A Better Resource Editor?

[Ken Wantz]

For the past year, I have used the Resource Editor in UEStudio. For about the same time I have been communicating with IDM support urging them to fix a multitude of problems I was having with it. I was told extensive time was spent looking into all my reported problems. I did see a couple of visual changes after UEStudio was updated this past summer; however, there was no mention of any Resource Editor changes/fixes in the “Changes.txt” file.

As a result, I began looking for a replacement Resource Editor. After trying several applications, I finally found one I like and can work with. It can be downloaded from http://www.radasm.com. On the left hand side of the page, about halfway down, is the download for the Resource Editor (ResEd Resource Editor) and, just above it, a source code editor (FbEdit FreeBASIC editor). The best part from a cost perspective is that these two applications are FREE. From what I can determine ResEd does not write any values to the registry so the application can be copied to, and loaded from any drive or folder.

I have been in contact with the developer and I am currently using an as yet unreleased version which includes a couple of my suggestions. There are a few other changes in the works. I am told this is a 32-bit application, so it should work on a 64-bit Vista OS.

As many other readers here are far more knowledgeable and experienced than I am, it would be a good idea if some other opinions about this application could be added.


Ken

[Otto]

Hello Ken, thank you for your post.
Do you have an example how to use prg-files with Fbedit?
Regards,
Otto

[Enrico Maria Giordano]

It can be downloaded from http://www.radasm.com.

I just tried to open one of my RC made using Borland Resource Workshop and the very first thing I get was a very bad GPF! Sorry but I deleted it immediately.

EMG

[Armando]

It seem there is no way to work with .RES files.

Best regards

[jose_murugosa]

It can be downloaded from http://www.radasm.com.

I just tried to open one of my RC made using Borland Resource Workshop and the very first thing I get was a very bad GPF! Sorry but I deleted it immediately.

EMG

I am testing it and at the moment I didn´t have any dificulty, I open my rc files without problems.

When I save the files, the sintax change and I can´t open them with Resource Workshop again, so it looks I don´t have any chance to use both tools .

But I see is a very atractive, little and easy tool.

you can run it even with only te exe file wich is 230k size.

I will keep testing it, and report my results.

[Ken Wantz]

Otto,

No, I have not looked at or tried Fbedit at all. I have used Ultra Edit for years and I am quite comfortable with it just as Antonio is with using the Borland Resource Editor. It could be that Fbedit was designed more for creating ASM files.

Enrico,

I extracted all 114 files to a folder. Most, if not all look to be samples. There are a couple of dll's and lib's but may be ASM samples. I ran ResEd on two other XP Pro systems with no GPF’s. Are running Vista and, if so, is it 32 or 64 bit?

Using WinZip, I checked the CRC under “Properties” and got 72E93015. Could it be your download was corrupted? To check which version was currently posted, I had to download it a couple of times before WinZip would open the file.

I tried opening several FiveWin .RC sample files and had no problems opening any of them. A couple samples I opened (i.e. Testtrer.rc or testdlg4.rc) had “produced by Borland Resource Workshop” at the top of the file. The ResEd zip file also contains several demo .RC files which I also had no trouble opening.

The original zip file I downloaded had a ResEd.exe date of 8/24/2007; however, the latest version is 11/9/2007. According to Ketil, “ResEd 1.1.4.3 contains many improvements and a few bug fixes.”

Armando,

No, for use with FiveWin, it seems that it only works with .RC files which are also used with UEStudio. I do not know for certain, but it seems these applications were originally designed to be used with assembler applications. It just so happens that the same RC files also work with C, FiveWin and (x)Harbour.

Jose,

I too also had a similar problem at first. In the latest version go to “Options” “Options” and select the Behaviour tab. In the right there is a check box labled as “Styles as Hex.” Deselect it. What I found was I could compile using Borland either way but the UEStudio Resource Editor didn’t like the Hex values at all. I assume Borland Resource Editor is the same.

What OS are you using, i.e. XP or Vista?

For All,

In the same Behaviour tab as above there is also an option to “Keep Toolbox selection.” It was a suggestion of mine but implemented poorly. A further change will be made to replace the option with either holing down the ALT, CTRL or whatever to make things more efficient.

A second addition coming is Undo. I found it worked in certain cases but not for control placement.

I also suggested that Reload and/or Close icons be added. When I switch to UES, I might make changes to the RC file directly and if not reloaded into ResEd, any changes would not be updated.

[Ken Wantz]

ResEd has just been updated to 2.0 and now includes Undo/Redo. Also added is the ability to edit an RC source directly within ResEd.

The GPF problem previously reported by Enrico Maria has also been resolved. I assume BRW has the capability to create and edit images. ResEd was and still is unable to load built-in bitmaps and/or icons. Therefore, before opening a file that contains bitmaps and/or icons, it gives the user an option to save all internal images to external files. The same name is used as the one in the RC file and adds a link in the RC file to the external file.

The method for adding repeated controls within a dialog was also modified. Previously ResEd would either return to the Pointer tool (control selector) after adding a contol or if the option was set, you manually had to select a different control. Now a tool can remain selected if the Control key is held down prior to selecting the control tool. It will remain selected until another control tool or the Pointer is selected, after which the operation reverts back to returning to the pointer after each control is placed.

The original link I posted to download ResEd is currently having problems. Instead, click on the following link from the The MASM Forum.

http://www.masm32.com/board/index.php?PHPSESSID=0dc35ec6dbf6a13e6b48eb939130e7c5&action=dlattach;topic=8596.0;id=4591

You can add an icon in UE or UES to quickly link to ResEd. The instructions can be found at the following link:

http://www.ultraedit.com/index.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=203

Obviously, you must change the Program Type in the Options tab to Windows Program AND in the Output tab, although it says Command Output (DOS Commands), you must unselect the Capture Output checkbox. I have asked IDM to correct this misinformation.

[ukoenig]

You just talking about editors

I use PSPad.

It is multilanguage, its free and
can handle many things, i didn't see in other editors.
Syntax-handling for every program-language.

A long time a worked with EditPlus, but this one is much better.
A better one i couldn't find.

You can download it at :

http://www.pspad.com

Regards
Uwe

[Ken Wantz]

Hi Uwe,

You just talking about editors

Not directly. I am primarily talking about the Resource Editor, ResEd.

I used UE (UltraEdit) in the past with Clipper but when I decided to move to FiveWin I quickly learned I would need a Resource Editor. As I never owned a copy of the Borland Resource Workshop, I upgraded to UES (UltraEdit Studio).

It contains an application builder which is essentially a script that can work with many different compilers to build applications. It also has a built-in Resource Editor but it is not very good. As a result, I started looking for a replacement Resource Editor.

ResEd is part of a group of programs used to work with Assembler. ResEd will also work with FiveWin. It opens and edits RC files and it is easy to work with. Best of all, ResEd is free.

Since a number FW users use either UE or UES, I added information regarding how to add ResEd or any other program to the Toolbar.

[Enrico Maria Giordano]

Have a look at this also:

http://www.resedit.net

EMG

[Rick Lipkin]

Just curious .. why in the .rc does the name of the dialog get named 'dialogx' ..

Rick Lipkin

[James Bott]

Enrico,

>Have a look at this also:

>http://www.resedit.net

I looked at the website and it looks promising.

Have you already tried it? If so, what are your impressions?

James

[Enrico Maria Giordano]

It seems the best I've tried so far.

EMG

[ukoenig]

I am looking for a replacement of Borland's
as well.
I found Resource Builder.
It starts there, where Borland ended.
It is not free of charge ( 48 Dollars )
but for that, what you can do, it is ok.

for download : http://www.resource-builder.com



Key Features
---------------
Working with RC and RES resource files and full Unicode support
You can create and edit any resources in the comfortable visual editors of Resource Builder and then save them to RC or RES files that can be used in third-party applications. Moreover, Resource Builder allows you to select and load the resources you need from resource files and create their new combinations. You can also select separate resources and save them to a file. Resource Builder is the only visual resource editor that allows to create, edit and save Unicode RC scripts.

Importing resources from files of various formats
Resource Builder has a unique feature of importing resources from Win32 executables (EXE, DLL …) and from 32-bit and 16-bit binary resource files (RES, DCR). Using Resource Builder you will be able to restore resources used in your applications even if you lost their sources.

Patching and updating resources in executable files
Resource Builder makes it possible to update, patch and modify resources directly in executables, such as applications and dynamic-link libraries even without recompiling them.

Advanced features in working with graphic resources
Resource Builder allows you to work with images in the JPEG format as easily as with standard BMP images. Support for images with any size and colors count allows using Resource Builder as a replacement for Borland Resource Workshop or Image Editor, which unable to support "quality" images in projects. Moreover, the graphic editor of the program allows you to process images with the help of various filters making it no worse than serious graphic packages.

WYSWIG Visual dialog editor
A few simple mouse actions, editing of couple values in the Properties column and you get what you need! To make it more comfortable for developers, the toolbar contains all common Windows controls: labels, buttons, checkboxes and so on. To place them onto the form, a couple of moves with your mouse is quite enough. Using Custom Control libraries allows dramatically extending your dialogs.

Supporting the DFM format (forms in Delphi and C++ Builder)
You can view and edit forms created with Borland Delphi and C++Builder in the text form and preview them in original view. You can preview real image of edited forms and even more view them in "working" mode as application form. Resource Builder can also work with resources stored in Delphi packages.

Support HTML, XML and ANI resources; built-in compiler; support for command-line interface and many other features, which you will discover as you start using Resource Builder, make it really necessary tool for beginners and experienced developers!

I think, more you don't need.

Regards
Uwe

[Ken Wantz]

Rick

Sorry for te delay.

I believe you meant "Dialogex" not "Dialogx."

According to what I found at http://www.mycplus.com/tutorial.asp?TID=298, here is the explanation:

DIALOG: The dialog keyword tells the C++ resource compiler that we are creating a new dialog box. If we wanted to create a dialog box with extended styles, we would use DIALOGEX instead.