How do I open a file in binary/plaintext format on Mac OS X?

How do I open a file in binary/plaintext format on Mac OS X? This is the thing bugging me. I'd like to see some of my files in binary or plaintext format, but I can't figure out how to do it for all files. I can open some image files in plaintext using Textedit, but that's all I can figure out. Anyone know anything?
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 355

Total answers/comments: 4

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bert [Entry]

"You can use Emacs hexl-mode.

In the terminal, type 'emacs' and the name of the file you want to open. When emacs opens up the file, type option-x hexl-mode."

bert [Entry]

The editor of my choice for these kinds of things is Smultron.
The editor of my choice for these kinds of things is Smultron.

bert [Entry]

"You can always drop into a Terminal shell session, and use cat or hexdump to view any file as a text or hexadecimal file.

TextEdit will also display plain text files (as will about any other text editor, as noted by others)."

bert [Entry]

Open the file with TextEdit - the plain text editor on MacOS - I was surprised it worked after trying for many days, many ways from many sources