This program was written to help me write other programs for working with AFP files. I use this program whenever I am doing low-level AFP development. It lists all structured fields, and all values (to the best of my knowledge). This program has also been an experiment in interface design. Instead of a ListView control, the program uses 3 arrays of TextBoxes. The scroll-bar is also hand-made. And I am extremely proud of the buffering technique I used in this program.
History:
08-18-2007: Fixed a bug in one of the IOCA functions, when the sequence type was zero, the program would loop infinitely.
05-17-2007: Added GOCA support, including a GOCA breakdown for GAD fields. Thanks to Marc Goldstein for providing a sample file. Modified the Save-As window, to allow saving of files with no pages.
02-13-2007: Fixed an error that would cause the View Field Data interface to generate an error when viewing PCL files.
01-12-2007: More work on the View Field Data interface. Added ToolTips to display byte value / offset, and customizable font.
01-10-2007: Fixed the label that shows the offset in the View Field Data interface, so it now updates correctly while scrolling. Working on the ability to select and copy a range of bytes.
01-09-2007: Increased the speed of the View Field Data interface by sharing the FileNumber that is already open in the main interface.
01-08-2007: Added the option to view numeric values of bytes in the View Field Data interface (and edit those values). Increased the row-spacing in the View Field Data window.
01-06-2007: Increased the maximum number of visible lines in the View Field Data interface from 50 to 100.
01-05-2007: Bytes can now be modified through any of the data views (Hex, Binary, Ascii, Ebcdic). Cleaned up the View Field Data interface a bit.
01-04-2007: Added the ability to modify bytes via the View Field Data interface. Data can be modified as HEX, Binary, ASCII, or EBCDIC. Added a confirmation prompt to the MakeNOP menu item.
11-05-2006: Started adding support for PCL files to AFPexplorer. Unfortunately, chained commands are not currently broken down. May need to change program name to PRNexplorer or something more generic.
10-12-2006: Finally finished support for listing search results (instead of just jumping to a page).
09-30-2006: Modified the way files with CrLf are handled. The 2 bytes for the CrLf are now counted as part of the FieldLength. Prior to this change, the Cr and the Lf would both display as a 1-byte fields.
09-01-2006: Added the funcitonality to export a file to text. Basically a text listing of the data presented by AFPexplorer. This functionality also supports filtering of fields.
08-17-2006: Added support for obsolete fields CTC and FGD.
08-16-2006: Modified the program to accept files with CrLf after each field without raising an error. Changed the maximum number of visible lines from 50 to 60. Might make this dynamic, based on screen resolution.
08-14-2006: Fixed an error where certain windows would be hidden behind the main form if the 'KeepOnTop' option was enabled.
04-10-2006: Added support for some AFP fields I was going to ignore until I encountered them. BCA, MCA, MSU, IPG, MGO.
04-04-2006: Added IOCA breakdown for IPD fields in AFP files. Very similar to the PTOCA breakdown for PTX fields. Added support for more IOCA commands. Changed color-coding of fields a little bit. Added Hex view to main interface. Hex view is slightly slower than normal Ascii or Ebcdic view.
04-01-2006: Added PTOCA breakdown for PTX fields in AFP files. This required some interface modifications. Added some search functionality. Search for text in PTX fields, or search for a field by field-type. More search functionality still to come. Field modifier also still to come.
03-10-2006: Added resource listing/extracting functionality. Copied directly from Viewer program.
03-04-2006: Added some color-coding to certain fields (NOP, BDT, and PTX for now). At some point, color-coding will be configurable.
01-21-2006: Changed MRU list to support nine entries instead of eight. I may make it ten, with number ten being zero.
Through Present: Over time, nearly all structured fields and all values have been incorporated.
Late 2004: Program is not fast enough. Uses too much memory. Complete re-write. (overhaul took about 4 days)
Early 2004: Program works well. 3 pre-defined color schemes are available.
Early 2003: Started writing a Structured Field viewer. This will be essential to writing an AFP viewer.
