problem with multi byte characters display

[g***@gmail.com]

We have one application where we are taking inputs from users using a
form and then we are compiling a mail using these inputs. Then using
"mailto:" we are invoking outlook to send the mail.

The problem we have observed is:

If you enter japanese words in input form field on windows (english)
machine the multi-byte words are represented in their hex encoding in
the mail. I have observed that the encoding scheme used in the mail is
UTF-8.

Similar issue is not observed with windows (japanese). That is the
characters are represented correctly over there.

Can some one explain this behavior.

We dont want to use any script as a target of 'mailto:'

Thanks in advance,
Ganesh

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Post by g***@gmail.com
We have one application where we are taking inputs from users using a
form and then we are compiling a mail using these inputs. Then using
"mailto:" we are invoking outlook to send the mail.

Using action="mailto:" in a form has always been a bad idea (between
extremely risky and very risky), and it's _undefined_ by HTML specs.

It's a very bad idea to use poorly designed technology, and doing so when
facing internationalization issues is an undescribably poor idea.

Post by g***@gmail.com
If you enter japanese words in input form field on windows (english)
machine the multi-byte words are represented in their hex encoding in
the mail. I have observed that the encoding scheme used in the mail is
UTF-8.

The effect being undefined, that's one of the myriads of possibilities. Other
possibilities include in lost data so that the author does not observe it and
the user just curses.

Post by g***@gmail.com
We dont want to use any script as a target of 'mailto:'

Then don't use forms. Solve the original problem, whatever it is, using other
methods, or give up. Or maybe reconsider whether you want to use HTML forms
the correct way if you intend to use HTML forms. That would be just the
start. You would still need to consider i18n problems in forms, and they are
not easy; but see
http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~flavell/charset/form-i18n.html