Converting files to UTF-8
Some files, like custom language packs or language files from thirth party modules need to be converted to UTF-8 before they can be used in a Moodle 1.6 with UTF-8 database.
*nix like computers
Generaly, this can be done with the iconv command on Unix, Linux or a Mac.
iconv -f original_charset -t utf-8 originalfile > newfile
Windows computers
For Windows, there doesn't exist a free tool. However, the conversion can be done by using [Cygwin], a Linux-like environment for Windows, and excecuting the iconv command in that environment.
Example of a working sollution on Windows with [Cygwin]:
- Create a text file, named ToUtf8.txt
- Fill it with the following code
#!/bin/bash
FROM=iso-8859-1
TO=UTF-8
ICONV="iconv -f $FROM -t $TO"
# Convert
find ToUTF/ -type f -name "*" | while read fn; do
cp ${fn} ${fn}.bak
$ICONV < ${fn}.bak > ${fn}
rm ${fn}.bak
done
A few things should be changed for your local situation:
* FROM is the originating encoding (the one your original files are in) * ToUTF is the foldername where the files that need to be converted are in. This folder may contain subfolders. Make sure you have a backup!
- Start Cygwin.
- With the cd foldername, cd.., ls commands, go to the folder on your windows machine where the ToUtf8.txt-script and the ToUTF8 folder are in.
- Execute the script by typing sh ToUtf8.txt and your files will be converted.
