Forum Discussion
Notepad corrupting accented letters in text files, showing as boxed question marks
I do have access to the previous computer. However, these text files have successfully saved in regular Notepad across multiple computers across multiple Windows versions over multiple years, decades even. Windows Notepad 11 is the first and only version not to display and to indeed corrupt such basic characters as á, é, È, ô, õ, ü, º, and †. After trying to change the Encoding, these now display as space characters instead of boxes. This is a massive fail on Microsoft's part. Aside from switching to third-party software, what is the solution native to Windows Notepad 11?
- Well, You may try to change the font used in this file in Notepad using settings.
- Also, Try the Notepad++ app to see if it helps display your TXT files correctly.
- Finally, as you have access to your previous computer, Can you save your files in MS OneNote or Word files and maybe check the correct Language and Encoding settings to see if it matches the new computer?
Hello,
I accessed the old computer, and the font is the same: Consolas, 11-point. In this version, it also shows Script: Western. The characters Notepad 11 corrupted are blanks in the saved text opened on the old machine and version, now searchable as the space character.
There's nothing special about my old setup, which is similar if not identical to other computers and previous Windows OSs I've saved the files on. This is a problem specific to Notepad 11 not reading extended characters, the basic kind that are alt+numbers. The font's the same and never posed a problem before.
I use Notepad and text format because I don't want fonts and formatting on these, and OneNote often doesn't sync correctly.
Again, aside from using third-party Notepad++ after Notepad 11 already corrupted the files beyond repair, what can Microsoft do about fixing Notepad 11 to prevent the problem?Microsoft emailed to ask me to mark an answer as an Accepted Solution. I'm waiting for a solution native to Microsoft Notepad 11.
in my research what it is worth. Microsoft has done this, so you get paid subscription 365 and use word. as top right it has a button to fix it. all my passwords etc. locked unless I pay. is this ransom?
by Microsoft?
This is probably a joke I'm spoiling, but it's not as big a joke as Microsoft screwing up Notepad, the "support" I got from Ahmed, and Copilot paraphrasing my own report as the solution. You are describing a common ploy to get people to pay for a subscription to something or otherwise upgrade instead of fixing or maintaining the free software. OK, check. You are also adding elements of ransomware where the malicious actor encrypts your file contents and you can click to pay for decryption. I would agree this feels like extortion except the issue isn't lack of features but lack of characters from every file with them that I've opened and made the mistake of saving again.
Amusing postscript courtesy of Copilot:
The latest update to Notepad in Windows 11, released in October 2024, includes improved support for extended characters saved in earlier encodings. This means that Notepad can now better handle and display characters from various encodings, such as ANSI, UTF-8, and UTF-16, without corrupting them1.
This enhancement ensures that text files containing accented letters and other special characters are displayed correctly, making it easier to work with documents created in different encoding formats1.
If you have any specific questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask! 😊
