This file contains release notes on the ASN1VE 2.5 release.
ASN1VE (ASN.1 Viewer/Editor) is a graphical user interface (GUI) tool for analyzing and editing ASN.1 encoded data. It provides the capability to assign an ASN.1 schema to binary data to produce multiple views of the data showing all of the assigned type and element names. It also provides editing capabilities to allow data elements embedded within a message to be modified, added, or deleted.
The following new capabilities have been added:
- Added capability to create and edit non-ASN.1 headers. Structured message files such as Call Detail Record (CDR) files often contain headers that prefix ASN.1-encoded data blocks. Previous versions of ASN1VE had the capability to skip these non-ASN.1 blocks when viewing the files, but it was not possible to examine the contents in any way. This new release adds the capabilites to define fixed-sized fields of a few simple types (integer, character string, binary data) within these headers.
- Configuration file editing. It is now possible to edit XML configuration files from directly within the editor. This can be done by right-clicking the file in projetc view and choosing the Edit option.
- Built-in support for 3GPP TS 32.297 headers. This is a standard header format now used in many LTE-related and other CDR formats.
- Improved project creation and editing. Project information can now be edited directly within the project frame or by using the new 'Project -> Edit Project..' command.
Documentation for this release is available in the ASN1VE help menu.
The steps to install ASN1VE on a Windows system are as follows:
- Download the ASN1VE package distribution file.
- ASN1VE for Windows is packaged in a self-extracting executable file format. To install, all that should be necessary is to double-click this file after downloading and then following the setup wizard instructions.
- The free edition of ASN1VE is now ready. To use the full version options, the options must be enabled by entering a license key value through the Edit -> Configure.. option under the License tab. This key value would have been sent via E-mail if you requested a full version evaluation.
NOTE: An internet connection is required to activate a license using the key. If it is not available, contact us for a license file.
- ASN1VE should now be operational. It should be available from both the desktop and as a start menu item under the group that was selected at installation time (by default, this would be the ASN1C group).
The following subdirectories contain the following key files (note: <installdir> refers to the installation directory that was specified during the installation process):
- <installdir>\bin\asn1ve.exe
- The main ASN1VE executable file. This program is invoked to run the ASN1VE graphic interface. If you need to run the program from the command line, it is recommended you modify your PATH environment variable to include
\bin to allow the ASN1VE executable to be run from anywhere.
- <installdir>\asn1specs
- This directory contains a collection of common ASN.1 specification files from existing standards that have been used with the tool.
- <installdir>\sample
- This directory contains sample programs containing encoded BER/DER message files (these files have a '.dat' or '.bin' extension) and corresponding ASN.1 schema files (these have extension '.asn'). ASN1VE can be used to view/edit these files by opening a message file (File/Open) and then assigning the schema (ASN.1/Assign ASN.1).
- <installdir>\sample_per
- This directory contains sample programs containing encoded PER message files and corresponding ASN.1 schema files. The message files generally have an '_a' suffix for aligned PER or '_u' for unaligned PER messages.
Sample messages and their ASN.1 files can be found in the asn1ve/sample and asn1ve/sample_perdirectories. The steps to open/edit/save a message are as follows:
- Start ASN1VE.
- Click on the File > Open Message menu item.
- Open the message.dat file in the asn1ve/sample/employee directory.
- A dialog box will appear asking for message format and encoding rules. For format, select 'Binary' and for encoding rules, select 'BER/DER/CER'.
- The message is opened and displayed in generic format.
- Click on the ASN.1 > Assign ASN.1 menu item.
- Assign the employee.asn file in the asn1ve/sample/employee directory.
- ASN1VE automatically finds the main type for the message and decodes it. If ASN1VE is not able to determine the main type, it will display the Select PDU Type dialog where a PDU type can be selected for the message.
- You can now edit the message and save as binary/xml/text format.
For a PER encoded message, the procedure is slightly different:
- Click on the File > Open Message menu item.
- Open the message_a.dat file in the asn1ve/sample/employee directory.
- A dialog box will appear asking for message format and encoding rules. For format, select 'Binary' and for encoding rules, select 'PER'.
- The Assign ASN.1 dialog is then displayed.
- Assign the employee.asn file in the asn1ve/sample/employee directory.
- The Select PDU Type dialog is then displayed.
- Select the PersonnelRecord type (this should be teh only option).
- You can now edit the message and save as binary/xml/text format.
An alternate way to load the message file is to use the project file that is available with some sample programs. This can be done by using the Project > Open Project menu item. If the sample program has a project file, it will show up when you navigate to the sample program directory.
Report problems you encounter by sending E-mail to support@obj-sys.com. The preferred format of example programs is the same as the sample programs. Please provide a message file and an ASN.1 syntax file (if it exists) and also indicate where the problem occurs.
If you have any further questions or comments on what you would like to see in the product or what is difficult to use or understand, please communicate them to us. Your feedback is important to us.