Re: Changing the buffer encoding.

I set my global to UTF-8 by default. I don’t use modelines in .lisp files. Emacs complains about the UTF-8 modeline encoding anyway. I have had zero problems with this, and I use Greek letters in lots of my Lisp code...



> On Dec 2, 2025, at 11:00, Marco Antoniotti (as marco dot antoniotti at unimib dot it) <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> I got it and I can now reproduce the issue.
> 
> Case 1, my original one, the one that confused me.
> Open buffer, paste stuff with UTF-8 characters (modeline may or may not say LATIN-1), change the encoding to UTF-8, save.
> Re-opening the file shows character as "multibyte" (that's what I call them), not as originally pasted.
> 
> Case 2, new test, that points to the "solution".
> Open buffer, change the encoding to UTF-8, then paste stuff with UTF-8 characters (modeline says UTF-8), save.
> Re-opening the file shows the character as originally pasted.
> 
> All of this on LWM.  I can test it on Windows (and Linux).
> 
> Bottom line.  I think I will just globally set the encoding to UTF-8.  Do you see any problem with that?
> 
> All the best
> 
> Marco
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 5:27 PM Martin Simmons <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> Yes, that is because :latin-1 allows any sequence of bytes so it is always a
>> "valid" encoding.
>> 
>> The -*- Encoding: option at the start of the file should override
>> system:*specific-valid-file-encodings* though when using the default order in
>> system:*file-encoding-detection-algorithm*.
>> 
>> -- 
>> Martin Simmons
>> LispWorks Ltd
>> http://www.lispworks.com/
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> >>>>> On Tue, 2 Dec 2025 08:29:20 -0700, David McClain said:
>> > 
>> > I found, for myself a few years ago, that the order of external format specifications is significant. So my ordering is as follows in my .LISPWORKS file:
>> > 
>> > #+:LISPWORKS
>> > (progn
>> >   (pushnew :LATIN-1 system:*specific-valid-file-encodings*)
>> >   (pushnew :utf-8 system:*specific-valid-file-encodings*)
>> > 
>> >   (lw:set-default-character-element-type 'cl:character))
>> > 
>> > 
>> > > On Dec 2, 2025, at 08:13, Martin Simmons <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> > > 
>> > > Does the editor's modeline still start with LATIN-1 after closing and opening
>> > > the file?
>> > > 
>> > > The attached file containing the characters #\U+636E and #\U+646F works for
>> > > me, with the modeline saying UTF-8.
>> > > 
>> > > -- 
>> > > Martin Simmons
>> > > LispWorks Ltd
>> > > http://www.lispworks.com/
>> > > 
>> > > 
>> > > 
>> > >>>>>> On Tue, 2 Dec 2025 13:40:19 +0100, Marco Antoniotti said:
>> > >> 
>> > >> Hi
>> > >> 
>> > >> I am fooling around and I did save it with Encoding: UTF-8
>> > >> 
>> > >> No luck.
>> > >> 
>> > >> MA
>> > >> 
>> > >> 
>> > >> On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM Martin Simmons <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> > >> 
>> > >>> It should be UTF-8, not UNICODE (assuming that is how you saved it).
>> > >>> 
>> > >>> --
>> > >>> Martin Simmons
>> > >>> LispWorks Ltd
>> > >>> http://www.lispworks.com/
>> > >>> 
>> > >>> 
>> > >>> 
>> > >>>>>>>> On Tue, 2 Dec 2025 11:39:38 +0100, Marco Antoniotti (as marco dot
>> > >>> antoniotti at unimib dot it) said:
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> Thanks.
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> I ended up RTFM 😏
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> Now a different problem.
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> I can now save the data in a file, but when I read it back, even adding
>> > >>> the
>> > >>>> "-*- Encoding: UNICODE -*- header, the characters are not displayed
>> > >>>> correctly: read, their glyphs (*) are not used for display.
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> MA
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> (*) Pardon the use of incorrect terminology.
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 8:59 AM joswig <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
>> > >>>> 
>> >>>>> set external format
>> > >>>>> 
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> Am 02.12.2025 um 08:34 schrieb Marco Antoniotti (as marco dot
>> > >>> antoniotti
>> >>>>> at unimib dot it) <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>:
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> Hi
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> asking is always faster and easier than RTFM.
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> I just pasted some code containing UTF-8 characters in a buffer (this
>> > >>> is
>> >>>>> LWM).  Now I cannot save it because the buffer is marked LATIN-1.
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> How do I change the buffer encoding in order to save as-is.
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> Thanks
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> Marco
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> --
>> >>>>> Marco Antoniotti, Professor, Director         tel. +39 - 02 64 48 79 01
>> >>>>> DISCo, University of Milan-Bicocca U14 2043
>> > >>> http://dcb.disco.unimib.it <http://dcb.disco.unimib.it/>
>> >>>>> Viale Sarca 336
>> >>>>> I-20126 Milan (MI) ITALY
>> > >>>>> 
>> >>>>> REGAINS: https://regains.disco.unimib.it/
>> > >>>>> 
>> > >>>>> 
>> > >>>>> 
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> --
>> > >>>> Marco Antoniotti, Professor, Director         tel. +39 - 02 64 48 79 01
>> > >>>> DISCo, University of Milan-Bicocca U14 2043   http://dcb.disco.unimib.it <http://dcb.disco.unimib.it/>
>> > >>>> Viale Sarca 336
>> > >>>> I-20126 Milan (MI) ITALY
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> REGAINS: https://regains.disco.unimib.it/
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>>> _______________________________________________
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>> > >>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
>> > >>>> http://www.lispworks.com/support/lisp-hug.html
>> > >>>> 
>> > >>> 
>> > >> 
>> > >> 
>> > >> -- 
>> > >> Marco Antoniotti, Professor, Director         tel. +39 - 02 64 48 79 01
>> > >> DISCo, University of Milan-Bicocca U14 2043   http://dcb.disco.unimib.it <http://dcb.disco.unimib.it/>
>> > >> Viale Sarca 336
>> > >> I-20126 Milan (MI) ITALY
>> > >> 
>> > >> REGAINS: https://regains.disco.unimib.it/
>> > >> 
>> > > <utf8.txt>
>> > 
>> >
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Marco Antoniotti, Professor, Director         tel. +39 - 02 64 48 79 01
> DISCo, University of Milan-Bicocca U14 2043   http://dcb.disco.unimib.it <http://dcb.disco.unimib.it/>
> Viale Sarca 336
> I-20126 Milan (MI) ITALY
> 
> REGAINS: https://regains.disco.unimib.it/