I just tested and neither function works in v1.50 of the original game, nor are they listed in the Keystroke Help in the game. Both work in the Battle.net Edition (v2.0), though, so it would seem that they're functions that were added later and you're reading material that assumes that you have the BNE Windows version, not the original DOS version.

No, this came up before. CTRL+# keys in Warcraft II
I was excited at first not being able to number groups was my biggest hate of the Warcraft series, that and the 8 unit limit (4 in WC1) and would of gone mad if it was available all along.

The only way this will ever get into the dos version is if it's hacked in.

Thanks for the responses. I guess I'll stop trying to "fix" it. For some reason the quote "You can't polish a turd" comes to mind. It's a damm frustrating game as is. I only discovered it 3 weeks ago... thanks again.

If you think that the DOS version of Warcraft II is frustrating, try playing the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. That'll make you appreciate Warcraft II a whole lot more. In W1, you can't just select a unit, click somewhere on the map and watch him go do the most appropriate action for that location (walk to, attack, harvest, repair, etc.). You have to explicitly mouse over to the command bar and choose the action, even if it's simply Move, then mouse back to the main window and click on the destination. Fortunately, there's a way to improve the control scheme with the help of a 3rd party utility, which makes the game much less frustrating to play, but playing without it first definitely gives you an appreciation for how much of an improvement Warcraft II's control scheme was (even if later versions improved it even more).

Osprey wrote:

In W1, you can't just select a unit, click somewhere on the map and watch him go do the most appropriate action for that location (walk to, attack, harvest, repair, etc.). You have to explicitly mouse over to the command bar and choose the action, even if it's simply Move, then mouse back to the main window and click on the destination.

It's true that there is no right-click for auto-command support, but you don't have to mouse over and mouse over back. You're supposed to use the keyboard shortcuts. M for move, A for attack, etc.

dr_st wrote:

It's true that there is no right-click for auto-command support, but you don't have to mouse over and mouse over back. You're supposed to use the keyboard shortcuts. M for move, A for attack, etc.

Yeah, I understand, but that just highlights how inconvenient the control scheme is. It's not really any easier, IMO, to move your hand back and forth between A and M without looking at the keyboard than it is to simply move the mouse to the command bar.

Easier or not, but if you intuitively know where the keys are, it's much faster at least.

chinny22 wrote:

not being able to number groups was my biggest hate of the Warcraft series, that and the 8 unit limit

I'm pretty sure it's 9.

Azarien wrote:

chinny22 wrote:

not being able to number groups was my biggest hate of the Warcraft series, that and the 8 unit limit

I'm pretty sure it's 9.

Yeah, you hear that, chinny22? The unit limit is 9, not 8. Quit yer complaining 😉.

Osprey wrote:

Azarien wrote:

chinny22 wrote:

not being able to number groups was my biggest hate of the Warcraft series, that and the 8 unit limit

I'm pretty sure it's 9.

Yeah, you hear that, chinny22? The unit limit is 9, not 8. Quit yer complaining 😉.

WHAT! NINE!
All these years! You know how many battles I lost where that 1 extra unit could of made all the difference 😜

Osprey wrote:

dr_st wrote:

It's true that there is no right-click for auto-command support, but you don't have to mouse over and mouse over back. You're supposed to use the keyboard shortcuts. M for move, A for attack, etc.

Yeah, I understand, but that just highlights how inconvenient the control scheme is. It's not really any easier, IMO, to move your hand back and forth between A and M without looking at the keyboard than it is to simply move the mouse to the command bar.

Dune2 was the same and no group select, ah the "good" old days

chinny22 wrote:

Dune2 was the same and no group select, ah the "good" old days

Warcraft 1 actually does have group select. You have to hold down CTRL to draw your box around units (or use the script that I linked earlier so that you don't have to hold down CTRL). You can't select more than 4 units at a time, though, and you're right that Dune II had no group select at all (but modern recreations like dune Dynasty do).