If you want to include binary files that PowerGREP can’t decode in your search, turn on “search through binary files” on the File Selector panel.
So by default, PowerGREP decodes all the file formats that it understands, and skips all other files that are not plain text files. Search (and Replace) through Binary Files in Text or Hexadecimal Modeįor most people, there is no point in searching through binary files without decoding them. You can only work with such files in a meaningful way using software that can decode the file’s format.
If you open a binary file in an application that displays the raw contents of a file, such as a plain text editor, you will see a bunch of weird characters that make no sense. The term binary file is used to indicate a file that is not a plain text file.
