Unicode to Codepage: The Art of Transmutation
This is the most common ritual performed by the Witch: taking modern, Unicode-encoded text (UTF-8) and transmuting it into a specific DOS Codepage. This process ensures your translations and documents appear correctly on vintage hardware and DOS emulators.
1. The Initial Scrying
When you first cast a file into the cauldron, it appears with
an Orange 
icon.
This indicates the Witch is currently analyzing its contents. Once she confirms
the file is Unicode, the icon will transform into Green
.
Note: If the file does not turn Green, the Witch has detected a complication:
- Yellow
indicates a formatting Omen (such as a missing trailing newline) that
should be fixed before proceeding. - Blue
or
Gray 
indicates
the file is already a Codepage or ASCII file. See Codepage
to Unicode for these rituals. - Red
indicates
a Void or error. Refer to the Status Icons
for more details.
2. Choosing the Incantation
The Enchantments pane will populate with a list of potential codepages.
The Witch ranks these using Compatibility Pie Graphs
for a quick visual reference:
- The Green Slice: Represents the portion of your text that can be successfully converted to that codepage.
- The Red Slice: Represents characters that do not exist in that codepage and will be lost.
- The Perfect Seal: When a codepage offers 100% compatibility,
the pie graph is replaced by a Checkmark
.
3. Identifying the Unseen
If you select a codepage with less than 100% compatibility, look closely at the Codepage Viewer (the lower mirror). Any character that the selected codepage cannot understand will be rendered as ¿. This allows you to hunt down problematic characters before the seal is finalized.
4. Finalizing the Seal
Once you are satisfied with the preview, click the Export
icon. The Witch
will preserve the line endings found in the original file and prompt you for
a destination. The transmutation is then performed, leaving your original
Unicode source untouched.