In order to preserve LFNs while working in real mode, Norton Commander 5.51 required the use of a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) utility. Symantec released Norton Commander 5.51 to support long filenames using the standard Windows APIs. Windows 95 included a new graphical shell called Windows Explorer and supported long filenames (LFN). For example, the IntelliJ IDE used to include a 'Commander' plugin that performed file manipulation using the same shortcut keys as Norton Commander but the plugin is now obsolete. Norton Commander was very popular during the DOS era and it has been extensively cloned. Additionally, it also includes a built-in text file viewer (invoked with F3 key) and text file editor (invoked with F4 key). Thus, without heavy use of the mouse (although mouse functionality was integrated around version 3.0), the user is able to perform many file manipulation actions quickly and efficiently. At the bottom of the screen, Norton Commander displays a list of commands that are extended on demand by the CTRL and ALT keys. Each panel can be easily configured to show information about the other panel, a directory tree, or a number of other options. After starting the program the user sees two panels with file lists.

Norton Commander was easy to use because it had a constant view of two file manipulation objects at once. John Socha started work on Norton Commander in 1984 at the time, he called it 'Visual DOS' or 'VDOS'. Commander Norton mascot including his trademark cap and white gloves, used in NC 5.51 computer icons

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