Sumukha
asked on
Russian language in Dreamweaver
I need to set up some pages in Russian, but they display differently on several servers.
This is what I did:
I switch my keyboard to Russian
I switch DW to Cyrillic
I create a document with the Cyrillic settings.
In the head appears <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1251" />
I write some letters in Cyrillic.
If I preview the document, all is OK. Pump it up on one of my web servers, just either squares appear or question marks with a black diamond background.
On another web server everything looks fine.
Russian pages display fine on my PC!
Looking into the code, these things display correctly: ор this one ьпаl
What's the trick?
Thanks
This is what I did:
I switch my keyboard to Russian
I switch DW to Cyrillic
I create a document with the Cyrillic settings.
In the head appears <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1251" />
I write some letters in Cyrillic.
If I preview the document, all is OK. Pump it up on one of my web servers, just either squares appear or question marks with a black diamond background.
On another web server everything looks fine.
Russian pages display fine on my PC!
Looking into the code, these things display correctly: ор this one ьпаl
What's the trick?
Thanks
Hi Sumukha,
I found the following tutorials that cover this:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14684
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PaulGor/cpage_e.htm
Hope this helps...
I found the following tutorials that cover this:
http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14684
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PaulGor/cpage_e.htm
Hope this helps...
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ASKER
Hi Jason and Rouchie,
I tried all this, but as it also depends on the webserver, it all comes down to one thing:
How do I get Dreamweaver to write the code in SGML entities such as á or some numeric codes like д...?
Because only then I can be sure that it will be displayed correctly on ALL servers.
I tried all this, but as it also depends on the webserver, it all comes down to one thing:
How do I get Dreamweaver to write the code in SGML entities such as á or some numeric codes like д...?
Because only then I can be sure that it will be displayed correctly on ALL servers.
>> I tried all this, but as it also depends on the webserver
I disagree. By using the LANG tag in your code, then using UTF8 fonts and encoding, the end browser will automatically force itself to display the correct characters as you typed them in. The web server itself doesn't play any part in the contents of the file. Most users would see a warning saying that the browser needs to download a font that can display the required characters.
>> Because only then I can be sure that it will be displayed correctly on ALL servers.
I had to go work in China a few years ago where my (English) company had the exact problem you are experiencing. The only way to get the problem fixed was to correctly use the right encoding and fonts within the web page. I promise you that this is the correct way forward - otherwise half the world would be coding HTML using character references instead of direct keyboard input, which would take forever.
If you can send me a link to a page that has Cyrillic characters I can quickly write a test page for you to try out in your development environment.
I disagree. By using the LANG tag in your code, then using UTF8 fonts and encoding, the end browser will automatically force itself to display the correct characters as you typed them in. The web server itself doesn't play any part in the contents of the file. Most users would see a warning saying that the browser needs to download a font that can display the required characters.
>> Because only then I can be sure that it will be displayed correctly on ALL servers.
I had to go work in China a few years ago where my (English) company had the exact problem you are experiencing. The only way to get the problem fixed was to correctly use the right encoding and fonts within the web page. I promise you that this is the correct way forward - otherwise half the world would be coding HTML using character references instead of direct keyboard input, which would take forever.
If you can send me a link to a page that has Cyrillic characters I can quickly write a test page for you to try out in your development environment.
ASKER
Appreciate your offer.
I know that it at least partly depends on the webserver:
Identical pages with <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1251"> look different, see the same page here
http://www.awebsiteforlawyers.com/russian.html
and here
http://www.aura-soma-sedona.com/russian.html
But I followed your instructions, edited it and saved it under http://www.awebsiteforlawyers.com/russian2.html using
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="ru" xml:lang="ru"> and
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
It actually does display correctly.
Dreamweaver's error checking complains about lang="ru" xml:lang="ru",
so I took that out and http://www.awebsiteforlawyers.com/russian3.html still shows correctly.
One question remains:
How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
Thanks!
I know that it at least partly depends on the webserver:
Identical pages with <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1251"> look different, see the same page here
http://www.awebsiteforlawyers.com/russian.html
and here
http://www.aura-soma-sedona.com/russian.html
But I followed your instructions, edited it and saved it under http://www.awebsiteforlawyers.com/russian2.html using
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="ru" xml:lang="ru"> and
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
It actually does display correctly.
Dreamweaver's error checking complains about lang="ru" xml:lang="ru",
so I took that out and http://www.awebsiteforlawyers.com/russian3.html still shows correctly.
One question remains:
How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
Thanks!
>> One question remains:
>> How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
Use a template or make it a code snippet library item.
Rouchie, wow. Sounds like you've dealt with this before...
>> How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
Use a template or make it a code snippet library item.
Rouchie, wow. Sounds like you've dealt with this before...
>> Rouchie, wow. Sounds like you've dealt with this before...
I've participated in a few similar questions in this TA. Like most other stuff I was forced to learn the hard way when on of our company's software systems 'broke' for our China users. I had been posted out there on a short placement to show them how to use it, so after the initial embarrassment I had to start doing some homework!
I'm not sure why the default encoding option is not UTF8 nowadays anyway. It would make sense to me to instantly have authors be able to create pages in any language. I'm sure there's a reason...!
I've participated in a few similar questions in this TA. Like most other stuff I was forced to learn the hard way when on of our company's software systems 'broke' for our China users. I had been posted out there on a short placement to show them how to use it, so after the initial embarrassment I had to start doing some homework!
I'm not sure why the default encoding option is not UTF8 nowadays anyway. It would make sense to me to instantly have authors be able to create pages in any language. I'm sure there's a reason...!
>> Dreamweaver's error checking complains about lang="ru" xml:lang="ru",
What is the error please? Those attributes should be left in if the page is to be valid XHTML! Otherwise you will get unpredictable results (remember the browser needs to know what language is being displayed so it can grab a substitute 'Cyrillic' font if there are any problems).
>> How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
Go into Preferences then there is an option called New Document. Just set the default encoding in there.
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/web/tips/dreamweaver.html
What is the error please? Those attributes should be left in if the page is to be valid XHTML! Otherwise you will get unpredictable results (remember the browser needs to know what language is being displayed so it can grab a substitute 'Cyrillic' font if there are any problems).
>> How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
Go into Preferences then there is an option called New Document. Just set the default encoding in there.
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/international/web/tips/dreamweaver.html
ASKER
>> Dreamweaver's error checking complains about lang="ru" xml:lang="ru",
has to do with the error checking settings, especially target browsers. I took out IE5, now it only complains about xml:lang="ru", not being supported by Ffox 1, IE 5.5, 6 Netscape 7 and 8, Safari 1.
>> How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
In DW 8 I do not see the UTF-8 option anymore.
has to do with the error checking settings, especially target browsers. I took out IE5, now it only complains about xml:lang="ru", not being supported by Ffox 1, IE 5.5, 6 Netscape 7 and 8, Safari 1.
>> How do I set my DW so that it inserts <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset
In DW 8 I do not see the UTF-8 option anymore.
>> has to do with the error checking settings, especially target browsers.
XHTML has only become a standard recently, therefore nearly all older browsers won't support it fully. Don't worry though, they will still display the page correctly. Leave all the code in, because as people upgrade their browsers (very soon as Microsoft include it in Windows Update), your site will work correctly.
>> In DW 8 I do not see the UTF-8 option anymore.
Sorry I don't have DW installed at the moment. It might have moved to the Fonts / Encoding option. See if this link helps at all - http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14684
XHTML has only become a standard recently, therefore nearly all older browsers won't support it fully. Don't worry though, they will still display the page correctly. Leave all the code in, because as people upgrade their browsers (very soon as Microsoft include it in Windows Update), your site will work correctly.
>> In DW 8 I do not see the UTF-8 option anymore.
Sorry I don't have DW installed at the moment. It might have moved to the Fonts / Encoding option. See if this link helps at all - http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14684
ASKER
"Looking into the code, these things display correctly: ор this one ьпаl
I actually copied and pasted Cyrillic source code, it just did not display like that.
Question remains; What is the trick?