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Project System in BitEdit

Prerequisites​

This article is aimed at those new to BitEdit, and does not require prior knowledge about BitEdit structure.

Enabling/Disabling Projects in BitEdit​

BitEdit can operate in two different modes:

  • Projects Enabled: Each time you open a binary, BitEdit creates a project for it, allowing you to store many different versions of the binary, quickly switch between them, and compare binary file versions map-wise or in HEX mode. Projects are stored in a special folder, which you may relocate if you so desire (see below)

  • Projects Disabled: Versions are disabled, you only operate your current binary and its original versions, and can only analyze the diff between the current state and the stock binary that is loaded from our servers. In this mode, the Ribbon is simplified, the Project commands are removed from it, and the Save command is doing the same thing as Export Dump.

The switch is located in Options:

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This article presumes you have enabled the Project System.

Organizing projects​

BitEdit allows (and encourages!) you to organize your binaries, making it faster to browse, filter, search, and open the file you need right now. This is how the Open Project dialog box looks:

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To quickly find something, start typing to the Quick Search field (1). This will filter the contents shown below, leaving only the entries containing what you have typed (2). Once you have selected the entry you wanted, click Load (3), and BitEdit will open the associated project for you.

Creating Versions​

When you finished working with the binary, you can save the current binary state as a named Version, which will stay as a part of the current project. This can serve as a checkpoint to which you can revert the current state whenever you would want that.

To do that, first open the Version Control tool by hitting Ctrl+Alt+V.

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When you click Create Version, BitEdit will ask you to input the name for the version. You may input any text that would help you remember what exactly did you change.

By double-clicking a version in the list (or clicking the Checkout button), you will revert to the state associated with that version. This will discard any unsaved changes you have made (and BitEdit will warn you about it).

If you no longer need some named version, you can always delete it by selecting it in the list and clicking the Delete button.

If you want to discard ALL changes and return to the original (stock) binary file, click the Original button. BitEdit will warn you about possible data loss.

Be aware that under no circumstances BitEdit writes changes to already created named versions. A named version is a binary snapshot, and all changes you make are always applied to the CURRENT state. To learn about working with the differences between non-original saved states, refer to the Diff Viewing Manual.

Auto-Create Versions on Export​

For convenience, BitEdit has a feature that allows for automatic version creation each time you export the current binary state. This is controlled in Settings:

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If you enable it, BitEdit will suggest you to create a version in the project each time you export the current binary state to a file.