CODEWITHSUNDEEP
file-iocharacter-encoding
Mike Marks
Mike Marks

Reputation: 10139

Re-encode a file back to Unicode after being saved as regular text

is there a way to take a file that is originally encoded Unicode, then it is saved as ASCII, to take it back to Unicode?

Here's what's happening. I have a data file that has French characters (accents/etc.). The original file shows them fine because it's Unicode. Then, the file is modified and saved as non-Unicode, so now all of the French accents are replaced by question marks. Is there any way to take this file and convert it back to Unicode to correctly display the French characters?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 56

Answers (1)

Karol S
Karol S

Reputation: 9432

If the question marks is what Notepad is showing, then no, the data has been corrupted irreversibly and you need to re-place the accented letters back by hand.

ASCII doesn't contain accented letters, so whatever was there, is now gone.

I also suggest using a web browser to open the file and see if changing the encoding makes the accented characters appear, but from your description I'm giving it minuscule chances of success.

Upvotes: 1

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