How can I make an XML file print �, � and �

Question

When I write an xml file by hand I can use the European alphabet and the letters �,� and �. I can also write to an ordinary text file from my Java code and still be able to display the letters as they should.
But when writing to an xml file in my Java code the letters are converted to some weird mishmash characters.
Why is this? What can I do?
// Elin

Answer 1

I'm assuming you are working on a Windows computer (although you can run into this on any computer.)
If you don't tell java the kind of character encoding you want, then you get an assumed desired character encoding - in Windows, the OEM characterset which does not include the characters you are trying to write.
A way to handle this is to output the kind of file you really want - that is - with the encoding you want. I suggest you might try UTF-8, which you can get by simply instantiating your output writer with the encoding string "UTF-8".