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Most people asking how to open/edit .EXE or .DLL files are actually not really aware of what they are trying to deal with. EXE files are not plain, traditional text ASCII files that you can easily edit. You cannot simply open up an .EXE like a text file and start editing or reading the contents. Sometimes the only meaningful information inside DLL files is Vendor information (copyrights, trademarks, origins) and Version information. These files have a complex nested structure defined by the Portable Executable format.

If you want to change something in an EXE file, you may be able to do this by changing its resources with Resource Tuner. This way, you can change the interface of the program in that EXE file. You may also want to translate a program to your native language. But you will not be able to modify the actual code in any way.

Resource Tuner lets you open Windows executable files such as .EXE, .DLL, Device Drivers (.SYS), OCX Controls, and several others. Once inside, you can change the look of the icons, cursors, dialogs, buttons, sounds, animations and other elements of the Windows user interface by editing and replacing resources in the executable files. For more serious changes, check out PE Explorer. For editing icons, use AWicons PRO. For viewing and editing the raw data contents of a file, use Flex Hex Editor.

Resource Tuner contains a number of methods for opening files. To open a file for browsing or editing resources, click the toolbutton to the left or click File > Open [CTRL+O]. The dropdown menu next to the toolbutton gives you quick access to recently open files. This list can be also accessed from the File > Recent Files menu option. The number of files in the list can be controlled from the Customize dialog.

You can open a file in Resource Tuner by right-clicking it in Windows Explorer and selecting Open with Resource Tuner from the context menu:

Alternatively, you can drag and drop a file from the Windows Explorer onto the Resource Tuner icon or running Resource Tuner.

You can also open a file from the command line.
Usage:  restuner.exe <filename>

It is recommended to perform all file operations with copies of the originals and then only after you have moved the copies to a separate directory other than the parent or home directory of the executable.
The benefits are obvious and the not so obvious ones are OLE embedded executables then can still call some of their other DLLs or methods from DLLs in the parent directory.

Resource Tuner provides three functions that are automatically performed when opening a file: unpacking files compressed with UPX using the Plug-In subsystem, error checking, and precompiling resources.

IF OPENING A FILE PRODUCES AN ERROR:

If opening a file produces an error, that file is most likely damaged, packed or compressed. To continue working with this file requires a more powerful tool, such as Heaventools PE Explorer.

IF YOU WANT TO VIEW AND EDIT THE RAW DATA CONTENTS OF A FILE:

Then you need a binary hex editor: FlexHex editor. Use it for inspecting binary output, editing the raw data contents of a file, examining the structure of proprietary closed-format data files or old data in unknown formats, quick fixing executable or data files, creating binary files for test runs, and more.

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A command-line version of the resource editor is also available.
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