Text guide
How to convert text to binary
Text-to-binary conversion encodes the text as bytes and writes every byte as eight bits. ToolPixels uses UTF-8, the standard encoding used across the web.
Open the Text to Binary toolConvert characters to bytes, then bits
For basic ASCII characters, UTF-8 uses one byte per character. The decimal value 65 for A becomes binary 01000001. Every byte is padded to eight digits so boundaries stay unambiguous.
Worked example
Cat becomes 01000011 01100001 01110100.
The three groups represent C, a, and t.
How to convert text to binary
- Paste text into the ToolPixels Text to Binary tool.
- Select Encode binary.
- Keep the spaces between 8-bit byte groups.
- Copy or download the output.
Spaces and line breaks in the original are encoded too. A space becomes 00100000, while a normalized LF newline becomes 00001010.
Unicode characters can use several bytes
One visible character does not always equal one byte. UTF-8 encodes é as the two bytes 11000011 10101001. Many emoji use four bytes, and some visible emoji sequences contain several Unicode code points.
Count binary groups as bytes, not characters. The byte count can exceed the visible character count without indicating an error.
Keep byte boundaries and encoding details
Removing leading zeroes makes the representation harder or impossible to decode reliably. Another system may also use UTF-16 or a legacy code page, producing different bytes for the same visible text.
- State that the encoding is UTF-8.
- Preserve all eight bits in every group.
- Do not treat the binary output as encryption.
- Use a file or hex tool for arbitrary non-text bytes.
Common questions
Why is each group eight digits?
A byte contains eight bits. Fixed-width groups preserve leading zeroes and make the stream straightforward to validate.
How do I reverse the conversion?
Paste the byte groups into the Binary to Text tool, which validates the bits and decodes the bytes as UTF-8.