iconv command in MacOS
The MacOS iconv command is a powerful tool to convert text between different character encodings. It can be used to convert files from one encoding to another, change the character set of a file, remove invalid characters, and more. With iconv, users can easily handle text files that use different character encodings, ensuring compatibility and consistency in their projects.
iconv Syntax:
Section titled “iconv Syntax:”iconv [options] -f encoding -t encoding [inputfile]...MacOS iconv Options:
Section titled “MacOS iconv Options:”| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| -f | Specifies the encoding of the input |
| -t | Specifies the encoding of the output |
| -c | Omit invalid characters from output |
| -s | Suppresses warnings |
| -o | Specifies the output file |
| -l | Lists all available encodings |
iconv Parameters:
Section titled “iconv Parameters:”| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| inputfile | The file that needs to be converted |
| encoding | Specifies the character encoding |
How to use iconv command:
Section titled “How to use iconv command:”Convert a file from UTF-8 to ASCII
Section titled “Convert a file from UTF-8 to ASCII”iconv -f UTF-8 -t ASCII input.txt > output.txtConverts a text file from UTF-8 encoding to ASCII encoding.
Convert a file from ISO-8859-1 to UTF-8
Section titled “Convert a file from ISO-8859-1 to UTF-8”iconv -f ISO-8859-1 -t UTF-8 input.txt > output.txtConverts a text file from ISO-8859-1 encoding to UTF-8 encoding.
Convert a file from Windows-1252 to UTF-8
Section titled “Convert a file from Windows-1252 to UTF-8”iconv -f WINDOWS-1252 -t UTF-8 input.txt > output.txtConverts a text file from Windows-1252 encoding to UTF-8 encoding.
Convert a file from UTF-16LE to UTF-8
Section titled “Convert a file from UTF-16LE to UTF-8”iconv -f UTF-16LE -t UTF-8 input.txt > output.txtConverts a text file from UTF-16LE encoding to UTF-8 encoding.
Convert a file from UTF-8 to UTF-16BE
Section titled “Convert a file from UTF-8 to UTF-16BE”iconv -f UTF-8 -t UTF-16BE input.txt > output.txtConverts a text file from UTF-8 encoding to UTF-16BE encoding.
Check supported encodings
Section titled “Check supported encodings”iconv -lLists all the supported encodings by iconv.
Convert a file and ignore characters that cannot be converted
Section titled “Convert a file and ignore characters that cannot be converted”iconv -c -f UTF-8 -t ASCII input.txt > output.txtConverts a text file from UTF-8 encoding to ASCII encoding, ignoring characters that cannot be converted.
Convert a string directly
Section titled “Convert a string directly”echo "Hello World" | iconv -f ASCII -t UTF-8Converts a string “Hello World” from ASCII encoding to UTF-8 encoding.
iconv Command Troubleshooting Q&A:
Section titled “iconv Command Troubleshooting Q&A:”{Questions}
How do I use iconv in MacOS?
Section titled “How do I use iconv in MacOS?”To use the iconv command in MacOS, execute the following command:
iconv --option <value>How do I convert a file to a different encoding using iconv in MacOS?
Section titled “How do I convert a file to a different encoding using iconv in MacOS?”To convert a file to a different encoding using iconv in MacOS, use the following command:
iconv -f <from_encoding> -t <to_encoding> <input_file> > <output_file>How do I list all available encodings for iconv in MacOS?
Section titled “How do I list all available encodings for iconv in MacOS?”To list all available encodings for iconv in MacOS, run the following command:
iconv -lHow do I convert a file from UTF-8 to ASCII using iconv in MacOS?
Section titled “How do I convert a file from UTF-8 to ASCII using iconv in MacOS?”To convert a file from UTF-8 to ASCII using iconv in MacOS, use the following command:
iconv -f UTF-8 -t ASCII <input_file> > <output_file>How do I ignore characters that cannot be converted by iconv in MacOS?
Section titled “How do I ignore characters that cannot be converted by iconv in MacOS?”To ignore characters that cannot be converted by iconv in MacOS, use the following command:
iconv -c -f <from_encoding> -t <to_encoding> <input_file> > <output_file>How do I convert a file in MacOS using iconv and append the result to an existing file?
Section titled “How do I convert a file in MacOS using iconv and append the result to an existing file?”To convert a file in MacOS using iconv and append the result to an existing file, execute the following command:
iconv -f <from_encoding> -t <to_encoding> <input_file> >> <existing_file>How do I convert a string in MacOS using iconv and display the output in the terminal?
Section titled “How do I convert a string in MacOS using iconv and display the output in the terminal?”To convert a string in MacOS using iconv and display the output in the terminal, use the following command:
echo "input_string" | iconv -f <from_encoding> -t <to_encoding>How do I convert multiple files at once using iconv in MacOS?
Section titled “How do I convert multiple files at once using iconv in MacOS?”To convert multiple files at once using iconv in MacOS, you can use a loop in combination with the iconv command. Here is an example command:
for file in *.txt; do iconv -f <from_encoding> -t <to_encoding> "$file" > "$file.converted"; doneHow do I convert a file in MacOS using iconv and show the progress of the conversion?
Section titled “How do I convert a file in MacOS using iconv and show the progress of the conversion?”To convert a file in MacOS using iconv and show the progress of the conversion, you can use the pv command in combination with iconv. Here is an example command:
pv input_file | iconv -f <from_encoding> -t <to_encoding> > output_fileApplications of the iconv command
Section titled “Applications of the iconv command”- Convert text from one character encoding to another
- Convert text from a file specified by the path given in the input-file argument
- Convert text from standard input
- Convert text and write the output to a file specified by the path given in the output-file argument
- Display the available character encodings
- Ignore or show warnings for unsupported characters during conversion