Default UTF-8 encoding for new Notepad documents

Anonymous

Short of using a third party editor, is there a way to configure Notepad so that new documents are automatically saved in Unicode without having to change manually the encoding every single time from default ANSI to UTF-8?

Typical scenario:

Start typing some text with no extended characters
Save the file: It is automatically in ANSI
Open the file again to edit, add some extended characters, save again:

Notepad tells you the extended characters will be lost if you confirm the save operation.

At least that last message offers the possibility to backup and "Save as" to choose UTF-8, but 1) this is very cumbersome, and 2) files with no extended characters will still be saved in ANSI by default.

Windows won't really be fully Unicode if the default Notepad encoding is still the obsolete ANSI code page, but, even if I reluctantly admit changing default behaviors is tricky for compatibility reasons, there should at least be a user option to select the default encoding for new documents, like other third party editors offer, such as Notepad++.

Currently, Windows forces me to replace Notepad file associations to use other text editors. Not a bad thing given the poor set of features in Notepad, but it would have been great to have this option in the standard O.S.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Right click -> New -> Text Document
Open "New Text Document.txt". Do NOT type anything!
Go to "File -> Save As... " and choose UTF-8 under "Encoding:", press "Save" and overwrite existing file. Close the file.
Rename "New Text Document.txt" to "TXTUTF-8.txt"
Copy "TXTUTF-8.txt" to "C:\WINDOWS\SHELLNEW"
Go to "Start -> Run..." and type

regedit

Press OK.

Navigate to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.txt\ShellNew

Right click in the right window -> New -> "String Value" and rename it to

FileName

Double click on "FileName" and put

TXTUTF-8.txt

into "Value data:" field and press OK.

It's finished.
Test it: Create new .txt document (Right click -> New -> Text Document). Open it and go to "File -> Save As... " and see that encoding is set by default to UTF-8 . :-)

Credits go to Robert Clemenzi and his explanation of "FileName" string (and its linkage with "Template directory") within registry:

http://mc-computing.com/WinExplorer/WinExplorerRegistry\_ShellNew.htm

NOTE: These steps are ONLY for creating new and blank UTF-8 .txt documents. If .txt is already saved with ANSI encoding, it will stay ANSI when saving it next time - so if UTF-8 is needed (in this case), it must be set manually.

P.S. Also change "fSavePageSettings" & "fSaveWindowPositions" DWORD values to "1" within following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad

Info: http://www.pc1news.com/saving-changes-to-notepad-configuration-1216.html

0 comments

48 additional answers

Anonymous

2013-12-18T18:07:12+00:00
Right click -> New -> Text Document

Open "New Text Document.txt". Do NOT type anything!

Go to "File -> Save As... " and choose UTF-8 under "Encoding:", press "Save" and overwrite existing file. Close the file.

Rename "New Text Document.txt" to "TXTUTF-8.txt"

Copy "TXTUTF-8.txt" to "C:\WINDOWS\SHELLNEW"

Go to "Start -> Run..." and type

regedit

Press OK.

Navigate to

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.txt\ShellNew

Right click in the right window -> New -> "String Value" and rename it to

FileName

Double click on "FileName" and put

TXTUTF-8.txt

into "Value data:" field and press OK.

It's finished.

Test it: Create new .txt document (Right click -> New -> Text Document). Open it and go to "File -> Save As... " and see that encoding is set by default to UTF-8 . :-)

Credits go to Robert Clemenzi and his explanation of "FileName" string (and its linkage with "Template directory") within registry:

http://mc-computing.com/WinExplorer/WinExplorerRegistry\_ShellNew.htm

NOTE: These steps are ONLY for creating new and blank UTF-8 .txt documents. If .txt is already saved with ANSI encoding, it will stay ANSI when saving it next time - so if UTF-8 is needed (in this case), it must be set manually.

P.S. Also change "fSavePageSettings" & "fSaveWindowPositions" DWORD values to "1" within following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad

Info: http://www.pc1news.com/saving-changes-to-notepad-configuration-1216.html
The PC1News.com link mentioned by Maneuver has moved here as of 18 Dec 2013 (found by clicking the link & placing "saving-changes-to-notepad-configuration", which was extracted from the original url, in the search box).
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2013-11-02T13:11:13+00:00

I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition, and found that these outlined steps worked "as advertized." This is typical Microsoft incompetence that users have to go through this rigamarole to rectify obsolete encoding default, which users that have more than the English language at their command encounter EVERY TIME they attempt to save a file where "non-standard" characters are used (not to mention English-only users that insert special symbols not language-based in their plain text documents¹). Sometimes you see entire documents rendered unintelligible gibberish because the user didn't know to switch from ANSI to Unicode. Microsoft Windows "assumes" that the majority of computer users in the world are English-only speakers, and I don't know which it serves to illustrate more, their stupidity or their ethnocentrism. As an American "trotting about the globe" since a wee tyke, I find it inconvenient, not to mention offensive. This isn't 1974, when networking was in its infancy, or 1984, when I first started studying computers.

Some people would suggest using applications that support HTML or XML or "enriched" text, and I would say that I do, but not for every document (sometimes they take too long to toad); I don't need blinking text, watermarks, pictures, and colors for notes.

¹Like subscripts and superscripts and bullets…just TRY saving chemical and mathematical formulae or complex and detailed outlines in ANSI!
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2013-10-22T07:51:55+00:00

If anyone will face with this trouble in future, try to check "lfCharSet" DWORD value in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad. It must be "0". If your value is not 0, change it to zero and restart PC.

Then try to save new text document with Notepad containing non Latin symbols. Encoding will be set to ANSI anyway but everything must be fine.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2013-07-23T20:23:18+00:00

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

There is a simple fixer, to set UTF8 as default for notepad -

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/OS-Enhancements/Notepad-Default-UTF-8-Unicode-Creator.shtml

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****

Dear Modernshoppers

I can't believe I went through the excruciating process of signing up for the useless parasite microsoft just to say thank you for your solution.

you know what it likes when you destined for solving a bug like this out of thousands in the pile of sh*t which Microsoft forced every one to accept as an operating system. It's irritating! Thank you for sparing me.
Was this answer helpful?

1 person found this answer helpful.

0 comments No comments