Get encoding of a file in Windows
Get encoding of a file in Windows
Get encoding of a file in Windows
Re: Get encoding of a file in Windows
Open up your file using regular old vanilla **Notepad** that comes with **Windows 7**.
It will show you the encoding of the file when you click "*Save As...*".
It'll look like this:
Whatever the default-selected encoding is, that is what your current encoding is for the file.
If it is UTF-8, you can change it to ANSI and click save to change the encoding (or visa-versa).
There are many different types of encodings, but this was all I needed when our export files were in UTF-8 and the 3rd party required ANSI. It was a onetime export, so Notepad fit the bill for me.
FYI: From my understanding I think "*Unicode*" (as listed in Notepad) is a misnomer for UTF-16.
More here on Notepad's "*Unicode*" option: [Windows 7 - UTF-8 and Unicode](https://superuser.com/questions/221593/windows-7-utf-8-and-unicode)
Update (06/14/2023):
Updated with screenshots of the newer Notepad and Notepad++
**Notepad** (Windows 10 & 11)**:**
Bottom-Right Corner: [](https://i.sstatic.net/Ix1BM.png)
"*Save As...*" Dialog Box: [](https://i.sstatic.net/d2d3q.png)
**Notepad++:**
Bottom-Right Corner: [](https://i.sstatic.net/RJnjc.png)
"*Encoding*" Menu Item: [](https://i.sstatic.net/a4Frc.png)
Far more Encoding options are available in NotePad++; should you need them.
Other (Mac/Linux/Win) Options:
I hear Windows 11 improved the performance of large 100+MB files to open much faster.
On the web I've read that Notepad++ is still the all around *large-file editor* champion.
However, (for those on **Mac** or **Linux**) here are some other contenders I found:
1). [Sublime Text](https://www.sublimetext.com/)
2). [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/)
It will show you the encoding of the file when you click "*Save As...*".
It'll look like this:
Whatever the default-selected encoding is, that is what your current encoding is for the file.
If it is UTF-8, you can change it to ANSI and click save to change the encoding (or visa-versa).
There are many different types of encodings, but this was all I needed when our export files were in UTF-8 and the 3rd party required ANSI. It was a onetime export, so Notepad fit the bill for me.
FYI: From my understanding I think "*Unicode*" (as listed in Notepad) is a misnomer for UTF-16.
More here on Notepad's "*Unicode*" option: [Windows 7 - UTF-8 and Unicode](https://superuser.com/questions/221593/windows-7-utf-8-and-unicode)
Update (06/14/2023):
Updated with screenshots of the newer Notepad and Notepad++
**Notepad** (Windows 10 & 11)**:**
Bottom-Right Corner: [](https://i.sstatic.net/Ix1BM.png)
"*Save As...*" Dialog Box: [](https://i.sstatic.net/d2d3q.png)
**Notepad++:**
Bottom-Right Corner: [](https://i.sstatic.net/RJnjc.png)
"*Encoding*" Menu Item: [](https://i.sstatic.net/a4Frc.png)
Far more Encoding options are available in NotePad++; should you need them.
Other (Mac/Linux/Win) Options:
I hear Windows 11 improved the performance of large 100+MB files to open much faster.
On the web I've read that Notepad++ is still the all around *large-file editor* champion.
However, (for those on **Mac** or **Linux**) here are some other contenders I found:
1). [Sublime Text](https://www.sublimetext.com/)
2). [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/)