Resorcerer Template Information

Resource Data Templates

esorcerer contains a very powerful, fully 32-bit Data Editor, which you can use to edit arbitrary binary resource or data fork data in a structured manner.

The Data Editor parses the data of a given type by following a set of instructions that declares the structure to use. Each set of instructions is called a template. Each template is itself kept in a resource, and Resorcerer provides a dedicated Template Editor for creating, viewing, and maintaining templates.

Resorcerer looks for standard templates for commonly edited system or application resources in its own templates folder, shipped with the application. You can also keep templates for your private resources types in a Private Templates folder, or you can keep one right in the same file as the custom resource it describes (Resorcerer will use it first before looking elsewhere).

Template Resources

Each template is stored in a resource of type 'TMPL'. The first 4 characters of the 'TMPL' resource's name uniquely identify the type of data structure the template declares.

The 'TMPL' resource is itself a binary data structure. It is nothing more than an arbitrarily long repeated list of entries called fields, where each field consists of two parts:

The Pascal string is called the field's label. It consists of an unsigned length byte followed by that many bytes of data. The label primarily serves to identify for the user of the Data Editor what each parsed data field's purpose is. Occasionally, the label has certain special characteristics for the benefit of the Data Editor's parser, but in general it is equivalent to a comment in a compiled language.

The four-byte constant, or type, encodes the size and manner of presentation of the next data field to be parsed from the data. There are over 120 defined field types in Resorcerer, described below.

There are no pad bytes anywhere in the 'TMPL' structure, so a 4-byte type field can occur at any byte position in the template.

Resorcerer Supports All ResEdit Templates

The above-described template structure was first implemented in Apple's ResEdit resource editor in the mid-80's. ResEdit supports 35 four-byte field types with which you can define and then directly edit various simple data structures. Although these field types suffice to describe a minimal set of standard Macintosh resources, in the ensuing decade developers have needed to create much larger and more complicated data structures than ResEdit can support.

Fortunately, if you've invested time in creating your own ResEdit templates, Resorcerer won't let you down. The parsing engine in Resorcerer's Data Editor completely supports ResEdit-style 'TMPL' resources, at the same time as significantly enhancing the kinds of data that you parse and edit. The Data Editor's interface is fairly different from ResEdit's, but much faster and more powerful. Unlike ResEdit, the Data Editor in Resorcerer is also completely 32-bit so it can handle very large resources quickly and easily.

If you would like to try the Resorcerer template system out (as well as the rest of the program), first download our demo. Then try opening the special 'Demo' 128 resource in the accompanying file, "Resorcerer TMPL Demo".

Resorcerer Template Field Types

Resorcerer's extended field types provide support for

numbered bit fields
RGB colors
recursive TMPLs
creation and modification dates
fixed point numbers (5 types)
floating point (5 types)
byte and long counted lists
fixed-length lists (arrays)
sized indefinite lists
dedicated relative and absolute resource ID fields for easy linking to other resources
sizeof and skip offset fields
sized hex data fields
sized text dumps
disassembled code dumps
arbitrary pre- and post-processing of data for whatever your needs are

and more. You can even use special insertion/deletion field types to add or subtract data fields, including repeated instances, to existing resources automatically.

The following tables list all Resorcerer-supported template field types, as of version 2.0. Those types that will only work in Resorcerer are noted in red. All types marked Both will also work in ResEdit templates.

Decimal and Hex Integer Field Types

Type Description Size Editor
DBYT Signed Decimal Byte 1 byte Both
DWRD Signed Decimal Word 2 bytes Both
DLNG Signed Decimal Long 4 bytes Both
UBYT Unsigned Decimal Byte 1 byte Resorcerer
UWRD Unsigned Decimal Word 2 bytes Resorcerer
ULNG Unsigned Decimal Long 4 bytes Resorcerer
HBYT Unsigned Hex Byte 1 byte Both
HWRD Unsigned Hex Word 2 bytes Both
HLNG Unsigned Hex Long 4 bytes Both

Bit and Bit Field Types (parsing proceeds from high-order bits first)

Type Description Size Editor
BBIT Bit Within a Byte 1 bit Both
BBnn Bit Field Within a Byte nn bits Both
WBIT Bit Within a Word 1 bit Resorcerer
WBnn Bit Field Within a Word nn bits Resorcerer
LBIT Bit Within a Long 1 bit Resorcerer
LBnn Bit Field Within a Long nn bits Resorcerer
BFLG Byte Boolean Flag (low-order bit) 1 byte Resorcerer
WFLG Word Boolean Flag (low-order bit) 2 bytes Resorcerer
LFLG Long Boolean Flag (low-order bit) 4 bytes Resorcerer

Miscellaneous Graphic and System Field Types

Type Description Size Editor
RSID Signed Resource ID Integer 2 bytes Resorcerer
BOOL Boolean Word 2 bytes Both*
CHAR ASCII Character 1 byte Both
TNAM Type Name 4 bytes Both
DATE Macintosh System Date/Time (seconds) 4 bytes Resorcerer
MDAT Modification Date/Time (seconds) 4 bytes Resorcerer
SCPC MacOS System Script Code 2 bytes Resorcerer
LNGC MacOS System Language Code 2 bytes Resorcerer
RGNC MacOS System Region Code 2 bytes Resorcerer
PNT ** QuickDraw Point 4 bytes Both
RECT QuickDraw Rectangle 8 bytes Both
COLR QuickDraw Color RGB Triplet 6 bytes Resorcerer
CLUT Color Lookup Table Hex Dump variable Resorcerer
CODE 680x0 Disassembled Code Dump variable Resorcerer

* You can configure Resorcerer to use any 16-bit non-zero value when setting a BOOL field to true.
** The 'PNT ' field type ends in a space character.

Floating and Fixed Point Field Types

Type Description Size Editor
REAL Single Precision Float 4 bytes Resorcerer
DOUB Double Precision Float 8 bytes Resorcerer
EXTN Extended 80-bit SANE Float 10 bytes Resorcerer
XT96 Extended 96-bit SANE Float 12 bytes Resorcerer
UNIV THINK C Universal 96-bit Float 12 bytes Resorcerer
FIXD 16:16 Fixed Point Number 4 bytes Resorcerer
FRAC 2:30 Fixed Point Fraction 4 bytes Resorcerer
SFRC 0:16 Fixed Point Small Fraction 2 bytes Resorcerer
FWID 4:12 Fixed Point Font Width 2 bytes Resorcerer
FXYZ 1:15 Fixed Point Color Component 2 bytes Resorcerer

ASCII Text String Field Types

Type Description Bytes Editor
PSTR Pascal String 1 ... 256 Both
ESTR Even-Padded Pascal String 2 ... 256 Both
PPST Even Pascal String (pad included) 2 .... 256 Resorcerer
OSTR Pascal String Odd-Padded 1 ... 255 Both
CSTR Null-Terminated C String 1 or more Both
ECST Even-Padded C String 2 or more Both
OCST C String Odd-Padded 1 or more Both
BSTR Byte Length String (same as PSTR) 1 ... 256 Resorcerer
WSTR Word Length String 2 ... 65KB Both
LSTR Long Length String 4 ... 4MB Both
TXTS Sized Text Dump variable Resorcerer
Pnmm Pascal String with Fixed Padding $nmm bytes Both*
Cnmm C String with Fixed Padding $nmm bytes Both
Tnmm Text with Fixed Padding $nmm bytes Resorcerer

* This field type's behavior is configurable between ResEdit-style and Resorcerer's more consistent style.

Hexadecimal Dump Field Types

Type Description Bytes Editor
BHEX Byte Length Hex Dump 1 ... 256 Resorcerer
WHEX Word Length Hex Dump 2 ... 65KB Resorcerer
LHEX Long Length Hex Dump 4 ... 4MB Resorcerer
BSHX Byte Length - 1 Hex Dump 1 ... 255 Resorcerer
WSHX Word Length - 2 Hex Dump 2 ... 65KB-2 Resorcerer
LSHX Long Length - 4 Hex Dump 4 ... 4MB-4 Resorcerer
Hnmm Fixed-Length Hex Dump $nmm Both
HEXS Sized Hex Dump variable Resorcerer
HEXD Hex Dump variable Both*

* This field type's behavior is more general in Resorcerer's Data Editor than in ResEdit's

Skip Offset Field Types (automatically computed)

Type Description Size Editor
BSKP Offset to SKPE in Byte, inclusive 1 byte Resorcerer
WSKP Offset to SKPE in Word, inclusive 2 bytes Resorcerer
LSKP Offset to SKPE in Long, inclusive 4 bytes Resorcerer
BSIZ Offset to SKPE in Byte, exclusive 1 byte Resorcerer
WSIZ Offset to SKPE in Word, exclusive 2 bytes Resorcerer
LSIZ Offset to SKPE in Long, exclusive 4 bytes Resorcerer
SKPE End of Skip or Sizeof 0 bytes Resorcerer

Symbolic Constants and Comments

Type Description Size Editor
CASE Symbolic and/or Default Value 0 bytes Resorcerer
DVDR Divider Line with Comment 0 bytes Resorcerer

Counted Lists/Arrays

Type Description Size Editor
BCNT Byte Count of List Items 1 byte Resorcerer
OCNT One-Based Count of List Items 2 bytes Both
WCNT Word Count of List Items (same as OCNT) 2 bytes Resorcerer
LCNT Long Count of List Items 4 bytes Resorcerer
ZCNT Zero-Based Count of List Items 2 bytes Resorcerer
LZCT Zero-Based Count of List Items 4 bytes Resorcerer
FCNT Fixed Count of List Items 0 bytes Resorcerer
LSTC Begin Counted List Item 0 bytes Both
LSTB Begin Non-Counted List Item 0 bytes Both
LSTS Begin Sized List Item 0 bytes Resorcerer
LSTZ Begin List Item, Ending in Zero Byte 0 bytes Both
LSTE End of any List Item 0 or 1 bytes Both
SELF List Item is Entire TMPL variable Resorcerer

Key Values for Subsequent Variant Items

Type Description Size Editor
KBYT Signed Decimal Byte Key 1 byte Resorcerer
KWRD Signed Decimal Word Key 2 bytes Resorcerer
KLNG Signed Decimal Long Key 4 bytes Resorcerer
KUBT Unsigned Decimal Byte Key 1 byte Resorcerer
KUWD Unsigned Decimal Word Key 2 bytes Resorcerer
KULG Unsigned Decimal Long Key 4 bytes Resorcerer
KHBT Unsigned Hex Byte Key 1 byte Resorcerer
KHWD Unsigned Hex Word Key 2 bytes Resorcerer
KHLG Unsigned Hex Long Key 4 bytes Resorcerer
KCHR Single ASCII Character Key 1 byte Resorcerer
KTYP Four-Character Type Key 4 bytes Resorcerer
KRID Key on Resource ID, Not Data 0 bytes Resorcerer
KEYB Begin Keyed Item for Previous CASE 0 bytes Resorcerer
KEYE End of Keyed Item 0 bytes Resorcerer

Alignment Field Types (Uneditable)

Type Description Bytes Editor
AWRD Align to 2-byte boundary 0 or 1 Both
ALNG Align to 4-byte boundary 0 ... 3 Both
AL08 Align to 8-byte boundary 0 ... 7 Resorcerer
AL16 Align to 16-byte boundary 0 ... 15 Resorcerer

Filler Field Types (Uneditable)

Type Description Size Editor
FBYT Fill Byte 1 byte Both
FWRD Fill Word 2 bytes Both
FLNG Fill Long 4 bytes Both
Fnmm Fill Bytes $nmm bytes Resorcerer

Inserting New Data Fields in Existing Resources

Type Description Bytes Editor
+BYT Insert a Byte When Opening 1 Resorcerer
+WRD Insert a Word When Opening 2 Resorcerer
+LNG Insert a Long When Opening 4 Resorcerer
+nmm Insert Bytes When Opening $nmm Resorcerer
+PST Insert a Pascal String When Opening 1 ... 256 Resorcerer
+EST Insert an Even Pascal String When Opening 2 ... 256 Resorcerer
+CST Insert a C String When Opening 1 or more Resorcerer

Deleting Old Data Fields from Existing Resources

Type Description Bytes Editor
-BYT Delete a Byte When Closing 1 Resorcerer
-WRD Delete a Word When Closing 2 Resorcerer
-LNG Delete a Long When Closing 4 Resorcerer
-nmm Delete Bytes When Closing $nmm Resorcerer
-PST Delete a Pascal String When Closing 1 ... 256 Resorcerer
-EST Delete an Even Pascal String When Closing 2 ... 256 Resorcerer
-CST Delete a C String When Closing 1 or more Resorcerer

Big and Little-Endian Parsing

Type Description Size Editor
BNDN Use Big-Endian Data Parsing 0 Resorcerer
LNDN Use Little-Endian Data Parsing 0 Resorcerer

Pre- and Post-Processing Data with Code Filters

Type Description Size Editor
FLTR Declare Filtered Template (with comment) 0 Resorcerer

Filtered Templates

For resources that can't be fully described by the above language, you can use Resorcerer's resource filtering system to pre- and post-process resources to make them temporarily editable. Thus, nearly all possible data structures (that have anything in them worth editing) are interactively editable with Resorcerer. This includes:

resources that cannot be compiled with Rez
indexed lists
compacted resources
privately encrypted resources
pre-computed hash tables
resources with checksum fields
resources with alternate structures based on non-data information (like what the resource ID is)
just about any other algorithmically-determined structure.

This system lets you design a template for those parts of a resource that humans should attend to, and an algorithmic code resource for those structural parts of a resource that the computer is better at attending to. Because the filter code need have no user-interface, filters are much easier to create as code resources than a complete ResEdit editor might be. A filter's sole responsibility is to convert one handle of data into another handle of data, and then back again.

For instance, Resorcerer's Data Editor lets you open any of the standard color QuickDraw resources with indexed pixmaps ('crsr', 'cicn', or 'ppat') in them in order to see their color tables. The various templates that parse the QuickDraw resources are filtered, so that they can perform proper computations for pixmap data sizes, etc. that would otherwise be impossible in a standard non-filtered template.

Data Sheets and Descriptions: General | Editors


Home Page	Ordering	125 Ways	Free Demos

Type	Description	Size	Editor
DBYT	Signed Decimal Byte	1 byte	Both
DWRD	Signed Decimal Word	2 bytes	Both
DLNG	Signed Decimal Long	4 bytes	Both
UBYT	Unsigned Decimal Byte	1 byte	Resorcerer
UWRD	Unsigned Decimal Word	2 bytes	Resorcerer
ULNG	Unsigned Decimal Long	4 bytes	Resorcerer
HBYT	Unsigned Hex Byte	1 byte	Both
HWRD	Unsigned Hex Word	2 bytes	Both
HLNG	Unsigned Hex Long	4 bytes	Both

Type	Description	Bytes	Editor
PSTR	Pascal String	1 ... 256	Both
ESTR	Even-Padded Pascal String	2 ... 256	Both
PPST	Even Pascal String (pad included)	2 .... 256	Resorcerer
OSTR	Pascal String Odd-Padded	1 ... 255	Both
CSTR	Null-Terminated C String	1 or more	Both
ECST	Even-Padded C String	2 or more	Both
OCST	C String Odd-Padded	1 or more	Both
BSTR	Byte Length String (same as PSTR)	1 ... 256	Resorcerer
WSTR	Word Length String	2 ... 65KB	Both
LSTR	Long Length String	4 ... 4MB	Both
TXTS	Sized Text Dump	variable	Resorcerer
Pnmm	Pascal String with Fixed Padding	$nmm bytes	Both*
Cnmm	C String with Fixed Padding	$nmm bytes	Both
Tnmm	Text with Fixed Padding	$nmm bytes	Resorcerer