R-DOS Content Guide

R-DOS recreates Q-DOS II (1991) authentic text and messaging style.

Reference Files

• spec/help.txt - Original Q-DOS II help text
• spec/strings/ - Organized strings by feature
• spec/qdos-strings.txt - Complete string dump

Writing Style

Tone

• Direct, concise DOS-era language
• No emojis or modern slang
• Technical but accessible

Capitalization

• Commands: ALL CAPS (COPY, ERASE, RENAME)
• Titles: Title Case
• Body text: Sentence case

Error Messages

Q-DOS II style:

*** ERROR ***

Unable to open file: permission denied

Press any key to continue

In code:

self.state.error = Some("Unable to open file: permission denied".to_string());
self.state.view = MyView::Error;

Help Content Pattern

fn help_content(&self) -> Vec<String> {
    vec![
        "My Plugin".to_string(),
        "".to_string(),
        "Brief description of what this does.".to_string(),
        "".to_string(),
        "Features:".to_string(),
        "  Feature 1 - Description".to_string(),
        "  Feature 2 - Description".to_string(),
        "".to_string(),
        "Keyboard shortcuts:".to_string(),
        "  Enter  - Confirm action".to_string(),
        "  Esc    - Cancel/Close".to_string(),
    ]
}

Key Binding Labels

Standard format in help bars:

vec![
    ("Enter", "confirm"),
    ("Esc", "cancel"),
    ("↑↓", "navigate"),
    ("Space", "toggle"),
    ("F1", "help"),
]

Modal Titles

• Centered, surrounded by spaces: " TITLE "
• Action-oriented: " CONFIRM DELETE ", " SELECT FILE "
• Status included when relevant: " Playing [▶] "

Progress Messages

Copying FILE.TXT ====> /destination/path
Processing item 3 of 10 [████████░░░░░░░░] 30%

Common Phrases

From original Q-DOS II:

• "Press any key to continue"
• "Press ESC to abort"
• "Press RETURN to confirm"
• "Operation complete"
• "No files found"
• "Invalid selection"