Each line in a window displays the location within the file (number of bytes from start of file) of the first byte on that line, in hexadecimal (base 16) notation; 16 bytes in hexadecimal, and the same 16 bytes in ASCII (regular characters). Non-printing characters, including carriage returns and linefeeds, are displayed as a period in the ASCII subwindow. Characters in extended character sets (high bit set), such as accented characters in French, are also displayed as a period in the ASCII subwindow. However, the current character (where the cursor is) is displayed in the status bar of the child window, and this does display extended single byte characters.
There is a scrollbar on the right for navigating through the file. Shortcut keys - PageUp, PageDown, ArrowUp, ArrowDown - work as expected to change which portion of the file is visible. But note that the arrow keys do not move the cursor, you can position the cursor only with the mouse.
HexDump uses the Microsoft MDI paradigm, consisting of multiple child windows within a single main frame. This allows you to view different files at the same time, and to have multiple views of the same file.
Operating System
HexDump requires 32-bit Windows. It has been tested on Win98,
Win2000, WinXP, and Vista. It should run on WinNT and Me as well.
It should also
run on Win95, but you may need
to have DCOM installed, and you need Internet Explorer 4 or
newer to access the help pages.
The code was developed under Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0.
The help screens were developed using Microsoft Help Workshop.
Starting HexDump
Double-clicking on HexDump.exe (in Windows Explorer) or on a
shortcut to it brings up the main window. From there you can
select File/Open from the menu, or click on the Open icon in
the toolbar, to open an existing file.
You can also drag a file from Windows Explorer to the main frame, it will then open. Similarly, you can drag a file from Explorer to the shortcut icon, and HexDump will open with that file opened in it.
You can also open a new, blank file for editing, and save it when you're done.
Command Line Options: You can specify the display font size with
a parameter of the form -f10
for 10-point font. Font sizes must be between 6 and 18. Similarly, -fp10
sets the printer font size to 10 points. The first remaining word in the command line is interpreted as the name of the file to open.
Quitting
You may exit the program by clicking the X at the top right of the window, by clicking Close on the System Menu (magnifying glass at the top left), or by select File/Exit from the menu. In all cases, if files have been edited but not saved, you will be given a chance to save them.
Support
Please report bugs to support@pmansbach.com. We cannot promise
support, but we'll try to be of help. We hope to fix reported bugs in
subsequent releases. But if you don't tell us, we won't know to fix it!
Legal Disclaimer
This program is provided free, as is, with no warranty whatsoever.
There is no malicious code, no spyware, and no advertising in this code.
The program was developed by
Peter Mansbach and paid for by
Syntek Systems Corp,
Gaithersburg MD, which owns the code.
Clicking on a menu selection applies it to the "active" subwindow. The active subwindow is the one you last clicked on. It has a different color title bar.
Some menu items are directly accessible from the toolbar. These are described in the Toolbar section of this help file. Some menu items have keyboard shortcuts. These are described in the Shortcuts section, and appear in the drop down menus as well. Where possible, the standard Microsoft keyboard shortcuts have been used.
File Menu
Note that when a file has been edited since its last save, an asterisk appears in the title bar.
The printout looks much like the screen: the location within the file on the left of each line, hexadecimal values in the center, and ASCII on the right.
You can change the font size for printing in the View Menu.
You can undo multiple changes, up to 100 of them. Even if you have saved the file after some of the changes, you can still undo them.
NOTE: If you do a global replace, each replacement counts as one change. YOU CANNOT UNDO MORE THAN THE LAST 100 CHANGES. We hope to remove this restriction in a future release.
Undo affects all subwindows that are open on the same file.
If you undo your way back to the original file contents, and have not saved in between, the file modified indicator (asterisk in the subwindow's title bar) will go away, and you will not be prompted to save the file on exiting, unless you then make more changes. If you have saved the file already, that will not happen.
You highlight a section by dragging the mouse cursor across it.
HexDump uses the system clipboard, and ASCII characters can be cut, copied, or pasted between different applications. Non-ASCII characters, however, are saved in a special format in HexDump, and cannot be pasted into other applications. But they can be pasted into other HexDump windows.
The form will remember your last entry, to simplify making the same change in multiple locations in the file.
As with most Windows programs, the file itself is not modified until you save your changes. If you attempt to exit without saving, a popup will ask if you wish to save.
The search begins at the current location of the cursor. If text is highlighted, the cursor is considered to be at the beginning of the highlight. The search is always down.
See also Replace, above.
You can search in either direction. At the prompting menu, select Up (towards the beginning of the file) or Down (towards the end).
When child windows are open, this command controls the status bar at the bottom of the active child window. This status bar displays the current location of the cursor or highlight within the file, the contents of the byte at that location, and the total file size in bytes (decimal and hex).
File menu | |
New | |
Open... | |
Save | |
Print... | |
Edit menu | |
Cut | |
Copy | |
Paste | |
Insert... | |
Replace... | |
Delete | |
Find and Replace... | |
ReplaceNext | |
Undo | |
Redo | |
Search menu | |
Top | |
Goto... | |
GotoHighlight | |
Search... | |
SearchNext | |
Window menu | |
DefaultSize | |
Help menu | |
HelpTopics |
File menu | |
Ctrl+N | New |
Ctrl+O | Open... |
Ctrl+S | Save |
Ctrl+P | Print... |
Edit menu | |
Ctrl+Z | Undo |
Ctrl+Y | Redo |
Ctrl+X | Cut |
Ctrl+C | Copy |
Ctrl+V | Paste |
Shift+Ctrl+F | Find and Replace... |
Shift+F3 | ReplaceNext |
Search menu | |
Ctrl+F | Search... |
F3 | SearchNext |
Help menu | |
F1 | HelpTopics |