Editing a .dat file that has certain properties in it

Take a look at this .dat file from the game Swat 3 it includes infomation of a mission.

mission111
{
Mission_Info
{
MapName Mission111
ShortName Explosions Heard, East LA Warehouse
Version 1.0
Dot_X 300
Dot_Y 270
ShortDesc Explosions Heard
ShortDesc_Type MissName_bottL
ShortDesc_Top 290
ShortDesc_Left 280
ShortDesc_Bottom 290
ShortDesc_Right 280
ShortDesc_PicLeft 60
ShortDesc_PicTop 201
Estab_Bmp Estab_Mission111


[FullDesc]
MISSION OBJECTIVES \nEvacuate Civilians \nLocate where bombs are coming from \nArrest the Suspect \n\nSee below for detail information...\n\nExplosions Heard \nA warehouse on the east side of LA, where bombs have been heard, Workers say its coming from inside the stairs. \n\nADDITIONAL INFORMATION \nNot know who the bomber is but so far nobody has been hurt. \n\nDIGNITARY INFORMATION \nDignitaries are workers of the warehouse no serious threat to them at this time, it has been advised to evacuate them
[End]

LoadingText Explosions Heard \nEast LA Warehouse

}

// Entrypoints must be in the same order as in the level...
Entrypoints
{
// Entrypoint Name
// ---------- ----
0 Main Area / Level 1
}

// see maps.dat for description. note that the estab. text name must be "Loading_" + mapname.
MapLoadData
{
// Map Entry # Training Estab. bitmap Estab. Text Stealth Music Dynamic Music Slides
// --- ------- -------- ------------- ----------- ------------- ------------- ------
Mission111 0 0 Loading_MissionH Loading_MissionH Stealth1 Dynamic1 (D5,D7,D9,D1,N1)
//Mission H, entry #0 interior lobby of theater. " Lobby Vestibule / Chang's Chinese Theater "
}

// see maps.dat for description.
Maps
{
// Map Timeframe Leader Red1 Red2 Blue1 Blue2 Medals Playable ShortName SmallEstabBmp
// --- --------- ------ ---- ---- ----- ----- ------ -------- --------- -------------
Mission111 0 (mp5,10,10,5) (mp5,10,10,5) (mp5,10,10,5) (mp5,10,10,5) (mp5,10,10,5) (1,1,1,1) 1 Mission111ShortName Create_Estab_Mission111
}

}

it might look messed up
But I want to be able to make a program that will edit the properties of this automaticly without having to open it in notepad and messing it up!

In short, you have to parse out all data you want using mid on the specific locations, by finding the tags or delimiters you know that won't change.

To find the tags use INstr$ or split
To get the date between two tags/delimiters use Mid$ function

huh?
Can you explain that a little more better?

Let's take an example, you want to parse out "Mission_Info" from:

Code:

---

mission111
{
Mission_Info
{

---

To do that you need to find both "{", and you can do it with Instr:

Code:

---

pos = 0
pos = InStr$(pos + 1, Text, "{")
starttag = pos
pos = InStr$(pos + 1, Text, "{")
endtag = pos
Data = Mid$(starttag + 1, endtag - starttag - 1)

---

Remember if you continue to search from that pos, keep the pos variable, don't change it anywhere since instr will use it to determine where to search next. The last argument you pass in Instr is what you search for.

how would I go about replacing the different values stored in the dat?

Add up all parts you parsed into pieces with & operator, for instance for:

Code:

---

mission111
{
Mission_Info
{

---

do:

Code:

---

Text="mission111 " & vbcrlf & "{" & vbcrlf & TheDataYouveChanged & vbcrlf & "{"

---

Now how do you put it into the .dat?

Code:

---

Open "C:\test.dat" for Binary as 1
    put#1,,Text
Close 1

---