What Is Base64 and ASCII Text?
Base64 is an encoding scheme that uses 64 different characters to represent its numbers. The Base64 characters include the numerals 0 to 9, all letters of the alphabet (in both uppercase and lowercase), and the "+" and "/" symbols.
On the other hand, ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) text is a format that uses a collection of characters that includes letters A through Z (both lowercase and uppercase), numbers 0 through 9, and many basic punctuation symbols.
While the two may seem interchangeable and do share some similarities, they're used for very different purposes and are not the same. For example, ASCII is a universally-understood character set for data communication that allows for the creation of interfaces that both humans and computers are able to understand.
Conversely, Base64 is an encoding scheme that's primarily used to convert binary data (a collection of 1s and 0s) into printable characters that people can understand.
Also, ASCII has a longer history than Base64. The first edition of the ASCII was published back in 1963 as a computing standard, and it has gone through several revisions over the years, including in both 1967 and 1986. Base64 was initially known as printable encoding when it was first described back in 1987, but a few years later (in 1992) it was defined as Base64 for the first time, thanks to its 64 characters.
What Is the Base64 to Text Converter?
This tool lets you quickly and easily convert your Base64 characters into ASCII text characters. It works directly in your browser with no download or account needed, and is completely free to use. You're able to use it as often as you'd like, and it doesn't require any special knowledge about numbering systems to use successfully.
How to Use the Base64 to Text Converter
- To begin the conversion process, enter your base64 characters into the "Base64" box on the left side of your screen.
- Once all of the characters are added, begin the conversion process by clicking the "Convert Base64 to Text" button.
- Almost instantly, the tool will convert your base64 characters into text, and display the data in the "Text" box on the right side of the screen.
- In addition to writing it out manually, you can also copy or download the text by pressing the icons above the "Text" box.
- If you have additional base64 characters you'd like to convert to text, simply press the eraser icon above the "Base64" box, and then repeat these steps again from the start.
- If you need to convert some text into base64 instead, it's as easy as clicking the "Go to Text to Base64 Converter" button.