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vbindiff(1)


NAME

   vbindiff - hexadecimal file display and comparison

SYNOPSIS

   vbindiff file1 [ file2 ]

DESCRIPTION

   Visual Binary Diff (VBinDiff) displays files in hexadecimal and ASCII
   (or EBCDIC).  It can also display two files at once, and highlight the
   differences between them.  Unlike diff, it works well with large files
   (up to 4 GB).

   Viewing files

    Movement Keys
    -------------
    Up      Move one line (16 bytes) towards the beginning of the file
    Down    Move one line (16 bytes) towards the end of the file
    Left    Move one byte towards the beginning of the file
    Right   Move one byte towards the end of the file
    PageUp  Move one page towards the beginning of the file
    PageDn  Move one page towards the end of the file
    Home    Move to the beginning of the file
    End     Move to the end of the (shorter) file
    F       Search for a string or byte sequence
    G       Move to a specified file position

   When displaying two files, both files move together.  If bytes have
   been added or removed in one of the files, you can adjust the
   comparison by moving just one of the files.  To move only the top file,
   press "T".  To move only the bottom file, press "B".  To return to
   moving both files, press the same key again.  (The window at the bottom
   of the screen will indicate when you are moving only one file.)

    Other Keys
    ----------
    Enter  Move to the next difference between the files
    Space  (same as Enter)
    C      Toggle between ASCII and EBCDIC display
    E      Edit currently displayed section of file
    Esc    Exit VBinDiff
    Q      Exit VBinDiff

   The "Enter" key will advance to the next difference between the files
   (after those already displayed on the screen).  If there are no more
   differences, it moves to the end.

   Line editor

   The line editor is used to enter search strings and file positions.  It
   uses the basic Emacs-style editing keys.

    Keys
    -----------------
    Ctrl-B, Left       Move the cursor one character left
    Ctrl-F, Right      Move the cursor one character right
    Ctrl-A, Home       Move to the beginning of the line
    Ctrl-E, End        Move to the end of the line
    Ctrl-P, Up         Move up in input history
    Ctrl-N, Down       Move down in input history
    Ctrl-H, Backspace  Delete the character to the left
    Ctrl-D, Delete     Delete the character under the cursor
    Ctrl-K             Delete from cursor to end of line
    Insert             Toggle between insert & overstrike mode
    Enter              Finished entering text
    Esc                Abort the operation

   Editing files

   You can press "E" to edit the current file.  When displaying two files,
   this edits the one in the top window, unless you are in "move bottom"
   mode.

   When editing, you can move the cursor around with the arrow keys.  Use
   TAB to switch between entering hexadecimal or ASCII (or EBCDIC)
   characters.  Press the Esc key when you are done.  You will be given
   the choice to save or discard your changes then.

   If you are displaying two files, you can use the Enter key to copy a
   byte from the other file into the one you are editing.

   You cannot scroll through the file while editing, although you can save
   your changes and then move to a different part of the file.  Also, you
   cannot insert or delete bytes, only change them.

OPTIONS

    -L, --license   Display license information for vbindiff
    -V, --version   Display the version number
        --help      Display help information

BUGS

   Does not work properly with files over 4 gigabytes.  It should be able
   to view the first 4 gigabytes ok, but the display only has room for 8
   hex digits of file position, and the Goto box is also limited to 8
   digits.

LICENSE

   VBinDiff is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
   under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
   Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
   option) any later version.

   VBinDiff is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
   ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
   FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
   for more details.

   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
   with VBinDiff (see the file COPYING); if not, see
   <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

AUTHOR

   Christopher J. Madsen <vbindiff .at. cjmweb.net>
   <http://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/>



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