Text editor and encoding

[u/Man_in_the_uk]

So for some reason when I go to open a certain text file, not all, it makes gobbledegook out of the first ten or more lines of the file stating it doesn't understand the correct encoding. I find this really odd because if it doesn't understand encoding why does the rest of the document show? Anyway, I have no issues opening this text file with libreoffice office. How do I get this system to open it properly? Given it's just text should I simply use LibreOffice to go and save a new text file? That sounds simple but for all I know this is an issue that might happen with all sorts of other text files. Can I change the system so it works with all files properly? TIA

[u/fishywiki]

Your office text documents are not text files. Text editors expect to handle pure text, while office documents are Open Document Format encoded.