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ClearModifications()

Clear only byte value modifications while preserving structural changes (insertions and deletions).

📋 Description

ClearModifications() provides granular control over clearing edits by removing only byte value modifications while keeping insertions and deletions intact. This is useful when you want to reset data values but maintain the file structure.

Most use cases should use ClearAllChange() instead. This method is for advanced scenarios requiring selective undo.

📝 Signature

public void ClearModifications()

Namespace: WpfHexaEditor Assembly: WPFHexaEditor.dll Since: V2.0

⚙️ Parameters

None

🔄 Returns

Type Description
void This method does not return a value

🎯 Examples

Example 1: Basic Usage

using WpfHexaEditor;

// Create editor and load file
var hexEditor = new HexEditor();
hexEditor.FileName = "data.bin";

// User modifies some bytes
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x42, 0x10);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0xFF, 0x20);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0xAA, 0x30);

// Later, user wants to reset byte values
hexEditor.ClearModifications();

// Result: All modified bytes are restored to original values
// File length unchanged

Example 2: Preserve Structural Changes

// Load file
hexEditor.FileName = "config.dat";

// User makes both structural and value changes
hexEditor.InsertBytes(0x100, new byte[] { 0xAA, 0xBB }); // Add 2 bytes
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x05, 0x200);                      // Change value
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x10, 0x300);                      // Change value
hexEditor.DeleteBytes(0x50, 5);                         // Remove 5 bytes

// Clear only the value modifications, keep structure
hexEditor.ClearModifications();

// Result:
// ✅ Insertions at 0x100 are KEPT
// ✅ Deletions at 0x50 are KEPT
// ❌ Modifications at 0x05 and 0x10 are CLEARED (restored to original)

Example 3: Undo Value Changes Only

// Scenario: User edited hex values but wants to keep file structure changes

// Apply some modifications
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x10, 0x100);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x20, 0x200);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x30, 0x300);

// Insert some data
hexEditor.InsertBytes(0x40, new byte[] { 0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF });

// User realizes byte values are wrong but structure is correct
hexEditor.ClearModifications();

// Result:
// - Byte values at 0x10, 0x20, 0x30 restored to original
// - Inserted data at 0x40 remains
// - File length unchanged

💡 Common Use Cases

1. Reset Value Edits While Keeping Structure

When patching files, you may want to keep size changes but reset value modifications:

// Add padding bytes
hexEditor.InsertBytes(0x1000, new byte[256]);

// Try different byte values
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x05, 0x50);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x10, 0x100);

// Values didn't work, reset them but keep padding
hexEditor.ClearModifications();

2. Experimental Value Changes

Testing different values without affecting structure:

// Insert header
hexEditor.InsertBytes(0, new byte[] { 0x4D, 0x5A }); // MZ header

// Experiment with configuration bytes
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x10, 0x100);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x20, 0x200);

// Experiments failed, reset values but keep header
hexEditor.ClearModifications();

3. Partial Undo Workflow

Complex editing workflow with selective undo:

// Phase 1: Add new section
hexEditor.InsertBytes(0x5000, new byte[1024]);

// Phase 2: Configure section
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x5000, 0x1000);
hexEditor.ModifyByte(0x5010, 0x2000);

// Phase 3: Remove old section
hexEditor.DeleteBytes(0x1000, 512);

// User wants to keep structural changes but re-configure section
hexEditor.ClearModifications();
// Now can re-apply different configuration values

⚠️ Important Notes

When to Use This vs ClearAllChange()

Scenario Use ClearModifications() Use ClearAllChange()
Reset all changes ❌ No ✅ Yes (recommended)
Keep insertions/deletions ✅ Yes ❌ No
Selective undo ✅ Yes ❌ No
File size must stay same ✅ Yes ❌ No (size resets)

Performance

  • ⚡ Fast - O(m) where m = number of modifications
  • 💾 No allocations - Clears in-place
  • 🔄 UI Update - Automatically refreshes viewport

Thread Safety

  • ⚠️ Not thread-safe - Call from UI thread only
  • ✅ Async safe - Can be called from async/await context

🔗 See Also

Related APIs

Other References

API Added: V2.0 Last Updated: 2026-02-19