🚀 Getting Started with WpfHexEditor

Two ways to use this project: run the full IDE or embed the HexEditor control in your own WPF app.

---

Option A — Run the IDE

The fastest way to explore the project.

Requirements: Visual Studio 2022 · .NET 8.0 SDK · Windows

git clone https://github.com/abbaye/WpfHexEditorIDE.git

1. Open WpfHexEditorControl.sln in Visual Studio 2022
2. Set WpfHexEditor.App as the startup project
3. Press F5

The IDE launches with VS-style docking. You can:

• File → New Solution — create a project with binary, TBL, JSON, or text files
• File → Open — open any binary file directly in a new tab
• Drag panels to float, dock, or auto-hide
• Switch themes via View → Theme

---

Option B — Embed the HexEditor in Your WPF App

Step 1 — Reference the V2 Projects

In your .csproj:

<ItemGroup>
  <ProjectReference Include="..\WpfHexEditor.Core\WpfHexEditor.Core.csproj" />
  <ProjectReference Include="..\WpfHexEditor.HexEditor\WpfHexEditor.HexEditor.csproj" />
</ItemGroup>

NuGet: All major controls are available on NuGet — WPFHexaEditor, WpfCodeEditor, WpfDocking, WpfColorPicker, WpfTerminal, and the cross-platform whfmt.FileFormatCatalog (690+ format definitions). See the main README for install commands.

Step 2 — Add the Namespace

<Window xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
        xmlns:hex="clr-namespace:WpfHexEditor.HexEditor;assembly=WpfHexEditor.HexEditor"
        Title="My App" Height="600" Width="900">

Step 3 — Add the Control

<Grid>
    <hex:HexEditor x:Name="HexEdit" />
</Grid>

Step 4 — Open a File

HexEdit.FileName = @"C:\path\to\file.bin";
// or
HexEdit.OpenFile(@"C:\path\to\file.bin");
// or from stream
HexEdit.Stream = File.OpenRead(@"C:\path\to\file.bin");

Done! You now have a fully functional hex editor. 🎉

---

IDE Support

IDE	Notes
Visual Studio 2022	✅ Full toolbox, XAML designer, SmartComplete
JetBrains Rider	✅ XAML SmartComplete + preview — no visual toolbox (Rider limitation) · See Rider Guide
VS Code	✅ XAML extension for syntax highlighting

---

Common API Usage

Read & Write Bytes

// Read
byte value = HexEdit.GetByte(0x100);
byte[] data = HexEdit.GetBytes(0x100, 16);
byte[] selection = HexEdit.SelectionByteArray;

// Write
HexEdit.SetByte(0x100, 0xFF);
HexEdit.InsertByte(0x100, 0xAB);
HexEdit.DeleteByte(0x100, 10);

Search

long pos = HexEdit.FindFirst(new byte[] { 0x4D, 0x5A }); // MZ header
var all  = HexEdit.FindAll(new byte[] { 0xFF, 0xFF });
await HexEdit.FindFirstAsync(bytes, progress, cancellationToken);

Save

HexEdit.SubmitChanges();                  // Save to original file
HexEdit.SubmitChanges(@"C:\output.bin"); // Save As
if (HexEdit.HasChanges) { ... }

Customization

<hex:HexEditor Background="#1E1E1E"
               Foreground="White"
               SelectionFirstColor="#264F78"
               ByteModifiedColor="Orange"
               FontFamily="Consolas"
               BytePerLine="16" />

TBL Character Tables

HexEdit.LoadTBL(@"C:\game-charset.tbl");
HexEdit.TypeOfCharacterTable = CharacterTableType.ASCII;
HexEdit.CustomEncoding = Encoding.GetEncoding("shift-jis");

Bookmarks

HexEdit.SetBookmark(HexEdit.SelectionStart);
HexEdit.GotoNextBookmark();
HexEdit.GotoPreviousBookmark();
HexEdit.ClearAllBookmarks();

Copy as Code

string code = HexEdit.GetCopyData(CopyPasteMode.CSharpCode);
// → byte[] data = { 0x4D, 0x5A, 0x90, 0x00 };
// Other modes: VBNetCode, JavaCode, PythonCode, ...

Custom Background Highlighting

HexEdit.AddCustomBackgroundBlock(new CustomBackgroundBlock
{
    StartOffset = 0x100,
    Length = 256,
    Color = Colors.LightBlue,
    Description = "Header"
});

---

Keyboard Shortcuts (HexEditor Control)

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+C	Copy selection
Ctrl+V	Paste
Ctrl+X	Cut
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y	Redo
Ctrl+F	Quick search (inline bar)
Ctrl+Shift+F	Advanced search dialog
Ctrl+G	Go to offset
Ctrl+A	Select all
F3 / Shift+F3	Find next / previous
Ins	Toggle Insert / Overwrite mode
Ctrl+MouseWheel	Zoom
ESC	Close search bar / clear selection

---

Events

HexEdit.SelectionStartChanged   += (s, e) => { /* ... */ };
HexEdit.SelectionLengthChanged  += (s, e) => { /* ... */ };
HexEdit.ByteModified            += (s, e) => { /* offset: e.BytePositionInStream */ };
HexEdit.LongProcessProgressChanged += (s, e) => { progressBar.Value = e.Percent; };

---

Next Steps

• FEATURES.md — complete feature list (IDE, editors, panels, controls)
• CHANGELOG.md — what's new in each version
• Architecture Guide — MVVM + service design
• API Reference — full API documentation
• CONTRIBUTING.md — how to contribute