# Overview

## What is IDA Disassembler?

IDA Disassembler translates compiled binary programs back into human-readable assembly code. Whether you're analyzing malware or mobile apps, IDA reconstructs the program's logic so you can understand what it actually does.

Its versatility makes it ideal for analyzing various embedded systems and software (see [supported processors](https://docs.hex-rays.com/core/disassembler/specification/supported-processors) and [file formats](https://docs.hex-rays.com/core/disassembler/specification/supported-file-formats)).

The key feature of IDA disassembler is its *interactivity*. IDA involves you in the analysis process: it flags suspicious instructions, highlights unresolved references, and lets you guide the disassembly. This makes it especially powerful for complex binaries where fully automatic analysis would miss important context.

### IDA View / Disassembly Window

The main Disassembler workspace is the [**IDA View**](https://docs.hex-rays.com/user-interface/concepts/subviews#ida-view-disassembly-window) (also called the Disassembly window), which opens automatically when you load a binary, and its autoanalysis completes. Depending on the current location, it displays either Graph mode or Text (linear) mode, switchable between them by using Space. You can customize how items are displayed from **Options → Disassembly**.

From this tab, you can adjust address representation, line prefixes, comments, indentation, opcode byte display, and other formatting options that control how the disassembly appears in both Graph and Text modes.

**See also**

* Learn more about IDA View in [Subviews](https://docs.hex-rays.com/user-interface/concepts/subviews#ida-view-disassembly-window)
* Dive deeper into [Graph View](https://docs.hex-rays.com/core/disassembler/concepts/graph-view) or [Proximity View](https://docs.hex-rays.com/core/disassembler/concepts/proximity-view)

### Background Analysis

IDA performs **background analysis** continuously, processing the binary whenever you're not actively issuing a command. You disassemble a program together with IDA, but your requests have priority.

The state of background analysis is shown on the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

It's recommended to let autoanalysis complete before making manual changes, as disabling it can cause incomplete or unexpected results in features that depend on full control-flow tracing (e.g., if you try to convert data into instructions, IDA will not trace all the threads of control flow and the data will be converted into instructions only on the screen).

**See also**

* [analysis options](https://docs.hex-rays.com/user-interface/reference/menu-bar-actions/common-actions-5#analysis-options), where you can fine-tune the analysis process, i.e., by disabling auto-analysis or configuring processor-specific analysis settings.