choosing codepage ?

**boarders paradise** · 09-05-2009, 05:37 AM

Hi folks. Is there a way to choose a codepage in Excel ? My problem is that I have a .xls file with non-English text (inlcuding country-specific letters, such as àâèéüöä, etc.), that is displayed incorrectly (for example: Ã¼ instead of ü).

In my web browser I can do this: [view >> encoding >> western >> ISO 8859-1] for example, or choose another codepage to resolve this type of problem. Is there something similar in Excel ?
I searched for "codepage" in the helpfile, but there is nothing helpful on it.

I used a text viewer and looked into my .xls file and found out that the characters display correctly in UTF-8 ...

Thanks for your ideas. Cheers.
(Excel 2002)

**shg** · 09-05-2009, 12:57 PM

See http://www.experts-exchange.com/Soft..._21768029.html.

You have to scroll way toward the bottom to see the answers.

**boarders paradise** · 09-05-2009, 01:15 PM

Thanks so much, exactly what I was looking for. Excellent !

**shg** · 09-05-2009, 01:16 PM

You're welcome. Post back and let us know which solution you used.

**boarders paradise** · 09-05-2009, 01:28 PM

I read the thread you suggested and there are easily 5 or more different methods and from my experience they should all work.

But actually, I had a quite a blond moment ... because somehow I managed to forget that I had a .csv file and that this is plain text. I know how to handle plain text files. The easiest way is to open the file in notepad.exe and [file >>save as... (overwrite)], because you can choose the encoding there (ANSI, UTF-8, etc.).

Takes 1 second and all is done

If I really had a .xls file (as erroneously posted in my OP), things would get a bit more complicated I guess ....

Thanks again for your help.
[solved]

**shg** · 09-05-2009, 01:38 PM

Please take a minute to read the forum rules to see how to mark a thread as Solved.

Thanks.

**boarders paradise** · 09-05-2009, 01:48 PM

I am familiar with the forum rules.
I searched again and only found this:

10. Please acknowledge the response you receive, good or bad. If your problem is solved, please say so clearly, and mark your thread as Solved: Click the Edit button on your first post in the thread, Click Go Advanced, select [SOLVED] from the Prefix dropdown, then click Save Changes. If more than two days have elapsed, the Edit button will not appear -- ask a moderator to mark it.

But that's exactly what I have done. I don't know what else you would want me to do ... ?

BTW, I find it unnecessary to bother moderators each time a thread has been solved beyond the 2-day-limit imposed (as written above).