Copyright: Copyright Matthew Woolsey, 1994


Contents
HEXpert

Overview
Brief description of the program and its use.

Menus
Descriptions of the menu bar and menu items.

Keyboard
List of keyboard commands and their use.

Main Edit Window
Description of the main window.

Format Windows
Description of the numeric format windows.

Status line
Description of items on the status line.


Overview

HEXpert is a powerful tool that allows the user to view and edit binary data in both hexadecimal and ASCII formats, as well as eight different numeric formats, including signed and unsigned integers and floating point.  Instead of looking for the hex equivalent of a floating point number, the user can simply view the data in all formats simultaneously.  HEXpert allows editing, searching, or replacing of the data in any of these formats.  Additionally, HEXpert can insert and delete data.  Files can be as large as 16 MBytes.  HEXpert runs under Microsoft Windows 3.1.

The main window consists of three regions.  The top area of the window is split into three columns.  The first column is the offset in hex of each line of data.  The second column is the hexadecimal representation of the data, 16 bytes per line.  The third column displays the ASCII equivalent of the data.  The middle region of the window contains the format windows.  The format windows display the data, currently pointed to by the cursor, in various integer and floating point formats.  The user can also change the data at the current location by editing one of the format windows, in integer or floating point.  The bottom region of the window shows the current file status.  The status consists of the current cursor location, the current key entry mode (HEX or ASCII), whether the file has been modified or not, the file size, and whether the file is FIXED length or not.


Menus

File
Commands pertaining to loading or saving files.

Edit
Commands for editing the file.

Search
Commands for searching or searching and replacing data.

Help
Commands for further information about the program.


File Menu

Open - Opens a file for editing.  A dialog box will be displayed, allowing the user to select the drive, path, and file name.  Upon startup, this dialog box will be displayed automatically, if no file is specified on the command line.

Save - Saves the current file using the current drive, path, and file name.  If the user attempts to exit the program without saving a modified file, a dialog box will be displayed, giving the user a chance to save the file.

Save As - This will display a dialog box allowing the user to select a new drive, path, or file name, and saves the current file using the new designation.  The current drive, path, and file name is changed.

Exit - Exits the program.  If the current file is modified, a dialog box will be displayed, giving the user a chance to save the file.


Edit Menu

Insert - Selecting this option or pressing the Insert key will insert a single byte with value 00 hex at the cursor location.  Variable length file mode must be selected.

Delete - Selecting this option or pressing the Delete key will delete a single byte at the cursor location.  Variable length file mode must be selected.

Toggle Edit Mode - This toggles the edit mode between HEX and ASCII.  With the focus set on the main edit window, characters typed on the keyboard will replace text at the current cursor location.

Fixed Length - Selecting the option toggles between FIXED length file mode and variable length file mode.  A checkmark next to this option indicates that FIXED length mode is selected.

Goto Offset - This option opens the goto dialog box, which allows the user to go to a given offset in either hexadecimal or decimal.


Search Menu

Search - This will display a search dialog box, which allows the user to enter text to be found within the file.

Search & Replace - This will display a search & replace dialog box, which allows the user to enter text to be found, and new text to replace the found text within the file.

Search Next - Selecting this will repeat the last search or search & replace action.


Help Menu

Contents - Displays the help contents.

About - Displays a dialog box showing the program name, program version, author, and copyright.


Keyboard Commands

File

Open              F3
Save              F2
Save As
Exit              Alt+X

Edit

Insert            INS
Delete            DEL
Toggle Edit Mode  Alt+M
Fixed length      Alt+L
Goto Offset       Alt+G

Search

Search            Alt+S
Search & Replace  Alt+R
Search Next       Alt+N

Main Edit Window

Right
Left
Up
Down
Tab               Tab
Backspace
Page Up           PgUp
Page Down         PgDn
Begin File        Ctrl+PgUp
End File          Ctrl+PgDn

Format Windows

Right
Left
Tab               Tab
Backspace
Enter
Escape            ESC


Open
Open a new file.


Save
Save the current file, using the current file name.


Save As
Save the current file, prompting for a file name.


Exit
Exit the program.


Insert
Insert a byte at the current cursor location.


Delete
Delete a byte at the current cursor location.


Toggle Edit Mode
Toggle between hex and ASCII input mode.


FIXED
Toggle between fixed length and variable length file mode.


GOTO
Go to a given offset in the file.


Search
Search for data.


Search & Replace
Search for data and replace with new data.


Search Next
Find/Replace next item.


Move cursor right one byte.


Move cursor left one byte.


Move cursor up one line.


Move cursor down one line.


Move to first edit window.


Move cursor left one byte.


Move up one page in the file.


Move down one page in the file.


Beginning of File
Move to beginning of file.


End of File
Move to end of file.


Move cursor right one character.


Move cursor left one character.


Move to next edit field.


Delete character to left.


Replace hex data with modified numeric value from edit field.


Return to main window.


Main Edit Window

Sample Main Edit Window

The main edit window has three columns of information. The leftmost column shows the offset for each line of data. The center column displays the data in hexadecimal format. The right column displays the ASCII equivalent of the data in the IBM-PC character set. In HEX mode, typing the characters 0-9,A-F will enter new hex values, overwriting the data at the current cursor location. The corresponding ASCII character will also be updated. Each hex character must be entered as pairs of digits. In ASCII mode, any character typed overwrites the ASCII character at the current cursor location. The corresponding hex value will also be updated.


Format Windows

Sample format windows

The format window displays the data at the current cursor location in eight different numeric formats.  The numeric value at the current cursor location can also be modified by selecting the desired format window and editing the current value or entering a new value.

The eight formats are:

S8
U8
S16
U16
S32
U32
FP32
FP64


Signed 8-bit integer


Unsigned 8-bit integer


Signed 16-bit integer


Unsigned 16-bit integer


Signed 32-bit integer


Unsigned 32-bit integer


32-bit floating point


64-bit floating point


Status Line

Sample status line

The status line consists of the current cursor location (hex), the current key entry mode (HEX or ASCII), whether the file has been modified or not, the file size, and whether the file is FIXED length or not.


Goto Dialog Box

The goto dialog box allows the user to enter an offset into the file in either hexadecimal or decimal format. Select the radio button next to the appropriate format for the offset which is entered.


Search Dialog Box

The search dialog box allows the user to enter text or numbers to be searched for within the file.

There are several groups of radio buttons which affect the type of search to be performed. These are:

Scope - Currently only a global search is allowed.  Selection of text is planned for a future version.
Direction - This selects which direction to perform the search from the cursor (or from the beginning or end of the file if Origin is set to Entire Scope).
Origin - This selects where to start the search, either from the cursor, or over the entire scope of the search.
Format - Select the /link FORMATS,format ,which the text you entered represents.
ASCII Case Sensitive - The box, when checked will do a case-sensitive search, when searching with an ASCII format.


Replace Dialog Box

The replace dialog box allows the user to enter text or numbers to be searched for within the file, and replaced with new text or numbers.

There are several groups of radio buttons which affect the type of search & replace to be performed. These are:

Scope - Currently only a global search is allowed.  Selection of text is planned for a future version.
Direction - This selects which direction to perform the search from the cursor (or from the beginning or end of the file if Origin is set to Entire Scope).
Origin - This selects where to start the search, either from the cursor, or over the entire scope of the search.
Format - Select the /link FORMATS,format ,which the text you entered represents.
ASCII Case Sensitive - The box, when checked will do a case-sensitive search, when searching with an ASCII format.
Prompt to Replace - When this box is checked, the program will ask the user to verify replacing each instance found.