Hex Editor guide

Getting started with Hex Editor

Hex Editor shows any file as bytes: offsets on the left, 16 bytes per row in hex, and the same bytes as text on the right. You can find, edit and save a copy. Nothing is uploaded.

Open Hex Editor

Open a file

Large files open too. Hex Editor reads the parts you look at, not the whole file at once.

1. Click Open a file, or Open at the top, and pick a file from this computer. You can also drop a file anywhere on the page.
2. To open a file you keep in Files, click Open from Files, or choose Open from Drive in the File menu.
3. The strip above the bytes shows the file name, its size, its type (read from its first bytes, such as JPEG image or PDF) and its SHA-256 hash.

Move around and find bytes

Click a byte to select it. Drag, or Shift+click, to select more. Click an offset to select its whole row. The strip shows the selection's start, end and length.

1. Type an offset in the Go box, in decimal or in hex such as 0x4D2, and click Go.
2. To search, choose Hex bytes or Text in the list next to it, type what you want (for example 4D 5A, or a word), and click Next.
3. Click Next or Prev again for the next or previous match. The search wraps at the ends.

Edit a byte

The text column on the right is for reading only. After an edit, the SHA-256 in the strip is marked as before the edit. Click Recalculate to compute it again.

1. Select a byte.
2. Type two hex digits. The first sets the high half of the byte, the second the low half, and the selection moves on.
3. Press Ctrl+Z to undo and Ctrl+Y to redo.

Save your changes

Nothing is saved until you ask, and the original is never overwritten.

1. Save version (Ctrl+S) writes a new file to Files next to the original, named like "name (v2).ext". A file opened from this computer is saved to a Files folder you pick.
2. Save as new (in the File menu) saves to a Files folder you choose.
3. Download saves a copy to this computer.

Tip: Right-click the bytes for Undo, Redo, Copy selection as hex, Go to offset and Find.

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