In an external javascript file I have a function that is used to append text to table cells (within the HTML doc that the javascript file is added to), text that can sometimes have Finnish characters (such as ä). That text is passed as an argument to my function:

content += addTableField(XML, 'Käyttötarkoitus', 'purpose', 255);

The problem is that diacritics such as "ä" get converted to some other bogus characters, such as "�". I see this when viewing the HTML doc in a browser. This is obviously not desirable, and is quite strange as well since the character encoding for the HTML doc is UTF-8.

How can I solve this problem?

Thanks in advance for helping out!

In an external javascript file I have a function that is used to append text to table cells (within the HTML doc that the javascript file is added to), text that can sometimes have Finnish characters (such as ä). That text is passed as an argument to my function:

content += addTableField(XML, 'Käyttötarkoitus', 'purpose', 255);

The problem is that diacritics such as "ä" get converted to some other bogus characters, such as "�". I see this when viewing the HTML doc in a browser. This is obviously not desirable, and is quite strange as well since the character encoding for the HTML doc is UTF-8.

How can I solve this problem?

Thanks in advance for helping out!

• javascript
• html
• character-encoding

• 1 Are all your files (including the js one) served in UTF-8 ? Note that some servers (like some versions of tomcat) can break your js encoding. – Denys Séguret Commented May 30, 2012 at 16:07
• I don't know. And I don't know how to find out either... – Andrei Oniga Commented May 30, 2012 at 16:09
• 1 UTF-8 all the way through – TazGPL Commented May 30, 2012 at 16:11
• You can see it in Chrome inspector : network/your file/headers – Denys Séguret Commented May 30, 2012 at 16:12
• 1 No, because the editor may parse it for him, but not SAVE it the same way – Sebas Commented May 30, 2012 at 16:26

3 Answers 3

The file that contains content += addTableField(XML, 'Käyttötarkoitus', 'purpose', 255); is not saved in UTF-8 encoding.

I don't know what editor you are using but you can find it in settings or in the save dialog.

Example:

If you can't get this to work you could always write out the literal code points in javascript:

content += addTableField(XML, 'K\u00E4ytt\u00f6tarkoitus', 'purpose', 255);

credit: triplee

To check out the character encoding announced by a server, you can use Firebug (in the Info menu, there’s a mand for viewing HTTP headers). Alternatively, you can use online services like Web-Sniffer.

If the headers for the external .js file specify a charset parameter, you need to use that encoding, unless you can change the relevant server settings (perhaps a .htaccess file).

If they lack a charset parameter, you can specify the encoding in the script element, e.g. <script src="foo.js" charset="utf-8">.

The declared encoding should of course match the actual encoding, which you can normally select when you save a file (using “Save As” mand if needed).

The character encoding of the HTML file / doc does not matter any external ressource.

You will need to deliver the script file with UTF8 character encoding. If it was saved as such, your server config is bogus.