How do I change character encoding of a text file in OpenOffice.org writer?

Question

How do I change character encoding of a plain text file in OOO Writer?

I have a text file in Windows-1251 and I'd like to change it to UTF-8.

Answer 1

I know this is not the exact answer you are looking for, but since you seem to be using Ubuntu, I'll introduce you to another way for converting text files from encoding to another: iconv.

For example, iconv -f WINDOWS-1251 -t UTF-8 -o output_file.txt original_file.txt would convert original_file.txt from Windows-1251 encoding to UTF-8, saving the output to output_file.txt.

iconv --help lists all options, iconv -l lists all supported encodings.

Answer 2

For just converting a file, I'd also advise you to use a commandline tool such as iconv, as Janne's answer suggests.

For completeness' sake, if you want to save a plain text file from OOo in a specific encoding:

• choose "File / Save as..."
• select file type "Text encoded"
• click "Save"

A dialog should pop up, where you can choose the encoding to use for saving.