I am a Windows 11 user. Can the Unicode of Notepad be changed?

Question

I have been using Notepad for coding work, and since some time ago, the Unicode setting of Notepad has been defaulted to UTF-8, causing a lot of inconvenience for me. Could you please provide a method to change the default Unicode value of Notepad to ANSI? In the past, in the Windows 10 environment, I used to modify the Unicode value by accessing the Notepad path through regedit. However, it seems that even this method is not possible in the current latest version of Windows 11.

Answer 1

Hello EunkyuL,

Thank you for letting me know and apologies for the inconvenience.

Here's wishing you a happy new year as well.

Thank you, Ibhadighi

Answer 2

Friend! Thank you for the response. It seems there is indeed no method in Windows Notepad. When starting a new Notepad, it defaults to UTF-8 format. The issue arises when copying and pasting a script into a document saved in ANSI. It's quite inconvenient, so I was wondering if there's a solution. Thank you for your response. Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Answer 3

Hello EunkyuL,

I'm Ibhadighi and I'd happily help you with your question. In this forum, we are Microsoft consumers just like yourself.

In Windows 11, Notepad defaults to UTF-8 as the encoding standard for new documents, which is part of Microsoft's efforts to support better global interoperability. If you wish to change the default encoding to ANSI, you might find that the process is not as straightforward as it was in Windows 10, and altering system settings like this isn't recommended as it can cause issues with updates and system functionality.

However, you can manually select the encoding each time you save a file:

1. Open Notepad, write your content.
2. Go to "File" > "Save As..."
3. In the "Save As" dialog, you'll see an "Encoding" option at the bottom.
4. Click on the drop-down menu and select "ANSI" instead of "UTF-8".
5. Save the file.

This has to be done each time you save a new file, as there is no built-in option to change the default encoding permanently in the current version of Windows 11. If you frequently need to use ANSI, you might consider using a different text editor that allows setting ANSI as the default encoding.

I hope this helps,

Best Regards, Ibhadighi