What is a binary file?

Binary files contain formatting information that only certain applications or processors can understand. While humans can read text files, which typically contain only ASCII text, binary files must be run on the appropriate software or processor before humans can read them. For example, only Microsoft Word and possibly other word processing programs can handle the formatting information in a Word document. Executable files, compiled programs, SAS and SPSS system files, spreadsheets, compressed files, and graphic (image) files are all examples of binary files.

When you are transferring files using FTP, sometimes you will need to specify whether the file you want to transfer is a binary file. (Most current FTP software will understand this automatically.) For more information, see When using FTP, why might programs and files fail to transfer properly?

Also see:

• What is BinHex, and how can I decode a BinHex (.hqx) file?
• In Unix, how do I uuencode a binary file?
• How do I decode a Macintosh file with a .bin extension?
• What is ASCII?
• What are binary, octal, and hexadecimal notation?