How to open a .SEF file that now looks like gibberish

Question

I am trying to read .SEF files such as this https://github.com/freight-trust/xsef/blob/9d33443947ed0972d0db498c415feff467df5496/libsef/edifact/COARRI_D95B.EVAL0.SEF. No matter what I try, I can only come up with gibberish like:

ù[-…—´uËhcËi¿[G©Ð»q9ÜõðaM#æƒ)r·ª¾

I tried reading the file with Notepad++ and with format-hex in PowerShell, but neither gives me what I suppose it should look like (an EDIFACT file, something like "DTM+120345:102'MOA+5:203+USD'" or similar). Does someone have ideas on what I should try to do, or how to open files like this in a readable format? Thank you in advance.

Edit: P. S. If you know how to do this, can you guide me through on how it actually should be done? I mainly use PHP and some Java, but any language is fine for this problem.

Try this: https://www.edidev.com/eval_SefReader.html – Andrew May 03 '22 at 14:08 — Andrew, May 03 '22 at 14:08

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered May 03 '22 at 14:35

I've been there before myself. At first, reading your post I thought "Oh great, more of these unreadable SEF files!". If you look at the file extension you'll see they are EVAL0.SEF files and these files are unfortunately encrypted and only work with their evaluation software, such as SEF Reader and SEF Manager (maybe more).

Here on this page: https://www.edidev.com/eval_SefFile.html you can see the (are they the same files?) similar files. While on https://www.edidev.com you'll find more information and this explanation somewhere:

SEF files for evaluation are in a secured format which only works with the evaluation version of Framework EDI.

Back to the original question:

I am trying to read .SEF files such ...

If all you need is reading them, you can install their evaluation copy. But I have a hunch that reading these files was only the beginning for you. For what comes after, I would avoid "EVAL0" files, you won't be able to use them in the true context of SEF.

Thanks, Hugo, you helped me a lot! And yeah, reading the files is not the only thing. I'll keep in mind what you said about the EVAL0 files! — Suvi Salo, May 04 '22 at 08:50
Yes, it indeed looks like the files available there, are encrypted and can only be decrypted by the SEFManager tool. It would be interesting to know, as SEF is an open and free standard, whether there are download site where SEF files can be downloaded that are free for everyone to use? — Lanzelot, Feb 02 '23 at 16:22

How to open a .SEF file that now looks like gibberish

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