mibuso.com

Finn's FobView
Overview
FobView is a viewer for Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) object files *.FOB.
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features
Read .FOB files only in this beta. Reading of .FBK, .TXT and .XML files will be added later.
Handles object types: Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).

Beta version
Note that this a Beta version, so it may have bugs.
If you find a bug please let me know.
If it reads and displays a .fob file wrong in some way please send the .fob file to me with a description of the error.
Please zip the .fob file to reduce the size before mailing it to me.

You can help me by testing if it handles dates and times correctly in your country with your Regional Settings in Windows.
This goes when reading the .fob file, displaying the list, saving the list, printing the list, and exporting the list to Excel.
Please let me know if you find an error.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Finn's FobView v1.1
Overview
FobView is a viewer for Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) object files *.FOB.
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's possible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features
Read .FOB files only in this beta. Reading of .FBK, .TXT and .XML files will be added later.
Handles object types: Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List is shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can now check for updates.

If it reads and displays a .fob file wrong in some way please send the .fob file to me with a description of the error.
Please zip the .fob file to reduce the size before mailing it to me.

You can help me by testing if it handles dates and times correctly in your country with your Regional Settings in Windows.
This goes when reading the .fob file, displaying the list, saving the list, printing the list, and exporting the list to Excel.
Please let me know if you find an error.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Hi Finn,

Thanks, nice tool!

One little suggestion.
If you check the option to see the changes between two fobs it would be nice to see the same objects together.
Maybe you can make an option where you can choose the sorting?


Regards,
Reijer

Hi Reijer

I have just uploaded a new version where you can choose to sort by either File,Type,ID or Type,ID when showing equal or different objects.
I think it will do what you want.
Hopefully it will be available for download shortly.

Regards,
Finn Tolderlund

Thanks, works great!

Finn's FobView v1.2
Overview
FobView is a viewer for Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) object files *.FOB.
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's possible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features
Read .FOB files only in this beta. Reading of .FBK, .TXT and .XML files will be added later.
Handles object types: Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List is shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can now check for updates.

If it reads and displays a .fob file wrong in some way please send the .fob file to me with a description of the error.
Please zip the .fob file to reduce the size before mailing it to me.

You can help me by testing if it handles dates and times correctly in your country with your Regional Settings in Windows.
This goes when reading the .fob file, displaying the list, saving the list, printing the list, and exporting the list to Excel.
Please let me know if you find an error.

Version 1.2:

New option when showing equal or different objects to sort them by File/Type/ID or by Type/ID.
Saving an empty list to file no longer results in an error message " '' is not a valid date. ".
If there are no data rows in the list you can no longer save it, print it, or export it to Excel.
Improved reading of the fob file structure. There was a rare case of a fob file which couldn't be read because of a slightly different structure.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Finn's FobView v1.3
Overview
FobView can view Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) object files .FOB, .FBK, .TXT and .XML.
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features
Reading of .FOB, .FBK, .TXT and .XML files fra Navision.
Handles object types: TableData, Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List are shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can check for updates.

Version 1.3:

Added reading of FBK files.
Added reading of TXT files.
Added reading of XML files.
Notes about TXT files:
1. BLOB Size is shown as 0 as it is not present in the TXT file.
2. NAV writes the Date and Time to the TXT file using the machine's Regional Settings.
- FobViewer tries to interpret the date and time and reformat them for display using the machine's Regional Settings.
- If the interpretation fails they are displayed exactly as they are in the TXT file.
- The interpretation may fail if you try to view a TXT file which was written using Regional Settings different from your own.
- The interpretation should never fail when you view a TXT file which was written using Regional Settings the same as your own.
Notes about XML files:
1. BLOB Size is shown as 0 as it is not present in the XML file.
2. XML files can apparently only contain objects of type Form, Report, Page (not Table,Dataport,Codeunit,XMLport,MenuSuite).
- When exporting objects only Form/Report/Page will be written to the XML file (at least in NAV 2009).
3. The Time value in the XML is written in UTC. This is different from FOB/FBK/TXT where the time value is written in local time.
- When you import a XML file into NAV this UTC time is adjusted to local time by using the machine's Regional Settings for the Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time.
- This actually means that if two people located in different parts of the world import the exact same XML file, the object's time in NAV will be different.
- (If people in different parts of the world import the same FOB file, the object's time in NAV will be the same).
- FobViewer will adjust the UTC time to local time by using the machine's Regional Settings for the Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time.

Version 1.2:

New option when showing equal or different objects to sort them by File/Type/ID or by Type/ID.
Saving an empty list to file no longer results in an error message " '' is not a valid date. ".
If there are no data rows in the list you can no longer save it, print it, or export it to Excel.
Improved reading of the fob file structure. There was a rare case of a fob file which couldn't be read because of a slightly different structure.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Finn's FobView v1.4
Overview
FobView can view Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision) object files .FOB, .FBK, .TXT and .XML.
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features
Reading of .FOB, .FBK, .TXT and .XML files fra Navision.
Handles object types: TableData, Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List are shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can check for updates.
Use Drag-and-Drop to open files.
Can mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
If you associate the file extension .fob with the program, you can double click the file and the program will open it.

Version 1.4

New toolbutton to mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Minor change: Only shows hint in grid if text is longer than column width.
Minor change: Paint grid lines in full client area of grid.

Version 1.3.1

Improved reading of fob files. I reveived a couple of fob files which the program could not read.

Version 1.3:

Added reading of FBK files.
Added reading of TXT files.
Added reading of XML files.
Notes about TXT files:
1. BLOB Size is shown as 0 as it is not present in the TXT file.
2. NAV writes the Date and Time to the TXT file using the machine's Regional Settings.
- FobViewer tries to interpret the date and time and reformat them for display using the machine's Regional Settings.
- If the interpretation fails they are displayed exactly as they are in the TXT file.
- The interpretation may fail if you try to view a TXT file which was written using Regional Settings different from your own.
- The interpretation should never fail when you view a TXT file which was written using Regional Settings the same as your own.
Notes about XML files:
1. BLOB Size is shown as 0 as it is not present in the XML file.
2. XML files can apparently only contain objects of type Form, Report, Page (not Table,Dataport,Codeunit,XMLport,MenuSuite).
- When exporting objects only Form/Report/Page will be written to the XML file (at least in NAV 2009).
3. The Time value in the XML is written in UTC. This is different from FOB/FBK/TXT where the time value is written in local time.
- When you import a XML file into NAV this UTC time is adjusted to local time by using the machine's Regional Settings for the Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time.
- This actually means that if two people located in different parts of the world import the exact same XML file, the object's time in NAV will be different.
- (If people in different parts of the world import the same FOB file, the object's time in NAV will be the same).
- FobViewer will adjust the UTC time to local time by using the machine's Regional Settings for the Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time.

Version 1.2:

New option when showing equal or different objects to sort them by File/Type/ID or by Type/ID.
Saving an empty list to file no longer results in an error message " '' is not a valid date. ".
If there are no data rows in the list you can no longer save it, print it, or export it to Excel.
Improved reading of the fob file structure. There was a rare case of a fob file which couldn't be read because of a slightly different structure.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Great utility!

I like the option to automatically select objects in object designer, it works even if there are several NAV instances opened at the same time. Good job.

I did find two small things though:

1. Mouse wheel scroll is set to scroll single line only and is moving the highlighted blue line. Wheel scrolling through long object lists is taking forever this way.
It might be better to scroll by 3 lines or whatever is set in Mouse Properties / Wheel page under Control Panel (I remember there was a way to get that value from the OS, could look it up if needed...). Also wheel scroll should only move the list window as if you're clicking on vertical bar up/down arrows instead of acting like you're pressing cursor up/down keys.

2. Selecting the objects in Object Designer twice in a row does not clear the previous marked selection resulting in empty selection list or wrong selection. Not sure how to fix this if you're only (I assume) sending key presses to NAV window. Not really an issue if you pay attention to what you're doing.

Thanks!

I'm working on a new version, to be released shortly.

1. I'll see if I can do something about it. No promise though.
I don't think it's a big deal, you can grab the scrollbar thumb and move it up/down quickly.
You're welcome to mail me the way to get that value from the OS, if you can find it.

2. You are right, I am sending key presses to the NAV window, and it's not possible to know if a specific object has already been selected.
So I don't think I can do anything about this.

Remember to rate my tool

Well, if you're used to wheeling around all the time then it can be hard to remember how to move the scrollbar
Anyway - here is a snippet to get the wheel scroll distance info:
http://www.johnfindlay.plus.com/lcc-win32/Snippets/MWheel.htm

The function of choice would be SystemParametersInfo with SPI_GETWHEELSCROLLLINES (defined in winuser.h) which works on Windows newer than NT3.51 and Win9x, so NT4.0, Win2k, XP etc... Before that you needed to query MsWheel class...

Hope this is helpful.

Finn's FobView v1.5
Overview

FobView can view FOB, FBK, TXT and XML object files from Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision).
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features

Viewing of FOB, FBK, TXT and XML files from Navision.
Handles object types: TableData, Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List are shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can check for updates.
Use Drag-and-Drop to open files.
Can mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Set filter for the columns in the list.
If you associate the file extension .fob with the program, you can double click the file and the program will open it.

Change History

Version 1.5
Possible to filter the list, by clicking column header or using the toolbar button or pressing Ctrl+F7.
Filters can by cleared by using the toolbar button or pressing Shift+Ctrl+F7.
You can use wildcards * and ? in filters, to set a filter such as @*item* in the Name column.
You can't use |, &, , = or .. as you can in Navision.
Fixed bug when reading XML files. It could not read some XML files.
Made export to Excel faster by making Excel not visible when transferring data.
Shows progress bar when saving to file, printing, exporting to excel.
Optimized marking of objects in Object Designer a little.
Possible to switch between small and large toolbar buttons by right clicking the toolbar.
Changed Main Icon and toolbar button graphics a bit.
Shows hint in status bar.

Version 1.4
New toolbutton to mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Minor change: Only shows hint in grid if text is longer than column width.
Minor change: Paint grid lines in full client area of grid.

Version 1.3.1
Improved reading of fob files. I reveived a couple of fob files which the program could not read.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Finn's FobView v1.6
Overview

FobView can view FOB, FBK, TXT and XML object files from Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision).
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features

Viewing of FOB, FBK, TXT and XML files from Navision.
Handles object types: TableData, Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List are shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can check for updates.
Use Drag-and-Drop to open files.
Can mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Set filter for the columns in the list.
If you associate the file extension .fob with the program, you can double click the file and the program will open it.

Change History

Version 1.6
Improved object marking to work better with a client connected to a slow server.
Added Intelligent Object Marking: When marking objects from multiple fob files, the same objects are not unmarked.
- It can by turned on and off in Settings.
- It currently only works in Windows XP with med Windows Classic theme. It doesn't work with Windows XP theme. Sorry. I'll try to fix that later.
- It is only tested with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Made vertical scrollbar (thumb size) proportional, so it reflects the number of rows in the grid.
Open buttons now include *.txt and *.xml in file type list (in addition to *.fob and *.fbk). This was forgotten in previous versions.
Added setting to select small or large toolbar buttons. Was previously only available by right clicking the toolbar.
Filter for a column is now indicated by a bold column header.
Shows in status bar how many objects are in the list.
Now shows various controls according to Themes in Windows.

Version 1.5
Possible to filter the list, by clicking column header or using the toolbar button or pressing Ctrl+F7.
Filters can by cleared by using the toolbar button or pressing Shift+Ctrl+F7.
You can use wildcards * and ? in filters, to set a filter such as @*item* in the Name column.
You can't use |, &, , = or .. as you can in Navision.
Fixed bug when reading XML files. It could not read some XML files.
Made export to Excel faster by making Excel not visible when transferring data.
Shows progress bar when saving to file, printing, exporting to excel.
Optimized marking of objects in Object Designer a little.
Possible to switch between small and large toolbar buttons by right clicking the toolbar.
Changed Main Icon and toolbar button graphics a bit.
Shows hint in status bar.

Version 1.4
New toolbutton to mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Minor change: Only shows hint in grid if text is longer than column width.
Minor change: Paint grid lines in full client area of grid.

Version 1.3.1
Improved reading of fob files. I reveived a couple of fob files which the program could not read.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Finn's FobView v1.7
Overview

FobView can view FOB, FBK, TXT and XML object files from Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision).
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features

Viewing of FOB, FBK, TXT and XML files from Navision.
Handles object types: TableData, Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List are shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can check for updates.
Use Drag-and-Drop to open files.
Can mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Set filter for the columns in the list.
If you associate the file extension .fob with the program, you can double click the file and the program will open it.

Change History

Version 1.7
Minor changes only.
Changed how the current row in grid moves when pressing Page Up and Page Down.
Improved detection that user has removed focus from Navision when marking objects in Object Designer.

Version 1.6
Improved object marking to work better with a client connected to a slow server.
Added Intelligent Object Marking: When marking objects from multiple fob files, the same objects are not unmarked.
- It can by turned on and off in Settings.
- It currently only works in Windows XP with med Windows Classic theme. It doesn't work with Windows XP theme. Sorry. I'll try to fix that later.
- It is only tested with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Made vertical scrollbar (thumb size) proportional, so it reflects the number of rows in the grid.
Open buttons now include *.txt and *.xml in file type list (in addition to *.fob and *.fbk). This was forgotten in previous versions.
Added setting to select small or large toolbar buttons. Was previously only available by right clicking the toolbar.
Filter for a column is now indicated by a bold column header.
Shows in status bar how many objects are in the list.
Now shows various controls according to Themes in Windows.

Version 1.5
Possible to filter the list, by clicking column header or using the toolbar button or pressing Ctrl+F7.
Filters can by cleared by using the toolbar button or pressing Shift+Ctrl+F7.
You can use wildcards * and ? in filters, to set a filter such as @*item* in the Name column.
You can't use |, &, , = or .. as you can in Navision.
Fixed bug when reading XML files. It could not read some XML files.
Made export to Excel faster by making Excel not visible when transferring data.
Shows progress bar when saving to file, printing, exporting to excel.
Optimized marking of objects in Object Designer a little.
Possible to switch between small and large toolbar buttons by right clicking the toolbar.
Changed Main Icon and toolbar button graphics a bit.
Shows hint in status bar.

Version 1.4
New toolbutton to mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Minor change: Only shows hint in grid if text is longer than column width.
Minor change: Paint grid lines in full client area of grid.

Version 1.3.1
Improved reading of fob files. I reveived a couple of fob files which the program could not read.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.

Finn's FobView v1.8
Overview

FobView can view FOB, FBK, TXT and XML object files from Microsoft Dynamics NAV (Navision).
It lists the objects contained in these files and by loading two files it is possible to compare the objects in these files.
It's posible to save the list to a file, print the list, and export the list to Excel.

Features

Viewing of FOB, FBK, TXT and XML files from Navision.
Handles object types: TableData, Table, Form, Report, Dataport, Codeunit, XMLport, MenuSuite, Page.
Show the entire 80 characters Version field of an object.
Show the Modified flag of an object.
Show the Compiled flag of an object.
Read and compare 2 files.
Save the list to a comma seperated text file.
Print the list.
Transfer the list to Excel (Excel must be installed).
National characters in object Name and Version List are shown correctly (converted from ASCII used in the fob file to Windows ANSI).
Can check for updates.
Use Drag-and-Drop to open files.
Can mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Set filter for the columns in the list.
If you associate the file extension .fob with the program, you can double click the file and the program will open it.

Change History

Version 1.8
Increased speed greatly when marking objects in Object Designer by setting filter for 20 objects at a time instead of just one object at a time.
After marking objects in Object Designer, "Select All" Objects are no longer performed.

Version 1.7
Minor changes only.
Changed how the current row in grid moves when pressing Page Up and Page Down.
Improved detection that user has removed focus from Navision when marking objects in Object Designer.

Version 1.6
Improved object marking to work better with a client connected to a slow server.
Added Intelligent Object Marking: When marking objects from multiple fob files, the same objects are not unmarked.
- It can by turned on and off in Settings.
- It currently only works in Windows XP with med Windows Classic theme. It doesn't work with Windows XP theme. Sorry. I'll try to fix that later.
- It is only tested with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Made vertical scrollbar (thumb size) proportional, so it reflects the number of rows in the grid.
Open buttons now include *.txt and *.xml in file type list (in addition to *.fob and *.fbk). This was forgotten in previous versions.
Added setting to select small or large toolbar buttons. Was previously only available by right clicking the toolbar.
Filter for a column is now indicated by a bold column header.
Shows in status bar how many objects are in the list.
Now shows various controls according to Themes in Windows.

Version 1.5
Possible to filter the list, by clicking column header or using the toolbar button or pressing Ctrl+F7.
Filters can by cleared by using the toolbar button or pressing Shift+Ctrl+F7.
You can use wildcards * and ? in filters, to set a filter such as @*item* in the Name column.
You can't use |, &, , = or .. as you can in Navision.
Fixed bug when reading XML files. It could not read some XML files.
Made export to Excel faster by making Excel not visible when transferring data.
Shows progress bar when saving to file, printing, exporting to excel.
Optimized marking of objects in Object Designer a little.
Possible to switch between small and large toolbar buttons by right clicking the toolbar.
Changed Main Icon and toolbar button graphics a bit.
Shows hint in status bar.

Version 1.4
New toolbutton to mark objects in Navision Object Designer.
Minor change: Only shows hint in grid if text is longer than column width.
Minor change: Paint grid lines in full client area of grid.

Version 1.3.1
Improved reading of fob files. I reveived a couple of fob files which the program could not read.

http://www.mibuso.com/dlinfo.asp?FileID=1112

Discuss this download here.