Different types of encoding indicators are used, depending on the type of file and its encoding:
The UTF-8 signature, which indicates that a text file is encoded in UTF-8, is a mark at the beginning of the file. Although optional within the computer industry, Essbase requires that UTF-8-encoded files include the UTF-8 signature.
Inserted at the beginning of non-Unicode-encoded text files, the locale header record is an additional text record that includes a locale that identifies the encoding of the file. You can use the Essbase Unicode File Utility to insert the locale header or you can use a text editor to create the locale header. For the format and other details about the locale header record, see the Oracle Essbase Database Administrator's Guide.
As binary files that contain text information, outline files and rules files contain a flag that indicates whether the text is encoded in UTF-8 or in a supported non-Unicode encoding.
As needed, if a file is not UTF-8-encoded, Essbase uses an internal locale indicator to identify the locale used for character text encoding.