When editing a file in hexadecimal mode, EditPad Pro’s copy-and-paste intelligently changes its behavior depending on whether the cursor is in the hexadecimal section or ASCII section. You can directly copy and paste the hexadecimal representation as well as the actual bytes.
When you copy and paste between two files that you’re editing in hexadecimal mode in EditPad Pro, the position of the cursor doesn’t matter. EditPad Pro always pastes the actual bytes that you copied.
The position of the cursor matters when you copy and paste between a file you’re editing in hexadecimal mode, and another which you’re editing in text mode. It also matters when you copy and paste between a file you’re editing in EditPad Pro, and a file you’re editing in another application. It doesn’t matter if the other application is a text editor, hex editor, or something else entirely. Microsoft Windows does not provide a standard clipboard format for bytes in a hex editor. When you copy and paste between two different hex editors, it’s always text that gets transferred by the clipboard.
When copying in EditPad Pro with the cursor in the hexadecimal section, EditPad will place the hexadecimal representation on the clipboard. E.g. when selecting the four bytes “test”, “74657374” will be copied to the clipboard. If the cursor is in the ASCII section, the actual bytes will be copied to the clipboard, e.g. “test”. When you paste into a file in EditPad that you’re editing in text mode, “74657374” or “test” will be pasted, depending on how you copied it. When pasting into another application, the application will see “74657374” or “test” on the clipboard, depending on how you copied it in EditPad Pro. If the other application is a hex editor, it may or may not interpret “74657374” to be the same as “test”.
If you copy “test” to the clipboard from a file you’re editing in text mode in EditPad, or if another application placed “test” on the clipboard, EditPad Pro will always paste the four bytes “test”, even when the cursor is in the hexadecimal section. The position only matters when you copy “74657374” from a text file, or if another application places “74657374” on the clipboard. If the cursor is in the hexadecimal section, EditPad will interpret “74657374” as four bytes “test”. “74 65 73 74” will appear in the hex section, and “test” in the ASCII section. If you paste “74657374” with the cursor in the ASCII section, then EditPad Pro will paste the eight bytes “74657374”. “74657374” will appear in the ASCII section, and “37 34 36 35 37 33 37 34” in the hexadecimal section.
When you read my explanation like this, it may all seem a little confusing. But actually, once you know to pay attention to whether the cursor is in the hexadecimal or ASCII section, it all works very naturally. Just hit the Tab key on your keyboard to flip the cursor between hex and ASCII.