5. Projects, firmware and recovery
5.1. The .tceproj project
A project holds the whole working session — not just the firmware bytes but the editor state as well:
| What is stored | Description |
|---|---|
| Firmware | The full image at the moment of saving |
| Map snapshots | Parsed values and axes |
| Map windows | Open windows, their size and position, the active map, chart visibility per map |
| Table view | Scale (if not default), transposition, precision — per map |
| Undo history | Undo steps per map |
| Flags and notes | Color flags and your notes on maps |
| Checkpoints | Named snapshots of maps or of the whole session |
| Identity | Data of the recognized unit |
| Window layout | Layout and geometry of the main window |
| Action | Menu / keys | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| New project | File → New Project…, Ctrl+N | Empty session; with unsaved changes — a prompt |
| Open project | File → Open Project…, Ctrl+O; double-click a .tceproj in Explorer | The firmware is restored from the project; the unit is checked against the catalog again (the status bar shows "Loading catalog block...") |
| Save project | File → Save Project, Ctrl+S | To the current file; on the first save — a dialog |
| Save as | File → Save Project As… | New path |
| Recent projects | File → Recent Projects | Quick access |
A project can be overwritten — it is not the source firmware. Errors when opening a project are named plainly: "Project file is corrupted or has an invalid format", "Unsupported project file version", "Firmware file not found", "Firmware file size does not match the project", "Firmware identifier does not match the project".
5.2. Importing and exporting firmware
| Action | Menu / keys | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Import | File → Import Firmware…, Ctrl+Shift+O | Open a .bin, .rom or .mod file; with unsaved changes — a prompt |
| Drag-and-drop | Drag a file into the workspace | Same as import |
| Export | File → Export Firmware…, Ctrl+Shift+S | Write the full image with the edits to a new file; writing over the source file is not allowed |
The difference: "Save Project" saves the editor session; "Export Firmware" — only the file for programming into the unit or for other programs.
5.3. Crash recovery
While a firmware with unsaved changes is open, the program periodically saves a session snapshot. After an abnormal exit, the "Recovery" dialog appears on the next start:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| File | Firmware file name |
| Saved | Time of the last autosave |
| Changes | "unsaved changes" / "no unsaved changes" |
Restore — load the firmware, apply the edits and the window layout. Don't Recover — delete the recovery data and start with a clean window. The dialog is shown only if the catalog the firmware was opened from is available and the snapshot is intact.
Updated November 14, 2026 · for TCEPro 0.40.0