

Note that the above registry setting applies only when you open a new Notepad instance by running Notepad.exe. You’ll see that the default encoding has changed to ANSI - which is reflected in the status bar. Here is the list of possible value data you can assign:

Let’s see how to change Notepad’s default encoding to ANSI or another encoding in Windows 10.Ĭhange the Default Character Encoding in Notepad For example, VBS/WSH script coders may want ANSI as the default – because CScript.exe or WScript.exe can’t run UTF-8 encoded. There are users who want to change Notepad’s default encoding from UTF-8 to ANSI. To keep the Unicode information, click Cancel below and then select one of the Unicode options from the Encoding drop down list. Notepad also warns you when you do so: This file contains characters in Unicode format which will be lost if you save this file as an ANSI encoded text file. Some of these accented characters will be lost if you save the file as ANSI. UTF-8 is preferred if you want to use Unicode characters like Č, Ć, Š, ä, ö, ü, ß in your text file.

When you launch notepad.exe, the default encoding is shown in Notepad’s status bar in Windows 10 v1903 and higher. Since Windows 10 version 1903, the default Notepad encoding is UTF-8. ANSI has been the default encoding in Notepad in earlier versions of Windows 10.
