Name: 106 Editor for Mac Detailed Usage Guide
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Author: 爱上MAC

Source: 爱上MAC | Software download link: 106 Editor for Mac

106 Editor for Mac is a powerful hexadecimal editing and binary file analysis tool. It is specifically designed for software developers, reverse engineers, security researchers, and professionals who need to work directly with binary data. Unlike ordinary text editors, 106 Editor allows users to view, edit, analyze, and interpret any type of file at the byte level, offering advanced features such as template parsing, data structure highlighting, diff comparison, and script automation, making it a valuable assistant for deep file system exploration, protocol analysis, data recovery, and software debugging.

I. Detailed Overview of the Core Interface and Workspace

After launching 106 Editor, the main interface is clearly divided into multiple functional areas that together form an efficient workflow environment.

Menu Bar and Toolbar: Located at the top of the window. The menu bar contains all operation commands, while the toolbar provides shortcut buttons for common functions such as New, Open, Save, Undo, Redo, Find, and Apply Template.
Navigation Panel (Left Side): Typically displays two main tabs: “File Browser” and “Template Results.”
- File Browser: Displays the Sections, offset labels, and data structures parsed through templates in the currently opened file or project in a tree structure.
- Template Results: After the application template (Template) parses the file, this area displays all recognized data fields, types, values, and offsets in a clear hierarchy, allowing direct navigation and editing.
Main Editing Area (Center): This is the core workspace, displaying file contents in hexadecimal view by default.
- Offset Column: On the far left, displays the starting byte address of the current row (usually in hexadecimal).
- Hexadecimal Data Column: The middle area, displaying 16 bytes of hexadecimal values per row. Click to edit directly.
- Character View Column: On the far right, displays the ASCII characters corresponding to the hexadecimal data (non-displayable characters are usually represented by dots).
- This area supports synchronized scrolling; clicking in the character view also allows editing the corresponding hexadecimal value.
Information Panel and Status Bar (Bottom):
- Detailed Information Panel: Displays information such as the offset of the byte at the current cursor position, its decimal value, binary value, and the template structure field it belongs to.
- Status Bar: Displays key information such as total file size, current cursor position, editing mode (insert/overwrite), and character encoding.

II. Complete Workflow: From Opening to Exporting

Step 1: Create or Open a Project/File

Method:

After launching the software, click the menu bar “File” -> “Open”, or use the shortcut Command + O.
In the open file dialog, select the target file (such as a `.bin`, `.dat`, or executable file).
To create a brand-new empty file for editing, click “File” -> “New” or use Command + N, and specify the initial file size.

Step 2: Initial Viewing and Navigation

Method:

After the file is loaded, the main editing area will display its hexadecimal content. Use the mouse wheel or the up/down arrow keys to scroll and browse.
To quickly jump to a specific offset, click the menu bar “Navigation” -> “Go to Offset” or use the shortcut Command + G, and enter the hexadecimal offset (such as `0x1A0`) in the pop-up dialog.
Use “Navigation” -> “Mark Position” (Command + M) to set a bookmark at the current position, making it easy to quickly return later via “Navigation” -> “Go to Mark”.

Step 3: Apply Template to Parse Data Structures (Advanced Operation)

Method:

If the file format has a corresponding template (`.bt` file), it can be intelligently parsed. Click the menu bar “Template” -> “Run Template” or use the shortcut Command + T.
In the pop-up dialog, select or write a suitable template file. After applying, the “Template Results” panel on the left will display the parsed structures, arrays, strings, etc. Click any field, and the main editor and information panel will synchronously locate and highlight the corresponding byte data.

Step 4: Edit Data

Method:

Directly edit hexadecimal values: In the hexadecimal column of the main editor, click or use the arrow keys to move to the target byte, and directly enter the new hexadecimal value (0-9, A-F).
Edit character view: Click in the character view column on the right to directly enter ASCII characters, and the corresponding hexadecimal value will update automatically.
Fill data block: Select an area (click and drag), then click the menu bar “Edit” -> “Fill” to fill the entire selection with a specified byte value.
Undo and redo: Any editing operation can be undone with Command + Z and redone with Command + Shift + Z.

Step 5: Find and Replace Data

Method:

Click the menu bar “Search” -> “Find” or use Command + F.
In the Find dialog, you can enter a hexadecimal sequence (e.g., `48 65 6C 6C 6F`) or a text string to search. Options such as case sensitivity and forward/backward search are supported.
The replace function is located at “Search” -> “Replace” (Command + Option + F), allowing you to replace found hexadecimal sequences or text with specified content.

Step 6: Compare File Differences

Method:

Click the menu bar “Tools” -> “Compare Files”.
Select the two files you want to compare, and the software will open a new comparison view, highlighting byte differences between the two files in different colors.

Step 7: Save and Export the Final File

Method:

To save changes to the current file, click “File” -> “Save” or use Command + S.
To save the current file as a new file, click “File” -> “Save As” (Command + Shift + S).
You can export a specific portion of the file: first select the data region you want to export, then click “File” -> “Export Selection” to save the selected bytes as a separate new file.

III. Advanced Tips for Common Features

Script Automation: 106 Editor supports powerful scripting capabilities (based on a C-like language). Through “Script” -> “Run Script”, you can write or load scripts to automate tasks such as batch editing, complex parsing, and data extraction, greatly improving efficiency when handling repetitive work.
Custom Template Writing: For known proprietary file formats, you can learn to write custom templates (`.bt` files). A template is essentially a declarative language for describing file structures, allowing you to define structs, variable types, loops, conditional statements, and more, transforming messy byte streams into highly readable structured data trees.
Data Interpreter: Select a segment of bytes, right-click and choose “Interpreter” to quickly interpret it as various data types, such as integers (big-endian/little-endian), floating-point numbers, timestamps, IP addresses, etc., with no need for manual calculation.
Bookmark and Annotation Management: In addition to marking positions, you can also add annotations for important offsets. Through “View” -> “Show Bookmarks & Annotations Panel”, you can centrally manage all markers and build up analysis notes.

IV. Common Problems and Solutions

Symptom	Possible Cause	Solution
The software lags or becomes unresponsive when opening large files	The file is too large, and loading it entirely into memory at once causes resource strain.	Before opening the file, go to the menu bar “Edit” -> “Preferences” -> “General” and adjust the “file loading mode”, trying “load only part into memory” or “disk mapping” mode.
After applying a template, the parsing result is garbled or incorrect	1. The template does not match the file format. 2. The file base address is set incorrectly.	1. Confirm whether the template used is suitable for the current file. 2. Before running the template, check and correctly set “Template” -> “Set Base Address”.
Saving after editing fails, with a prompt saying “File is locked” or “Insufficient permissions”	1. The file has the read-only attribute. 2. The file is being occupied by another program. 3. There are no administrator permissions to modify system files.	1. Check the file attributes in Finder and uncheck “Read-only”. 2. Close any programs that may be occupying the file. 3. For system files, consider using “Save As” to another location, or obtaining permissions through the terminal.
Cannot find a hexadecimal sequence when searching, but the data is confirmed to exist	1. The search direction is set incorrectly. 2. The search input format is incorrect (e.g., extra spaces). 3. Encoding issues (e.g., encoding mismatch when searching text).	1. Check the “Direction” option in the search dialog. 2. Make sure the hexadecimal sequence is separated by spaces, such as `00 FF A1`. 3. Try selecting “Hex values” instead of “Text string” in the “Find” option.
The character view displays garbled text	The byte data in the current region is not ASCII or UTF-8 text; it may be machine code, integers, or other binary data.	This is normal. The character view is for reference only. You can use the template or interpreter feature to correctly interpret the actual meaning of the data in that region.

V. Mac Shortcuts Summary Table

Function Category	Operation Description	Shortcut (Mac)
File Operations	New File	`Command + N`
Open File	`Command + O`
Save File	`Command + S`
Save As	`Command + Shift + S`
Close Current File	`Command + W`
Editing Operations	Undo	`Command + Z`
Redo	`Command + Shift + Z`
Copy Selected Data	`Command + C`
Paste Data	`Command + V`
Navigation Operations	Go to Offset	`Command + G`
Mark Current Position	`Command + M`
Go to Next Mark	`F2`
Go to Previous Mark	`Shift + F2`
Search Operations	Find	`Command + F`
Find Next	`Command + G` (after the Find window is open)
Replace	`Command + Option + F`
Templates & Tools	Run Template	`Command + T`
Compare Files	No global shortcut; access via the menu
Run Script	`Command + R`
View	Toggle Insert/Overwrite Mode	`Ins` key

Note: This guide is written based on the general functional interface and operation logic of 106 Editor. Minor features or shortcuts may differ between versions. It is recommended to refer to the software’s built-in help documentation (Command + ?) during actual use for the most accurate information.