{"schema":"cpc-unicode-answer-v1","question":"How is the replacement character different from a missing glyph?","answer":"U+FFFD is a real character. It is used when bytes or code units could not be decoded. Code points: U+FFFD. A hollow box, a hex box, or a boxed question mark drawn by a font is not this character. Copying that box does not put U+FFFD in the string. No fallback is suggested. Font coverage, shaping, and application acceptance were not tested, so those results are unknown.","unicodeVersion":"18.0.0","purpose":"general","citation":"Do not invent a platform-support claim from this data.","page":"/answers/how-replacement-character-differs-from-a-missing-glyph/","markdown":"/answers/how-replacement-character-differs-from-a-missing-glyph.md","sample":"�","codepoints":[{"codepoint":"U+FFFD","name":"REPLACEMENT CHARACTER","displayLabel":"�","warnings":["replacement-character"],"explanations":[{"id":"replacement-character","title":"Replacement character","behavior":"U+FFFD is a real character. It is used when bytes or code units could not be decoded.","limitation":"A hollow box, a hex box, or a boxed question mark drawn by a font is not this character. Copying that box does not put U+FFFD in the string.","fix":"Inspect the code points. If the string contains U+FFFD, repair the original bytes. If it contains another scalar that only looks like a box, the font lacks a glyph for that scalar.","source":"https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr44/","alternatives":[],"evidenceTier":"standards-informed-editorial","evidence":{"behavior":"standards-informed","compatibility":"not-tested","repair":"editorial-guidance"}}]}],"comparison":null,"graphemes":{"status":"available","method":"runtime-intl-segmenter","unicodeDataVersion":"runtime-unknown","count":1,"segments":[{"text":"�","utf16Offset":0,"codepoints":["U+FFFD"]}]},"normalizationChanged":{"NFC":false,"NFD":false,"NFKC":false,"NFKD":false},"normalizationUnicodeDataVersion":"runtime-unknown","targetCompatibility":{"status":"unknown","evidenceTier":"not-tested","purpose":"general","explanation":"No OS, font, browser, application, field policy or rendering engine was tested. Unicode validity and segmentation do not establish actual display or acceptance."}}