iHex - Hex Editor

iHex is a free IT-oriented Mac utility that's designed to edit hexadecimal computer data. It's certainly not intended as a fun, play-around program, not unless the computer user considers base-16 data manipulation an entertaining diversion. To the contrary, iHex is employed when programming wizards want to manipulate raw digital information. Down at the code level, where rows and columns of binary numbers and hexadecimal keys take control over unprocessed machine instructions, this lightweight Mac OS X app allows code-savvy users to edit any computer file or program.

First things first, this software features a minimalistic user interface, which is just as well, for the table-like strings of machine code occupying the program window are likely to quickly monopolize a coder's attention anyway. Using iHex, would-be programmers can reach under a file's familiar structure, right down to the machine code level, where base-16 instructions dwell. Remember, it's here, behind the scenes, that those raw numbers define how a program or file behaves. Just by changing one of those "Hex" digits, the fundamental instructions carried in the lines of code alter too. Load a file into iHex, edit the code, rearrange the data, delete a row or column or an individual digit, then drag and drop the new data so that the changes are permanently entered into the loaded file's machine code. That, after all, is the job of a Hex Editor, and this free utility carries out that job splendidly.

While it's true that a certain level of coding expertise is required to use a utility like this, the software designer has added a few workflow-simplifying features. Hard to read fonts can be swapped out for larger, more legible typefaces. And, considering the number of hex strings in a typical hex dump, some of the more maths-heavy features have thankfully been partially automated. Hence, the integration of a block number comparison function, which can summon up hex data and use color coded highlights to point out the edited differences. Additional editor-friendly features include a built-in hex finder, a data inspector, a single-stroke digit replacer, a bookmark function, and a checksum analyzer.