Opening an HQX File

The HQX file type is primarily associated with StuffIt Expander.

HQX	File extension: HQX
	File type:	Encoded file

What is an HQX file?

HQX files mostly belong to StuffIt Expander. HQX files use the BinHex 4.0 format to convert Macintosh files with binary data into an ASCII text format. This process wraps the complete file structure, including resource forks and metadata, so the file can move safely through systems that support only plain text.
Key details compiled by FilExt.com include:

Encoding Method: BinHex 4.0 converts binary data into text with error checking.

Macintosh Specific: It preserves both the data and the resource fork typical of Mac files.

These files are mainly used when transferring files via email or over networks that block binary data.

Decoding is required to restore the original file; utilities like StuffIt Expander can handle this task.

FilExt.com note: If you encounter an HQX file on your PC, use a dedicated BinHex decoder to extract and view its content.

How to open HQX files

You need a suitable software like StuffIt Expander to open an HQX file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your HQX file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a HQX file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online HQX Text Viewer

Choose your .hqx file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to extract texts from HQX files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

You can extract texts from HQX file or capture a preview screenshot using our online HQX file viewer:

To do so, click the "Choose your .hqx file to view" button above.
Your HQX file will then be displayed in the browser.
Now click on "Save as..." at the top of the page.
Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
Download the converted file.

Programs that open and convert HQX files:

StuffIt Expander
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. HQX files are often referred to as StuffIt Expander encodeds because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Apple Macintosh (Archive and compressed file type) by Apple
HQX file extensions are Macintosh BinHex (“binary-to-hexadecimal”) 4 Compressed Archive files which are employed in order to store binary format versions of documents, images, as well as multimedia files. BinHex format is used to store 8-bit binary data in the form of 7-bit text format. Even though the file size is larger, corruption is less likely to occur amongst the files which have been saved in this way. This led to preference of HQX files while transferring data over the email.
Macintosh BinHex 4 Compressed Archive
The BinHex format was created to satisfy two specific needs: To allow transferring binary files sent on the Internet and to bundle in a single container both forks composing a Macintosh file. The author, Yves Lempereur, also added a compression function, of the RLE type, to avoid sending repetitive sequences of identical characters. Typically lower case on *nix systems. The Mime types used with this association are: application/binhex, application/mac-binhex, application/mac-binhex40, application/octet-stream, application/x-gzip, application/x-stuffit, application/x-tar, application/x-winzip, application/x-zip-compresse. The identifying characters used for this association are - Hex: 28 54 68 69 73 20 66 69 6C 65 20 6D 75 73 74 20 62 65 20 63 6F 6E 76 65 72 74 65 64 20 77 69 74 68 20 42 69 6E 48 65 78 20, ASCII: (This file must be converted with BinHex .

HQX file format details:

The file format determines how the data is stored in the file. Each file format has a unique extension and almost always a unique signature. For example, Microsoft Word documents have the extension .docx and the signature (usually the first 3 characters in this file) PK. If the file extension or signature does not match the file format, errors will occur when opening or editing the file. When there is a problem with a file, the first step to solving it is to determine the file format. In the following you will find our evaluation of the HQX files:

The HQX file extension mainly uses a special format. The two most common formats are as follows:

75% of all HQX files belong to BinHex 4.0 encoded data. These files are plain text, which means they can be viewed with any text editor such as Windows Editor, Nano for Linux, and TextEdit for macOS. HQX files can be up to 200 MB in size, but are often around 56 KB - 6 MB. The file type was created 20 years ago but is still used today. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as (This file must be converted with BinHex 4.0). Files like these are about system, sounds, opted, triton, manual, names, shaft and korg.
5% of all HQX files start with the magic bytes From: , which are always the first bytes of this file format. If you open these files in a text editor, you can view and read the content yourself. A typical file size is 160 KB. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. From, Subject and This.

The remaining 20% of all HQX files are files with no common format, often e.g. fxXwp. These files sometimes refer to lemmings or demodownload. If you want to find out which format your HQX file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .hqx file to view".

Technical Data for HQX File Extension

File classification:

Encoded

Related files:

mac, sit, sea, hdx, pcs, heic, ttf, bin, zip

Mime type:

application/binhex, application/mac-binhex, application/mac-binhex40

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: StuffIt.Encoded.File.Expand, FileType: StuffIt Encoded File, AppName: StuffIt for Windows 8.0
EXEFile: stuffit.exe

ProgramID: StuffItEncoded, FileType: Aladdin Encoded File, AppName: Aladdin Expander

ProgramID: WinZip, FileType: WinZip File, AppName: WinZip
EXEFile: winzip32.exe

ProgramID: WinZip, FileType: WinZip File, AppName: WinZip Executable
EXEFile: winzip32.exe

ProgramID: ZipMagic HQX

ProgramID: StuffIt.Encoded.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt\\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell -override_open_tutorial

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\SHAREW~1\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: C:\DOCUME~1\ESTELA~1\MYDOCU~1\DEFAUL~1\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: C:\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: D:\EXTRA_~1\SMALLP~1\WINZIP9.0\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: G:\DOWNLO~1\WinZip\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: G:\SW\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: Y:\WINZIP\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: ZipZag.hqx
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ZipZag\zipzag.exe %1

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WINZIP~1.1FR\winzip32.exe %1

ProgramID: StuffItEncoded
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt 7.0\Expander\Expander.exe %1

ProgramID: pkzipfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PKWARE\PKZIPW\PKZIPW.exe %1

ProgramID: hfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET\Common7\IDE\devenv.exe /dde

ProgramID: StuffIt.Encoded.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Allume Systems\StuffIt\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell -override_open_tutorial

ProgramID: ALZip.hqx
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ESTsoft\ALZip\ALZip.exe %1

ProgramID: VuePrint
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\vuepro32.exe %1

ProgramID: StuffIt.Encoded.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt Standard\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell

ProgramID: StuffIt.Encoded.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt 7.5\stuffit.exe -expand %1 -from_shell

ProgramID: ICEOWSDoc
EXEFile: rundll32 %SystemRoot%\system32\ShellExt\IceGUI.dll,RouteTheCall

ProgramID: WinZip
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WINZIP8\winzip32.exe

ProgramID: StuffIt.Encoded.File.Expand
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Smith Micro\StuffIt\stuffit.exe -expand -from_shell -override_open_tutorial

ProgramID: pkarchive
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\PKWARE\PKZIPW4\pkzipw.exe

ProgramID: MimarSinan Codex
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /idlist,%I,%L

ProgramID: StuffItEncoded
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Aladdin Systems\StuffIt 7.0.2\Expander\Expander.exe

ProgramID: pkzipfile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\_WWWUT~1\Security\Mail\PKWARE\PKZIPW\PKZIPW.exe

ProgramID: StuffIt11.Archive.Open.Generic
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Smith Micro\StuffIt11\StuffIt11.exe -o

Show all 32 listings To Top

an hqx Encoded file is a special file format and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with HQX files

Associate the HQX file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open encoded files. Because only the current version supports the latest HQX file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the manufacturer website after an available StuffIt Expander update.
To make sure that your HQX file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .HQX file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.