converting encoded files

[oneye234]

New XP user. How do I convert to English downloladed files that appear as a
foregin language? I am asked to "select encoding", Windows is recommended.
So now what. What language IS this text and why not English?

 

[Jezebel]

It's possible that the files are not Word documents (eg they were created by
WordPerfect or some such). In which case, you need to tell Word what to
convert them from. If it were a foreign language, you'd probably recognize
it as such; from the sound of it, you're seeing machine coding.

Experiment with the options in the 'Files of type' dropdown on the File >
Open dialog. If all else fails, use the 'Recover text from any file'
option -- you'll lose all formatting, but with luck you'll retrieve the
content.