Export from Indesign = strange characters

[luthar28]

I've exported from InDesign to an HTML file (see below for an example). But rather than HTML codes (like &amp I'm getting what I *believe* to be some weird postscripting code (just based on a Google search).

It does *appear* to display correctly in the finished product -- but again, I'm always worried that somewhere, some reader will cough on it producing garbage.

The problem with search and replace in the source Indesign document to something more conventional, is that I have to go with straight quotes (blah).

Any idea why this is happening?

<p class="body-indent-">I don’t eat much and I go up to my room early to Facebook. My friends are all here on my computer. No one talks about the video. We know the rules. But no one knows what they’re supposed to write in their notebooks. Mr. Sorent handed us special-lesson composition notebooks that he wants us to decorate. We’re supposed to write down diary entries or essays or stories or doodles or anything we’re moved to do after reflecting upon the lesson. My notebook is open but empty, a pen lying in the spine. I’ve tried to write something, but there’s nothing, and I get that afraid-of-the-future feeling again.</p>

[pholy]

It looks to me like InDesign is outputting UTF-8 Unicode, but your reader/editor doesn't understand UTF-8, so it is treating it as (perhaps) some MS code page. I always have to use a hex-dump to check that, just to be absolutely sure. Mostly I use gedit in Linux, which understands Unicode in most of its variations. -- UTF-8 is required by the epub standard, so it would be good to have an editor which understands UTF-8...

[luthar28]

Originally Posted by pholy

It looks to me like InDesign is outputting UTF-8 Unicode, but your reader/editor doesn't understand UTF-8, so it is treating it as (perhaps) some MS code page. I always have to use a hex-dump to check that, just to be absolutely sure. Mostly I use gedit in Linux, which understands Unicode in most of its variations. -- UTF-8 is required by the epub standard, so it would be good to have an editor which understands UTF-8...

Hmmm...any idea how *not* to output UTF-8?

But am I understanding correctly that you're saying that UTF-8 does work with Epub?

[charleski]

Use Notepad++ to edit the html and it will usually recognise the utf-8 encoding automatically.

Using anything other than utf-8 (or -16) at any point is a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea when dealing with epubs, don't even think about using the older and more limited codings.

[pholy]

But am I understanding correctly that you're saying that UTF-8 does work with Epub?

UTF-8 not only works, it is required. You can't avoid UTF-8 if you work with epub files.

[luthar28]

Originally Posted by pholy

UTF-8 not only works, it is required. You can't avoid UTF-8 if you work with epub files.

Sorry -- I'm confused (not a surprise, I know). Still not really sure what UTF is (a way to display characters?)

This document, even with ’ as an apostrophe, and “ as a right quote, displays just fine as HTML, Epub, and as a Mobi.

So just leave it in? Doing a search and replace -- I'm always hesitant to do that on a document-wide basis because I never know what weird exception I'm going to get buried in the text.

[pholy]

Leave it it... it's only your editor/viewer that is having problems.

For more background on UTF-8, I recommend you start with the first two sections of the Wikipedia article - I'd miss something if I tried to summarize it.