Decoding non English letters in URL (javascript)

Question

I get in my html file parameter with some text containing non-english characters. Like that: http://www.example.com/player.html?name=%e4%e1%ef

I need to decode this to name=הבן

I tryed:

unescape(url) - get wrong characters: name=äáï (maybe from another charset)
//and
decodeURIComponent(url) - get Malformed URI exception
// even found some solutions like
decodeURIComponent((url+'').replace(/\+/g, '%20')) - exception too

Any solution for that? How to decode using correct charset?

Thank you

I hoped there is an easy way, but after I got recommendations to change the website, I did it in dirty, but working way. MY SOLUTION:

function decode(str) {
    str=str.split("%e0").join("א");
    str=str.split("%e1").join("ב");
    str=str.split("%e2").join("ג");
    str=str.split("%e3").join("ד");
    str=str.split("%e4").join("ה");
    str=str.split("%e5").join("ו");
    str=str.split("%e6").join("ז");
    str=str.split("%e7").join("ח");
    str=str.split("%e8").join("ט");
    str=str.split("%e9").join("י");
    str=str.split("%ea").join("ך");
    str=str.split("%eb").join("כ");
    str=str.split("%ec").join("ל");
    str=str.split("%ed").join("ם");
    str=str.split("%ee").join("מ");
    str=str.split("%ef").join("ן");
    str=str.split("%f0").join("נ");
    str=str.split("%f1").join("ס");
    str=str.split("%f2").join("ע");
    str=str.split("%f3").join("ף");
    str=str.split("%f4").join("פ");
    str=str.split("%f5").join("ץ");
    str=str.split("%f6").join("צ");
    str=str.split("%f7").join("ק");
    str=str.split("%f8").join("ר");
    str=str.split("%f9").join("ש");
    str=str.split("%fa").join("ת");
    str=str.split("%20").join(" ");
    return str;
}

What tool created that URI? It should be name=%D7%94%D7%91%D7%9F (using UTF8) — Bergi
– Bergi, Commented Oct 12, 2017 at 16:01
If you want to decode to that, then you should have name=%D7%94%D7%91%D7%9F to start with. — Quentin
– Quentin, Commented Oct 12, 2017 at 16:02
Are you sure it's form encoded? Proper encoding of your string הבן is :%D7%94%D7%91%D7%9F — Optional
– Optional, Commented Oct 12, 2017 at 16:05
That what I get from the website. It built on OsCommerce. I don't know how it encodes this, but it isn't UTf-8, but windows-1255 charset... — Shmuel
– Shmuel, Commented Oct 12, 2017 at 16:07
@Shmuel In that case you will probably need to parse it manually and then apply that charset to get the actual characters from the bytes. (And of course you might file a complaint with the website, asking them to use UTF8) — Bergi
– Bergi, Commented Oct 12, 2017 at 16:10

Klas Mellbourn · Accepted Answer · 2017-10-12 16:05:10Z

3

The original url is not correctly encoded:

heb = "http://www.example.com/player.html?name=הבן"
"http://www.example.com/player.html?name=הבן"

enc = encodeURI(heb)
"http://www.example.com/player.html?name=%D7%94%D7%91%D7%9F"

decodeURI(enc)
"http://www.example.com/player.html?name=הבן"

answered Oct 12, 2017 at 16:05

Klas Mellbourn

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1 Comment

Ben Over a year ago

Seems like it's encoded correctly...just not for UTF8 (iso-8859-8-i)

Ben · Accepted Answer · 2017-10-12 17:09:35Z

Disclaimer: I've not done any thorough testing on this code

That said, it does what you want and is pretty straight forward. Using the conversion table from unicode.org do the following:

unescape the string
split each character into an array
convert each character to a unicode number (UTF-8)
re-assign array element to the corresponding unicode number (iso_8859_8)
convert the array back into a string

var url = "http://www.example.com/player.html?name=%e4%e1%ef;";
var string = '%e4%e1%ef';

var charEncodings = {
'0x00':  '0x0000', // # NULL
'0x01':  '0x0001', // # START OF HEADING
'0x02':  '0x0002', // # START OF TEXT
'0x03':  '0x0003', // # END OF TEXT
'0x04':  '0x0004', // # END OF TRANSMISSION
'0x05':  '0x0005', // # ENQUIRY
'0x06':  '0x0006', // # ACKNOWLEDGE
'0x07':  '0x0007', // # BELL
'0x08':  '0x0008', // # BACKSPACE
'0x09':  '0x0009', // # HORIZONTAL TABULATION
'0x0A':  '0x000A', // # LINE FEED
'0x0B':  '0x000B', // # VERTICAL TABULATION
'0x0C':  '0x000C', // # FORM FEED
'0x0D':  '0x000D', // # CARRIAGE RETURN
'0x0E':  '0x000E', // # SHIFT OUT
'0x0F':  '0x000F', // # SHIFT IN
'0x10':  '0x0010', // # DATA LINK ESCAPE
'0x11':  '0x0011', // # DEVICE CONTROL ONE
'0x12':  '0x0012', // # DEVICE CONTROL TWO
'0x13':  '0x0013', // # DEVICE CONTROL THREE
'0x14':  '0x0014', // # DEVICE CONTROL FOUR
'0x15':  '0x0015', // # NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE
'0x16':  '0x0016', // # SYNCHRONOUS IDLE
'0x17':  '0x0017', // # END OF TRANSMISSION BLOCK
'0x18':  '0x0018', // # CANCEL
'0x19':  '0x0019', // # END OF MEDIUM
'0x1A':  '0x001A', // # SUBSTITUTE
'0x1B':  '0x001B', // # ESCAPE
'0x1C':  '0x001C', // # FILE SEPARATOR
'0x1D':  '0x001D', // # GROUP SEPARATOR
'0x1E':  '0x001E', // # RECORD SEPARATOR
'0x1F':  '0x001F', // # UNIT SEPARATOR
'0x20':  '0x0020', // # SPACE
'0x21':  '0x0021', // # EXCLAMATION MARK
'0x22':  '0x0022', // # QUOTATION MARK
'0x23':  '0x0023', // # NUMBER SIGN
'0x24':  '0x0024', // # DOLLAR SIGN
'0x25':  '0x0025', // # PERCENT SIGN
'0x26':  '0x0026', // # AMPERSAND
'0x27':  '0x0027', // # APOSTROPHE
'0x28':  '0x0028', // # LEFT PARENTHESIS
'0x29':  '0x0029', // # RIGHT PARENTHESIS
'0x2A':  '0x002A', // # ASTERISK
'0x2B':  '0x002B', // # PLUS SIGN
'0x2C':  '0x002C', // # COMMA
'0x2D':  '0x002D', // # HYPHEN-MINUS
'0x2E':  '0x002E', // # FULL STOP
'0x2F':  '0x002F', // # SOLIDUS
'0x30':  '0x0030', // # DIGIT ZERO
'0x31':  '0x0031', // # DIGIT ONE
'0x32':  '0x0032', // # DIGIT TWO
'0x33':  '0x0033', // # DIGIT THREE
'0x34':  '0x0034', // # DIGIT FOUR
'0x35':  '0x0035', // # DIGIT FIVE
'0x36':  '0x0036', // # DIGIT SIX
'0x37':  '0x0037', // # DIGIT SEVEN
'0x38':  '0x0038', // # DIGIT EIGHT
'0x39':  '0x0039', // # DIGIT NINE
'0x3A':  '0x003A', // # COLON
'0x3B':  '0x003B', // # SEMICOLON
'0x3C':  '0x003C', // # LESS-THAN SIGN
'0x3D':  '0x003D', // # EQUALS SIGN
'0x3E':  '0x003E', // # GREATER-THAN SIGN
'0x3F':  '0x003F', // # QUESTION MARK
'0x40':  '0x0040', // # COMMERCIAL AT
'0x41':  '0x0041', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
'0x42':  '0x0042', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B
'0x43':  '0x0043', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C
'0x44':  '0x0044', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D
'0x45':  '0x0045', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E
'0x46':  '0x0046', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F
'0x47':  '0x0047', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G
'0x48':  '0x0048', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H
'0x49':  '0x0049', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I
'0x4A':  '0x004A', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J
'0x4B':  '0x004B', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K
'0x4C':  '0x004C', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L
'0x4D':  '0x004D', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M
'0x4E':  '0x004E', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N
'0x4F':  '0x004F', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O
'0x50':  '0x0050', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P
'0x51':  '0x0051', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q
'0x52':  '0x0052', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R
'0x53':  '0x0053', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S
'0x54':  '0x0054', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T
'0x55':  '0x0055', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U
'0x56':  '0x0056', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V
'0x57':  '0x0057', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W
'0x58':  '0x0058', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X
'0x59':  '0x0059', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y
'0x5A':  '0x005A', // # LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z
'0x5B':  '0x005B', // # LEFT SQUARE BRACKET
'0x5C':  '0x005C', // # REVERSE SOLIDUS
'0x5D':  '0x005D', // # RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET
'0x5E':  '0x005E', // # CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT
'0x5F':  '0x005F', // # LOW LINE
'0x60':  '0x0060', // # GRAVE ACCENT
'0x61':  '0x0061', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER A
'0x62':  '0x0062', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER B
'0x63':  '0x0063', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER C
'0x64':  '0x0064', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER D
'0x65':  '0x0065', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER E
'0x66':  '0x0066', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER F
'0x67':  '0x0067', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER G
'0x68':  '0x0068', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER H
'0x69':  '0x0069', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER I
'0x6A':  '0x006A', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER J
'0x6B':  '0x006B', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER K
'0x6C':  '0x006C', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER L
'0x6D':  '0x006D', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER M
'0x6E':  '0x006E', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER N
'0x6F':  '0x006F', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER O
'0x70':  '0x0070', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER P
'0x71':  '0x0071', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER Q
'0x72':  '0x0072', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER R
'0x73':  '0x0073', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER S
'0x74':  '0x0074', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER T
'0x75':  '0x0075', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER U
'0x76':  '0x0076', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER V
'0x77':  '0x0077', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER W
'0x78':  '0x0078', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER X
'0x79':  '0x0079', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER Y
'0x7A':  '0x007A', // # LATIN SMALL LETTER Z
'0x7B':  '0x007B', // # LEFT CURLY BRACKET
'0x7C':  '0x007C', // # VERTICAL LINE
'0x7D':  '0x007D', // # RIGHT CURLY BRACKET
'0x7E':  '0x007E', // # TILDE
'0x7F':  '0x007F', // # DELETE
'0x80':  '0x0080', // # <control>
'0x81':  '0x0081', // # <control>
'0x82':  '0x0082', // # <control>
'0x83':  '0x0083', // # <control>
'0x84':  '0x0084', // # <control>
'0x85':  '0x0085', // # <control>
'0x86':  '0x0086', // # <control>
'0x87':  '0x0087', // # <control>
'0x88':  '0x0088', // # <control>
'0x89':  '0x0089', // # <control>
'0x8A':  '0x008A', // # <control>
'0x8B':  '0x008B', // # <control>
'0x8C':  '0x008C', // # <control>
'0x8D':  '0x008D', // # <control>
'0x8E':  '0x008E', // # <control>
'0x8F':  '0x008F', // # <control>
'0x90':  '0x0090', // # <control>
'0x91':  '0x0091', // # <control>
'0x92':  '0x0092', // # <control>
'0x93':  '0x0093', // # <control>
'0x94':  '0x0094', // # <control>
'0x95':  '0x0095', // # <control>
'0x96':  '0x0096', // # <control>
'0x97':  '0x0097', // # <control>
'0x98':  '0x0098', // # <control>
'0x99':  '0x0099', // # <control>
'0x9A':  '0x009A', // # <control>
'0x9B':  '0x009B', // # <control>
'0x9C':  '0x009C', // # <control>
'0x9D':  '0x009D', // # <control>
'0x9E':  '0x009E', // # <control>
'0x9F':  '0x009F', // # <control>
'0xA0':  '0x00A0', // # NO-BREAK SPACE
'0xA2':  '0x00A2', // # CENT SIGN
'0xA3':  '0x00A3', // # POUND SIGN
'0xA4':  '0x00A4', // # CURRENCY SIGN
'0xA5':  '0x00A5', // # YEN SIGN
'0xA6':  '0x00A6', // # BROKEN BAR
'0xA7':  '0x00A7', // # SECTION SIGN
'0xA8':  '0x00A8', // # DIAERESIS
'0xA9':  '0x00A9', // # COPYRIGHT SIGN
'0xAA':  '0x00D7', // # MULTIPLICATION SIGN
'0xAB':  '0x00AB', // # LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
'0xAC':  '0x00AC', // # NOT SIGN
'0xAD':  '0x00AD', // # SOFT HYPHEN
'0xAE':  '0x00AE', // # REGISTERED SIGN
'0xAF':  '0x00AF', // # MACRON
'0xB0':  '0x00B0', // # DEGREE SIGN
'0xB1':  '0x00B1', // # PLUS-MINUS SIGN
'0xB2':  '0x00B2', // # SUPERSCRIPT TWO
'0xB3':  '0x00B3', // # SUPERSCRIPT THREE
'0xB4':  '0x00B4', // # ACUTE ACCENT
'0xB5':  '0x00B5', // # MICRO SIGN
'0xB6':  '0x00B6', // # PILCROW SIGN
'0xB7':  '0x00B7', // # MIDDLE DOT
'0xB8':  '0x00B8', // # CEDILLA
'0xB9':  '0x00B9', // # SUPERSCRIPT ONE
'0xBA':  '0x00F7', // # DIVISION SIGN
'0xBB':  '0x00BB', // # RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK
'0xBC':  '0x00BC', // # VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER
'0xBD':  '0x00BD', // # VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF
'0xBE':  '0x00BE', // # VULGAR FRACTION THREE QUARTERS
'0xDF':  '0x2017', // # DOUBLE LOW LINE
'0xE0':  '0x05D0', // # HEBREW LETTER ALEF
'0xE1':  '0x05D1', // # HEBREW LETTER BET
'0xE2':  '0x05D2', // # HEBREW LETTER GIMEL
'0xE3':  '0x05D3', // # HEBREW LETTER DALET
'0xE4':  '0x05D4', // # HEBREW LETTER HE
'0xE5':  '0x05D5', // # HEBREW LETTER VAV
'0xE6':  '0x05D6', // # HEBREW LETTER ZAYIN
'0xE7':  '0x05D7', // # HEBREW LETTER HET
'0xE8':  '0x05D8', // # HEBREW LETTER TET
'0xE9':  '0x05D9', // # HEBREW LETTER YOD
'0xEA':  '0x05DA', // # HEBREW LETTER FINAL KAF
'0xEB':  '0x05DB', // # HEBREW LETTER KAF
'0xEC':  '0x05DC', // # HEBREW LETTER LAMED
'0xED':  '0x05DD', // # HEBREW LETTER FINAL MEM
'0xEE':  '0x05DE', // # HEBREW LETTER MEM
'0xEF':  '0x05DF', // # HEBREW LETTER FINAL NUN
'0xF0':  '0x05E0', // # HEBREW LETTER NUN
'0xF1':  '0x05E1', // # HEBREW LETTER SAMEKH
'0xF2':  '0x05E2', // # HEBREW LETTER AYIN
'0xF3':  '0x05E3', // # HEBREW LETTER FINAL PE
'0xF4':  '0x05E4', // # HEBREW LETTER PE
'0xF5':  '0x05E5', // # HEBREW LETTER FINAL TSADI
'0xF6':  '0x05E6', // # HEBREW LETTER TSADI
'0xF7':  '0x05E7', // # HEBREW LETTER QOF
'0xF8':  '0x05E8', // # HEBREW LETTER RESH
'0xF9':  '0x05E9', // # HEBREW LETTER SHIN
'0xFA':  '0x05EA', // # HEBREW LETTER TAV
'0xFD':  '0x200E', // # LEFT-TO-RIGHT MARK
'0xFE':  '0x200F' // # RIGHT-TO-LEFT MARK
}

utf8_to_iso_8859_8(string);
function utf8_to_iso_8859_8(s) {
  var utf8EncodedString = unescape(s);
  var splitUtf8 = utf8EncodedString.split('');
  splitUtf8.forEach(function(element, index) {
    var utfChar = element.charCodeAt(0).toString(16).toUpperCase();
    splitUtf8[index] = String.fromCharCode(charEncodings['0x'+utfChar]);
  });
  //splitUtf8 = splitUtf8.reverse();
  splitUtf8 = splitUtf8.toString().replace(/,/g, '');
  console.log(splitUtf8);
}

I think you should store the charEncodings as number, not hex strings
@Bergi any particular reason? My thought was that since everything within the method is operated on as a string (esp. since object key is accessed as a concatenated string) that strings are easiest. And, admittedly, I've not worked much with this type of conversion so any best practice thoughts are appreciated.
"esp. since object key is accessed as a concatenated string" - well yes, that is just the problem. It's much easier to just drop this string concatenation and use String.fromCharCode(charEncodings(s[index])) (assuming s is an array of numbers, the bytes that are parsed from the percent-encoded string)

Luis Sousa · Accepted Answer · 2022-08-13 10:30:46Z

-1

The "escape" function worked for me

var url = 'http://www.example.com/player.html?name=%e4%e1%ef';
decodeURIComponent(escape(url))

answered Aug 13, 2022 at 10:30

Luis Sousa

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