The SysEx (System Exclusive) Window

About the SysEx Window

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The SysEx Window is used to view components in a raw hexadecimal and character format. It is used primarily for development and testing of new components for Midi Quest. If you are developing new instrument support files this is a fast and easy way to view the SysEx you are loading.

The first column shows the offset (in hex) of the first byte of SysEx for that line. For example in line 00060(hex), the first byte is 96 bytes from the beginning of the file.

The second column is divided into sixteen sub columns. Each sub column is a byte value so each row shows sixteen bytes of SysEx. Row one shows bytes 0 ->15, row two shows bytes 16 -> 31, and so on. These values are the actual values as stored within the SysEx. All characters are shown in black except for MIDI Status commands, these are shown in green and the header portion of a file which is displayed in blue. For example, you can see the the F0 at the beginning of the dump in the graph above is displayed in yellow.

The third column shows the same sixteen bytes in ASCII character format. If the value of the byte is an ASCII letter or number, it is displayed as such, otherwise, a period is displayed in its place.

The SysEx can be edited in this window although it is not recommended. If you are going to edit, ensure you understand the format of the SysEx and the parameter you are editing. This is raw SysEx you are working with and you will have to account for any special formatting within the SysEx. To edit, click and hold the mouse down on any of the number in the center section. Drag the mouse left or right to decrease or increase the value of the byte. Edited values are displayed in red. Note that the SysEx can't be edited while it is being displayed as formatted data.

To recap, the SysEx Window uses color to indicate particular meanings for various bytes

Purple - the currently selected byte

Red - the byte has been edited

Blue - the byte is part of the header

Green - start or end of SysEx bytes

In addition, The SysEx Window is used to compare two files. This feature is a powerful development tool when you are attempting to find where a particular parameter is being stored. For more information see Compare SysEx.

SysEx Menu

Copy SysEx As Text copy the SysEx to the Windows clipboard as text

Restore Current Byte restore the currently selected byte to its original value

Restore All SysEx restore the entire SysEx file to its original state

Advance Voice Size advances the display forward by the size of one voice in Bank SysEx

Backup Voice Size backup the display backward by the size of one voice in Bank SysEx

MIDI Parser show the individual SysEx messages in the component

Compare SysEx load a second SysEx file for a per byte comparison

Show Formatted SysEx Data / Show Raw SysEx switch between displaying formatted and raw SysEx data

Settings edit the basic parameters for the SysEx, see Settings

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