TDVersionExplorer is a .NET (4.8) application developed to analyze and convert Gupta Team Developer (TD) files.
Its main functions include analyzing folders for TD-related files and converting files between different TD versions.
- Analyze TD Files: Supports analysis of various TD file types (APT, APP, APL, EXE, DLL, APD, QRP), identifying attributes such as version, file type, outline format, encoding, and bitness.
- Convert TD Source Files: Allows upgrades to newer TD versions or backports to older versions, supporting seamless version transitions.
TDVersionExplorer provides a way to scan a folder’s contents to quickly identify Gupta Team Developer files and retrieve key information about each.
This is achieved by inspecting specific parts of file contents, regardless of whether they are text or binary files.
This feature helps inspect installations or folders containing source files to locate TD-specific files easily.
- Supported File Types: TD sources, DLLs, EXEs, Dynalibs, and reports (QRP).
- Attributes Identified:
- TD Version: Detects the TD version associated with each file, supporting versions from TD 1.0 through TD 7.x.
- Version Code: Displays precise version codes for greater detail.
- File Type: Identifies the file type (source, exe, dll, apd and qrp) for both x86 and x64
- Outline Format: Recognizes the outline format (TEXT, INDENTED TEXT, NORMAL, or COMPILED).
- Bitness: Specifies whether the file (for binary files) is x86 or x64.
- Encoding: Shows the encoding of source text files (e.g., UTF8/ASCII or UTF16).
- Folder Selection: Choose the folder to analyze.
- Filter Options: Filter results by file type, such as TD DLL/EXE files, TD sources, Dynalibs, or reports.
- Version Filtering: Restrict results to specific TD versions.
- Context menu on filename:
- Open the source file location in explorer
- Open the source in TD IDE (when installed)
- Open the .err file after conversion (when available)
- Context menu on selection column to select all/deselect all files to convert
- Open source and destination folders in explorer
- Sort list using column header
TDVersionExplorer includes an extensive list of sample TD files from each TD version, from TD 1.0 up to TD 7.x.
These are stored in the TDSampleFiles subfolder, with examples of source files in different formats, compiled executables, DLLs, Dynalibs, and QRP files for each version.
Selecting the "TD Sample Files" checkbox in the main form automatically sets this folder for analysis, providing a quick way to examine TD file details and conduct tests.
TDVersionExplorer also supports converting source files between TD versions, whether upgrading to newer versions or backporting to older ones.
Only TD source files with outline formats TEXT, INDENTED TEXT, or NORMAL (x86 only) are eligible for conversion.
- Source conversion only: Converts only source files, excluding DLLs, EXEs, and other binaries.
- Bidirectional conversion: Supports both upgrades to newer versions and backports to older versions.
- Outline format: Choose the output format for the converted file (NORMAL, TEXT, or INDENTED TEXT).
- Text encoding: Specify encoding for the conversion, such as UTF8 or UTF16.
- Rename file extension: Optionally change file extensions based on TD conventions (e.g., APP vs APT).
- Report CDK outline errors: Outline errors found during CDK load are saved to .err file along with the converted file
- Independent of TD installation: Conversion does not require any TD IDE or TD runtime version to be installed.
- Supports All Versions: Handles conversions between all TD versions, including both ANSI and Unicode. Only x86.
Conversion of TD sources is the process of adjusting the internal outline format to make a file compatible with the desired TD IDE version.
It does not automatically adjust or rewrite code for compatibility with specific TD versions.
TDVersionExplorer mimics the manual steps developers typically follow:
- Upgrading to newer versions: Open the source file in the TD IDE or CDK and allow it to be converted.
- Backporting to older versions: Open the source file in a text editor, adjust the outline version and encoding, and open the modified file in the desired TD IDE version.
These manual actions, especially backporting, can be tedious. The TD IDE and CDK often display error messages for outline issues, which must be dismissed manually.
TDVersionExplorer automates these processes, making conversion faster and less prone to repetitive strain.
TDVersionExplorer uses Team Developer CDK libraries (subset of TD runtime) to open and save source files.
This explains why the main TDVersionExplorer executable is relatively large—it includes all necessary TD version CDKs as embedded resources.
This design allows conversion without needing a local TD installation.
Depending on the source and destination versions, TDVersionExplorer automatically extracts the required CDK into a temporary folder and uses it to open and save files.
For backporting, TDVersionExplorer replicates the developer process by:
- Saving the source file in text format when not already
- Adjusting the internal TD version number.
- Setting the correct encoding (UTF8/ANSI or UTF16).
- Opening the modified file in the target TD version, letting it adjust the outline format, and dismissing any message boxes.
Manual backporting can be time-consuming due to message boxes that appear when incompatible outline items are found.
TDVersionExplorer automates these steps, closing message boxes automatically and significantly reducing manual effort.
The outline errors reported in the messageboxes are captured and saved to an .err file along with the converted file.
The conversion result will show CONVERTED_WITH_ERRORS. Open this .err file using the file context menu.
- Force conversion: Normally, conversion is skipped if the source and destination match in version, format, and encoding. This option forces conversion even if they are identical.
- Full CDK errors: Enables saving of all CDK-generated errors to an
.errfile, though this may slow down conversion significantly. - Rename file extension: Automatically renames file extensions based on conversion rules (e.g., converting from NORMAL to TEXT or vice versa changes
.appto.apt). Libraries (.apl) are never renamed. - KEEP ORIGINAL options: Allows preserving original attributes for TD version, outline format, and encoding during conversion. This option is useful for bulk conversions while maintaining the original format or encoding.
As TDVersionExplorer relies on original TD CDKs, it faces the same limitations as manual conversions:
- Corrupted files: Damaged files may crash the CDK during conversion. If the TD IDE cannot load a file, TDVersionExplorer won’t be able to either.
- Separate process for CDK operations: To avoid crashing the main application, each conversion is handled in a separate process (
TDVersionConverter.exe). Each TD version has a dedicated process, allowing for restarts if necessary. This design is also needed because multiple CDK versions cannot load simultaneously in the same process. - Architecture and format restrictions: Only x86 files can be converted; NORMAL x64 formats are not yet supported. COMPILED sources are also unsupported—save them as TEXT format before converting.
- Installation of TDVersionExplorer: extract the archive anywhere on your system. Make sure to keep all files and folders at that location as they are needed for correct functioning of the application.
- Log level control: Set the log level to capture either standard information or debug-level details during conversion.
- Open log: Easily access logs for reviewing action details and identifying any issues.
- Working (temp) folder: the TD CDK libraries and temp files are extracted and stored in (
%temp%\TDVersionExplorer). You can delete this folder to cleanup but this will cause TDVersionExplorer to extract the CDK which may reduce performance. Also for new versions of TDVersionExplorer it is advised to delete the folder to be sure any changes to CDK runtimes will be extracted. - During conversion multiple helper processes (
TDVersionConverter.exe) may be running. They keep running until the main application is closed. This is to improve performance between multiple conversion sessions. - Your system may "block" extracted files from the TDVersionExplorer archive. Be sure to unblock or allow to be sure TDVersionExplorer works properly.
- Have .NET 4.8 installed on your system when not yet present. TDVersionExplorer is designed to work in that .NET framework version.
- Missing Microsoft C++ redistributables
Since TDVersionExplorer relies on TD CDK libraries, which are a limited subset of the full TD runtime, some referenced DLLs, such as the Microsoft C++ runtime, may be missing or incomplete.
For most CDK archives within TDVersionExplorer (included as resources in the main executable), the necessary dependencies are included.
However, if conversion fails with ERROR_CDKLOAD or ERROR_CALLCDK errors, this indicates that required dependencies are not (yet) present on your system.
To resolve this, copy the complete TD runtime installation into the specified subfolder in the temporary directory, then check if the conversion works.
These files are generally available as separate redist files in the TD Deploy setup.
If additional files are required, please report this so they can be added to the official archive.
- Crashing TDVersionExplorerConverter helper process
On some versions of Windows, the helper process may abruptly terminate during CDK loading of the source, resulting in an ERROR_NAMEDPIPE error. This error indicates that CDK has encountered outline-related issues, causing both the CDK and helper processes to crash.
If this occurs, try running the conversion with the "Full CDK errors" option unchecked.
Disabling this option minimizes the likelihood of CDK encountering outline errors, reducing the chances of a crash.
If you enjoy this project and want to enhance it, contributions are welcome. Any assistance is appreciated, and changes can be submitted via pull requests.
If you'd like to become an official contributor, please contact me to be added to the project.
System Compatibility:
TDVersionExplorer has been tested on a limited range of systems with different versions of Windows OS and Microsoft C++ redistributables.
If you encounter issues on your setup, your feedback can help improve TDVersionExplorer’s stability and compatibility across a broader range of systems in the future.
Join the TD Community Forum for everything related to Gupta Team Developer for questions, answers and info.
Find me as Dave Rabelink on the forum mentioned above.