How do I configure MySQL '5.1.49-1ubuntu8' to show multibyte characters?

Question

I am using MySQL version 5.1.49 and I have now enabled UTF8 character encoding. The default character-set for MySQL is latin1. How can I change it show UTF8 characters?

Even when I query a table using Workbench, I get 'NULL' in the name section which I want, should display multibyte characters.

Answer 1

You may want to consider setting the database's default character for new tables going forward using ALTER DATABASE. Here is an example using MySQL 5.5.12 for Windows:

mysql> show create database example;
+----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Database | Create Database                                                    |
+----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| example  | CREATE DATABASE `example` /*!40100 DEFAULT CHARACTER SET latin1 */ |
+----------+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> alter database example default character set utf8;
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.01 sec)

mysql> show create database example;
+----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Database | Create Database                                                  |
+----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| example  | CREATE DATABASE `example` /*!40100 DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 */ |
+----------+------------------------------------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Give it a Try !!!

Answer 2

Don't forget to specify the characterset you're using client side too. From the mysql shell you would run

set names utf8;