode settings; set viewer/editor encoding to UTF-8 when working with modern text files.
• Permission errors: Run NDN with elevated privileges only when necessary. Use the command line to inspect permissions (ls -l / icacls).
• Slow file operations: For network or mounted filesystems, use compare/sync instead of blind copy; consider rsync for large transfers.
• Corrupted settings: Keep a backup of your config. If NDN fails to start properly, revert to default config and re-apply custom changes incrementally.

Advanced tips

• Remote file management: Use SSHFS, FTP mounts, or integrated remote plugins to browse remote systems as if local. Test with small files first.
• Plugin/extensions: If your build supports plugins, explore ones for VCS integration (git), archive formats, or cloud services.
• Version control integration: Open a panel at the repo root and use command-line git from within NDN, or set up a toolbar macro to run common git commands.
• Keyboard-driven macros: Record repetitive sequences for window management and file ops to reduce keystrokes.
• Performance tuning: Exclude large directories from scanning on startup; reduce panel refresh frequency if the filesystem is slow.

Recommended settings for different users

Resources & learning path

• Start with the official documentation for installation and default hotkeys.
• Create a personal cheat sheet of your remapped keys and common macros.
• Practice common operations (copy/move/compare/rename) until they’re muscle memory.
• Explore community examples of scripts and configs to borrow ideas.

Mastering NDN is largely about making the interface yours: remap keys, script repetitive tasks, and leverage the dual-panel model for clear source-target workflows. With a few tailored tweaks, NDN becomes a fast, reliable hub for file work—especially when you need keyboard speed and predictable results.