Unicode is messed up

Scripting Forums AppleScript | Mac OS X
#1

Hi there,

first post for me, already wanted to say thanks to the many other replies I’ve found very useful. Ok, I’m writing code for AppleScript Studio but I think it has more to do with AppleScript since I can reproduce it in Script Editor. So here i go, I want my app to save a doc with the AppleScript Studio command “Write to File”. I’m writing Japanese characters and end up with crap. I get the same in Script Editor only by compiling it:

set thtest to “㈱” as Unicode text
display dialog thtest

Before I save it it’s all ok, the Japanese character is purple.

Then I compile and here’s what I get:

set thetest to “áM” as Unicode text

display dialog thetest

Can anyone tell me what’s going on?

#2

The AppleScript compiler isn’t Unicode-aware: it reads text in your old-school primary encoding, which on an English system would be MacRoman. Since you’re in Studio, the simplest thing would be to put all your non-ASCII text in resource files within the application bundle and read them in as needed. See the ‘localized string’ command.

HTH

#3

Ha! Thanks.

#4

To incorporate special characters in a regular script, you might like to check out: Using Unicode-only characters in script strings.