Windows – Why do Chinese filenames displays as boxes in Windows 7

chinesewindows 7

I'm running Windows 7 Professional (UK), and trying to get filenames containing Chinese characters to display correctly in Explorer.

I can create Chinese filenames in explorer by pasting text from a webpage or using the Chinese IME to rename files, but the characters just display as boxes (Unicode 'missing character' glyph).

The Chinese fonts are installed on the system, and web pages display OK in the browser. In particular, I can see the correct Chinese filenames by pointing chrome at file://C:\, for example.

Best Answer

There's a possible solution posted at How can I get Chinese/Japanese characters to display properly instead of squares?

So the trick is to change the system locale to Chinese (PRC) and then changing the system locale back to English (United States). I can now see the Simplified Chinese characters correctly in my buddyllist as well as in browser titles. I've attached a screenshot of the menus to get to the system locale. Basically go where you changed your input method and follow the screenshot below:

http://www.twitpic.com/18uhgc

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