Nex - .nxd

Originally in Excel form, Nex (Next ExcelDB) are database table files. SQEX converts them into a binary format (.nxd) - sister of FF14's .exd but with less metadata and little endian.

Unlike exd, there are no column metadata whatsoever. No names, no cell fields. All had to be manually mapped.

• .exd Documentation
• 010 Editor Template
• Reference Implementation (FF16Tools, C#)
• Table Layouts

Additionally, row data itself can contain nested structures or arrays.

Header

struct
{
    uint32_t magic <format=hex>; // 'NXDF'
    uint32_t version; // 1
    enum // uint8_t
    {
        NEX_ROWTYPE_ROWS = 1, // single-keyed rows
        NEX_ROWTYPE_ROWSETS = 2, // rows keyed by id, array index/key2
        NEX_ROWTYPE_DOUBLEKEYED = 3, // rows keyed by id, secondary id, array index/key3
    } type;

    enum // uint8_t
    {
        NEX_ROWS_UNLOCALIZED = 1,
        NEX_ROWS_LOCALIZED = 2,
        NEX_ROWSETS_UNLOCALIZED = 3,
        NEX_ROWSETS_LOCALIZED = 4,
        NEX_DOUBLEKEYED_ROWS_UNLOCALIZED = 5,
        NEX_DOUBLEKEYED_ROWS_LOCALIZED = 6
    } category;

    // Determines whether to use the baseRowId for searching.
    // if baseRowId is 1, searching for row id 0 will return the first row.
    bool usesBaseRowId; 
    uint8_t _reserved1_;
    uint32_t baseRowId;
    uint32_t _reserved2_[0x4];
} NexDataFileHeader; // size: 0x20

Following the main header, another header follows depending on the type of table.

Type 1 (Rows)

Simple rows with only one key.

struct
{
    int32_t rowInfosOffset; // Offset to a list of row infos for each row
    uint32_t numRows;
} NexRowTableHeader;

struct
{
    uint32_t rowID;
    int32_t rowDataOffset; // Relative to start of row info.
} NexRowTableRowInfo;

---

Type 2 (RowSet)

Row sets, with one key.

NexRowSetHeader

struct
{
    uint32_t thisHeaderSize; // Also used as an offset relative to this for NexRowSetInfo[].
    uint32_t arrayCount; // Number of row arrays in this table.
    uint32_t reserved;
    int32_t rowsInfoOffset; // Points to another list of the data for each row (not row set).
    uint32_t totalRowCount; // Total number of rows in this table.
} NexRowSetHeader;

NexRowSetInfo

struct
{
    uint32_t rowId; // main row id/set id.
    int32_t rowInfosOffset; // Offset to Type2RowSetRowInfo[], relative to this structure.
    uint32_t arrayLength; // Number of rows for this set/array.
} NexRowSetInfo;

NexRowSetRowInfo

struct
{
    uint32_t rowId;
    uint32_t arrayIndex; // array index, or key2.
    int32_t rowDataOffset; // Relative to this structure.
} NexRowSetRowInfo;

NexRowInfo

struct
{
    uint32_t rowId;
    uint32_t arrayIndex; // array index, or key2.
    int32_t rowDataOffset; // Relative to this structure. May be negative (reverse offset).
} NexRowInfo;

Type 3 (Double-Keyed Sets)

Rows sets, with two keys.

NexDoubleKeyedHeader

struct
{
    uint32_t thisHeaderSize;  // Also used as an offset relative to this for NexDoubleKeyedSetInfo[].
    uint32_t count; // Number of double-keyed sets in this table.
    int32_t rowInfoOffset;
    int32_t rowsInfoOffset; // Points to another list of the data for each row.
    uint32_t totalRowCount; // Total number of rows in this table.
} NexTriKeyedHeader;

NexDoubleKeyedSetInfo

struct
{
    uint32_t rowId; // Main row id.
    uint32_t subRowSetInfoOffset; // Offset to NexDoubleKeyedSubSetInfo[], relative to this structure.
    uint32_t numSubKeys; // Number of sub row keys.
    uint32_t unkOffset; // Unknown, never used.
    uint32_t unkAlways0; // Unknown, possible count for above, never used.
} NexDoubleKeyedSetInfo;

NexDoubleKeyedSubSetInfo

struct
{
    uint32_t subRowId; // or key2.
    uint32_t unkOffset; // Unknown, never used.
    uint32_t unkAlways0; // Unknown, possible count for above, never used.
    int32_t rowInfosOffset; // Offset to NexDoubleKeyedRowInfo[], relative.
    uint32_t numRows; // Number of rows for this subset.
} NexDoubleKeyedSubSetInfo;

NexDoubleKeyedRowInfo

struct
{
    uint32_t rowId;
    uint32_t subRowId; // or key2.
    uint32_t arrayIndex; // array index, or key3.
    uint32_t unkAlways0; // Unknown, never used.
    int32_t rowDataOffset; // Relative to this structure. May be negative (reverse offset).
} NexRowInfo;