HexEdit is a hexdump viewer and editor that works similarly to the hex editor provided with Apple's ResEdit. It allows you to edit either the data fork or the resource fork of a file.
I wrote HexEdit because I needed to be able to insert/delete bytes from the data fork of files I was testing, and tools like FEdit don't have insert/deletion.
HexEdit is freeware. The author retains the copyright, including the right to alter or sell the program. You may use and copy Expression freely only on a non-commercial basis. You may not alter or sell this program without the author's permission.
About this Document
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In order to be brief, I will avoid describing features which are similar to the ResEdit hex editor (If you aren't familiar with this tool, you probably shouldn't be using HexEdit). I will only describe features which are unique to this program.
System Requirements
-------------------
HexEdit can edit very large files (they don't need to fit into memory). At it's current memory setting of 600k, it should be able to handle files of up to 230 megs. If you need to edit a larger file (!), increase it's memory partition.
Note that when HexEdit saves a file, it will need twice the disc space of the original file, plus a little extra for storing the changes you have made.
Opening a File
--------------
HexEdit supports drag and drop, automatically opening files in "Smart" mode. You may find it useful to keep an alias to HexEdit on your desktop for this purpose.
When you use the Open command, HexEdit presents a standard file dialog with three radio buttons, labeled "Data" "Resource" and "Smart".
"Data" opens the data fork.
"Resource" opens the resource fork.
"Smart" opens the data fork, if there is any data in it, otherwise it opens the resource fork.
Saving a File
-------------
When you save a file with HexEdit, it automatically backs up the last version of the file, renaming it to OriginalName~ (the original name with a tilde after it).
The Find Menu
------------
Find
This brings up a dialog box allowing you to search for a sequence of hex bytes, or ascii
text.
Search Forward
This searches for the last search string, forward until the end of the file.
Search Backward
This searches for the last search string, backward until the beginning of the file.
Goto Address
This allows you to specify an address, either in hex or in decimal, and scroll to that
address.
The Options Menu
----------------
There are two checkmark options on the Options menu, both of which are turned off by default.
Hi Order Ascii
This displays ascii values in the ascii part of the dump which are higher than 80h - you will see the accents, diacriticals and symbols that are in the monaco font that HexEdit uses. This also makes it a little harder to pick out English text if you are searching for it in a large binary.
Decimal Addresses
This causes the addresses to be displayed in decimal, rather than hex.
Overwrite
This toggles between insert mode (the default) and overwrite mode. Overwrite mode
allows you to replace a sequence of bytes without affecting the offset of the subsequent
bytes.
Revision History
9/10/93
Version 1.0.3
Fixed a couple nasty bugs that caused HexEdit to behave erratically on files
that couldn't fit in memory. The bug caused HexEdit to crash and not save
these files properly.
8/30/93
Cmd-W Closes Find Window
Removed ellipses from New menu item
Edit+Find menus dim appropriately
8/23/93
Changed ok button to say "Goto" instead of "Search" on goto dialog.
Changed Cmd-Key shortcuts to be more MPW compatible
Fixed some menu items to disable when windows are closed
Added Select All
Added better About Box
Fixed Cursor I-Beam problem.
7/8/93
Version 1.0.2
Changed length display to decimal when appropriate
