How Do I Fix the Python 3 `UnicodeDecodeError: 'charmap' codec` When Reading Text Files?

UnicodeDecodeError: 'charmap' codec can't decode byte X in position Y

When attempting to read a text file in Python 3, you may encounter the following error:

UnicodeDecodeError: 'charmap' codec can't decode byte 0x90 in position 2907500: character maps to `<undefined>`

Explanation:

This error occurs when the 'charmap' codec, which is responsible for converting bytes to characters, is unable to decode a specific byte in the text file. This is typically due to the file not being encoded in the expected encoding.

Decoding Error:

In this particular error, byte 0x90 is causing the issue. This byte is not mapped to any character in the 'charmap' encoding, which is commonly used for Windows systems.

Solution:

To resolve this issue, you need to determine the correct encoding of the text file. One way to do this is to inspect the file using a text editor and observe the characters that are not being decoded.

Once you have determined the correct encoding, you can specify it when opening the file in Python:

file = open(filename, encoding="utf8")

In this example, "utf8" is the encoding used for the text file. Be sure to replace it with the correct encoding.

By using the correct encoding, Python will be able to decode the bytes in the text file without encountering any errors.

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