Is it possible to write a text file in UTF-16 using Javascript?

Question

Is it possible to write a text file in UTF-16 using Javascript?

I need to create a UTF-16 text file from a string. For instance:

var s = "aosjdfkzlzkdoaslckjznx";
var file = "data:text/plain;base64," + btoa(s);

The above code generates a UTF-8 encoding text file. How can I modify it to produce a UTF-16 text file using the string s?

javascript utf-16

Answer 1

Answer №1

For more information, check out: Dealing with encoding problems when exporting Javascript to csv

Here is the solution that should work:

document.getElementById('download').addEventListener('click', function(){

downloadUtf16('Hello, World', 'myFile.csv')
});

function downloadUtf16(str, filename) {

// reference: https://stackoverflow.com/q/6226189
var charCode, byteArray = [];

// Byte Order Mark for Big Endian
  byteArray.push(254, 255);

// Byte Order Mark for Little Endian
  // byteArray.push(255, 254);

  for (var i = 0; i < str.length; ++i) {
  
    charCode = str.charCodeAt(i);
    
    // Big Endian Bytes
    byteArray.push((charCode & 0xFF00) >>> 8);
    byteArray.push(charCode & 0xFF);
    
    // Little Endian Bytes
    // byteArray.push(charCode & 0xff);
    // byteArray.push(charCode / 256 >>> 0);
  }
  
  var blob = new Blob([new Uint8Array(byteArray)], {type:'text/plain;charset=UTF-16BE;'});
  var blobUrl = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  
// reference: https://stackoverflow.com/a/18197511
  var link = document.createElement('a');
  link.href = blobUrl;
  link.download = filename;

  if (document.createEvent) {
    var event = document.createEvent('MouseEvents');
    event.initEvent('click', true, true);
    link.dispatchEvent(event);
  } else {
    link.click();
  }
}

<button id="download">Download</button>

Answer 2

For more information, check out: Dealing with encoding problems when exporting Javascript to csv

Here is the solution that should work:

document.getElementById('download').addEventListener('click', function(){

downloadUtf16('Hello, World', 'myFile.csv')
});

function downloadUtf16(str, filename) {

// reference: https://stackoverflow.com/q/6226189
var charCode, byteArray = [];

// Byte Order Mark for Big Endian
  byteArray.push(254, 255);

// Byte Order Mark for Little Endian
  // byteArray.push(255, 254);

  for (var i = 0; i < str.length; ++i) {
  
    charCode = str.charCodeAt(i);
    
    // Big Endian Bytes
    byteArray.push((charCode & 0xFF00) >>> 8);
    byteArray.push(charCode & 0xFF);
    
    // Little Endian Bytes
    // byteArray.push(charCode & 0xff);
    // byteArray.push(charCode / 256 >>> 0);
  }
  
  var blob = new Blob([new Uint8Array(byteArray)], {type:'text/plain;charset=UTF-16BE;'});
  var blobUrl = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
  
// reference: https://stackoverflow.com/a/18197511
  var link = document.createElement('a');
  link.href = blobUrl;
  link.download = filename;

  if (document.createEvent) {
    var event = document.createEvent('MouseEvents');
    event.initEvent('click', true, true);
    link.dispatchEvent(event);
  } else {
    link.click();
  }
}

<button id="download">Download</button>

Answer 3

Answer №2

To convert a JavaScript string into an ArrayBuffer, you can utilize a legacy polyfill for the native TextEncoder API. The TextEncoder documentation specifies support for UTF16 with different endianness. It is likely that libraries offering UTF-16 support in a Text-Encoder-compatible manner will emerge soon, if they haven't already. For instance, let's imagine there's a library with a constructor named ExtendedTextEncoder.

You can then generate a Blob URL to facilitate file downloads for users, bypassing the cumbersome base-64 conversion process.

Here's an example:

s = "aosjdfkzlzkdoaslckjznx"
var encoder = new ExtendedTextEncoder("utf-16be")
var blob = new Blob(encoder.encode(s), "text/plain")
var url = URL.createObjectURL(blob)

From now on, you can utilize url instead of your data: URL.

Answer 4

To convert a JavaScript string into an ArrayBuffer, you can utilize a legacy polyfill for the native TextEncoder API. The TextEncoder documentation specifies support for UTF16 with different endianness. It is likely that libraries offering UTF-16 support in a Text-Encoder-compatible manner will emerge soon, if they haven't already. For instance, let's imagine there's a library with a constructor named ExtendedTextEncoder.

You can then generate a Blob URL to facilitate file downloads for users, bypassing the cumbersome base-64 conversion process.

Here's an example:

s = "aosjdfkzlzkdoaslckjznx"
var encoder = new ExtendedTextEncoder("utf-16be")
var blob = new Blob(encoder.encode(s), "text/plain")
var url = URL.createObjectURL(blob)

From now on, you can utilize url instead of your data: URL.

Is it possible to write a text file in UTF-16 using Javascript?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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