PUB98: Publisher Can't Import Extended Characters in Text File (179532)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Publisher 98
This article was previously published under Q179532
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

If you use a text file created in a Windows program (like Notepad) as the data source for a mail merge in Publisher, Publisher does not correctly import extended characters such as international and accented characters.

CAUSE

In a text file, each character is actually saved as a number. Windows- based programs usually use a set of numeric values called the ANSI character set. MS-DOS-based programs usually use a set of numeric values called the ASCII character set. The ASCII character set does not include accented or other extended characters, so most MS-DOS- based programs use the OEM character set to describe accented characters.

By default, Publisher assumes that text files are created by MS-DOS- based programs and translates the numeric values of the characters according to the ASCII/OEM character sets.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

You can change the default behavior of Publisher by changing the following key in the Windows Registry: 
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\3.5\Engines\Text\
In this key, you must change the CharacterSet value from OEM to ANSI. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
  2. In the Open box, type Regedit.
  3. On the Edit menu, click Find.
  4. In the Find What box, type CharacterSet. Click to select the Values check box. Click Find Next.

    When the search is completed, "Character Set" should be selected in the right pane of the Registry Editor. You should see the following key information in the status bar: 
          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Jet\3.5\Engines\Text\
  5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
  6. In the Value data box, type "ANSI" (without the quotation marks):

    ANSI

    Click OK.
  7. On the Registry menu, click Exit.
Publisher will now assume that any text file you use as data source is a Windows-based file. Therefore, extended characters in text files created by MS-DOS-based programs, will not be imported correctly by Publisher.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/11/2002
Keywords:kbconversion kbinfo kbinterop kbmerge KB179532
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.