APPLICATION NOTE NO. 67
Editing Sea-Bird .hex Data Files
October 2001

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After acquiring real-time .hex data or uploading .hex data from CTD memory, users sometimes want to edit the header to add or change explanatory notes about the cast. Some text editing programs modify the file in ways that are not visible to the user (such as adding or removing carriage returns and line feeds), but that corrupt the format and prevent further processing by SEASOFT (both DOS and Windows versions). This Application Note provides details on one way to edit a .hex data file with a text editor while retaining the required format. The procedure described below has been found to work correctly on computers running Win 98, Win 2000, and Win NT. If the editing is not performed using this technique, SEASOFT may reject the data file and give you an error message.

1. Make a back-up copy of your .hex data file before you begin.
2. Run WordPad.
3. In the File menu, select Open. The Open dialog box appears. For Files of type, select All Documents (*.*). Browse to the desired .hex data file and click Open.
4. Edit the file as desired, inserting any new header lines after the System Upload Time line. Note that all header lines must begin with an asterisk (*), and *END* indicates the end of the header. An example is shown below, with the added lines in bold:

   * Sea-Bird SBE 21 Data File:
   * FileName = C:\Odis\SAT2-ODIS\oct14-19\oc15_99.hex
   * Software Version Seasave Win32 v1.10
   * Temperature SN = 2366
   * Conductivity SN = 2366
   * System UpLoad Time = Oct 15 1999 10:57:19
   * Testing adding header lines
   * Must start with an asterisk
   * Can be placed anywhere between System Upload Time and END of header
   * NMEA Latitude = 30 59.70 N
   * NMEA Longitude = 081 37.93 W
   * NMEA UTC (Time) = Oct 15 1999 10:57:19
   * Store Lat/Lon Data = Append to Every Scan and Append to .NAV File When <Ctrl F7> is Pressed
   ** Ship: Sea-Bird
   ** Cruise: Sea-Bird Header Test
   ** Station:
   ** Latitude:
   ** Longitude:
   *END*

5. In the File menu, select Save (not Save As). If you are running Windows 2000, the following message displays:

   You are about to save the document in a Text-Only format, which will remove all formatting. Are you sure you want to do this?

   Ignore the message and click Yes.

6. In the File menu, select Exit.

NOTE: This Application Note does not apply to .dat data files. Sea-Bird is not aware of a technique for editing a .dat file that will not corrupt the file.

Last modified: 05 May 2010

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