Reading asBuilt files from motorcraft?

[nitrobass24]

I've downloaded my asbuilt file from the motorcraft website, but I am trying to figure out how to get it into excel in a format that I can read like a normal person. What kind of formatting is this in, its not XML or JSON so I am struggling to import and parse it easily....really dont want to write a script to do this if I dont have to.

Surely I am not the first to this, any advice?

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[Big Dog Daddy]

This is one of the best ways to look at your As Built files downloaded from Ford or Forscan. Download this program and install it on a PC. Within the program you'll be able to open and view your As Built file. The program will also allow you to open as many as 4 As Built files at one time and highlight the differences. It will also show you the F188 for each module at the same time for comparison. You can copy and paste from it into excel, but in my experience excel doesn't play well with hex code.

https://www.compulsivecode.com/Project_AsBuiltCompare.aspx

 

[JEB]

I've downloaded my asbuilt file from the motorcraft website, but I am trying to figure out how to get it into excel in a format that I can read like a normal person. What kind of formatting is this in, its not XML or JSON so I am struggling to import and parse it easily....really dont want to write a script to do this if I dont have to.

Surely I am not the first to this, any advice?

I’ve found that if you download the as-built file from Motorcraft and then change the suffix from .ab to .xml a lot of readers can open it.

 

[Big Dog Daddy]

@JEB try the program from the link I posted above. Its free, and you'll never use exel again to look at an as built.

 

[nitrobass24]

Total wild thinking as I’ve never decided to do this but is there a chance you can just copy the data that’s available in plain text on the Motorcraft site? It’s decently formatted on there

Well I feel pretty stupid right now. Obviously that works pretty darn well. Of course I have a mostly written shell script, but this is a 100x easier.

 

[JEB]

@JEB try the program from the link I posted above. Its free, and you'll never use exel again to look at an as built.

Thanks. I have it and have used it for a couple of years. It’s a very useful program. But unless I’m comparing as-builts there are other readers I prefer because they format things in a way that is easier for me to read and convert. For Windows, I usually use an app called XML Notepad. On an iPad, I use XML Pad.

 

[Big Dog Daddy]

Thanks. I have it and have used it for a couple of years. It’s a very useful program. But unless I’m comparing as-builts there are other readers I prefer because they format things in a way that is easier for me to read and convert. For Windows, I usually use an app called XML Notepad. On an iPad, I use XML Pad.

I just tried your XML renaming method, it works great! Thanks for the tip!

 

[nitrobass24]

The XML renaming didnt really work for me on the ABs I downloaded from the motorcraft site...I do however really like the ABCompare tool @Big Dog Daddy posted.

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