Hex Workshop v3.x Frequently Asked Question

  1. EBCDIC mapping of characters '8' and '9' are incorrect
  2. Data loss is possible if Hex Workshop fails to write destination file upon application exit
  3. Automatic file reload fails
  4. Crash when replacing data of unequal length
  5. Crash when comparing files with a large number of differences
  6. Not enough free disk space error

EBCDIC mapping of characters '8' and '9' are incorrect

The character '8' should map to 0xF8 and the character '9' should map to 0xF9. This problem can be fixed by downloading a new EBCDIC character map:

http://www.bpsoft.com/support/patches/3.11/EBCDIC.map

Please download the EBCDIC.map character map file and place this file in the CharMaps directory within your Hex Workshop program directory. In many installations, the target path will resemble: C:\Program Files\BreakPoint Software\Hex Workshop 3.1\CharMaps\

Data loss is possible if Hex Workshop fails to write destination file upon application exit

A bug was found where Hex Workshop fails to write a target file on application exit, notifies the end user, however, continues to exit- discarding changes. Upon error, Hex Workshop should abort the exit process and allow the user to save the file to an alternative file or drive. This problem was fixed in a a maintenance release.

Automatic file reload fails

A bug was introduced into Hex Workshop v3.1 that causes the automatic file reload feature to fail. This feature automatically reloads a file if/when another application changes the contents of a file already opened in Hex Workshop. This problem will be fixed in our next maintenance release.

Crash when replacing data of unequal length

The "Replace All" feature would occasionally crash Hex Workshop when replacing unequal length data. Hex Workshop v3.10a temporarily fixed this problem by disabling the "Display Highlighted Bytes" during bulk replaces.

Crash when comparing files with a large number of differences

A bug was introduced in Hex Workshop v3.10 that caused the editor to crash when a resynchronizing compare reported a large number of differences. This problem was fixed in Hex Workshop v3.10a

Not enough free disk space error

Hex Workshop can open files up to 2 gigabytes in length, however, you must have ample disk space available for temporary work files. Please make sure you have disk space (2 times the size of the original document) available on the same drive as your windows temporary directory.

There are a number of preferences related to this topic:

Temporary Files in Paths Tab: If you do not have enough disk space on the same drive as your windows temporary directory then you can set a different work drive and directory for Hex Workshop.

Postpone write initialization in Configuration Tab: Hex Workshop can either create a working copy of your file when it is first opened or at the first write attempt. Checking this option will postpone creating the working copy until an operation tries to change the document.

Enable direct file editing in Configuration Tab: This option tells Hex Workshop to edit files directly and not to create a temporary working copy of your document. Please make sure you backup your documents before enabling or using this option as you may damage your original file. Hex Workshop will still need to create temporary files when insert and deleting.