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I want to edit a binary file, but I don't want to use another tool other than Visual Studio because it's a pain to switch back and forth.

Is there perhaps an add-in or some built in functionality that can do that in Visual Studio?

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4 Answers 4

Reset to default
315
  1. Menu File → Open → File
  2. Select the file to be opened
  3. On the open file dialog at the bottom there is a down arrow on the "Open" button
  4. Click "Open With..."
  5. Click "Binary Editor"
  6. Click OK

Or for the keyboard geeks out there:

  1. Ctrl + o
  2. Ctrl + v (paste filename)
  3. tab
  4. tab
  5. ↓
  6. w
  7. b
  8. Enter
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8 Comments

Loved the keyboard geeks part!
+1 for the answer, but now for a rant (not against Kevin's answer, but against these controls)... Those buttons-with-options that MS uses sometimes in file open dialogs (does this control have a commonly used name?) seem like a neat idea, but from a usability perspective they don't work well. At least for me. While there's the little down-arrow indicator on the button, it still strikes me as non-discoverable since that indicator is effectively invisible. I never notice them, and from the questions I've seen where the answer is 'use that little down arrow on the button', I'm not the only one.
it seems it is not available in Express edition (or maybe there is something to active in settings/options which is not enabled by default ?).
From msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cb4x6esf.aspx The Binary Editor is not available in Express editions.
The "Binary Editor" option isn't showing up for me in VS2017 Pro.
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12

In addition to Kevin's answer, with Visual Studio 2017 you need to have the Visual Studio C++ Core Features component installed.

Source

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5

Another way to do it is to rename your file to .bin and drag it into VS editor

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1
  1. right click the file in Solution Explorer,
  2. select 'Open With...'
  3. select 'Binary Editor'

Let's enjoy the hex world :)

enter image description here

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