Cygnus Hex Editor Free Edition

Cygnus Hex Editor Free Edition is a simple-to-use application that gives you the possibility to examine files via hexadecimal display as well as to modify their structure this way.
It features an intuitive set of options that can be tackled with ease by all types of users who are curious enough to take files apart and find out what makes them tick.

Simple setup and clear-cut interface

Setting it up is easy, since there aren't any special options, software requirements, or ad-supported components involved. When it comes to the interface, Cygnus Hex Editor Free Edition adopts a large window with a plain and clear-cut structure, where you can just drop a file to view its hexadecimal code.

View and edit files in hexadecimal code

It's possible to make modifications, undo and redo actions, search and replace strings of characters, and jump to a specific offset in decimal or hexadecimal form.
In addition, you can hide the toolbar and status bar to make the main window look less cluttered, as well as view file properties, namely the location, size in bytes, original size, and whether it's modified or read only.

Configure application preferences

Regarding program settings, you can allow drag-and-drop editing and scroll tracking, show all characters, instruct Cygnus Hex Editor Free Edition to create a new file on startup, and modify the default undo and redo levels. The file structure modifications can be overwritten to the original file or saved to a new one by establishing the output directory and file name.

Evaluation and conclusion

Although Cygnus Hex Editor Free Edition hasn't received updates for a long time, it worked smoothly on newer Windows editions in our tests. We haven't come across any compatibility issues. It had minimal footprint on system resources, using low CPU and RAM.
Taking all these aspects into account, the software application turns out to be stable and reliable for viewing and editing files in hexadecimal format.