2.2.1 Input characters

If you open a new file for LilyPond input, ensure that your editor uses UTF-8 input encoding. Frescobaldi (see Installing) does this automatically for you, but especially under Windows this might not be the default under a different editor.

Note also that some characters used for LilyPond notation have look-alike siblings. In particular, you have to use straight quotes ('), not curly quotes (’) or acute accents (´). Some editors, especially e-mail clients, automatically replace straight quotes with curly ones; such a feature must be switched off.