Change Shapefile data source encoding?

Question

I tried to change the only the shapefile datasource encoding through properties and also How to encode shapefiles from LATIN1 to UTF-8? but it doesn't change it.

Without saving the QGIS project can't I directly change the shapefile datasource encoding?

I also tried this code, it shows change encoding but as I open the shapefile again it show the same old system encoding:

for layer in QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayers().values():
    layer.setProviderEncoding(u'UTF-8')
    layer.dataProvider().setEncoding(u'UTF-8')
    print layer.name(), layer.dataProvider().encoding()  

(I am not saving QGIS project, just accessing and saving shapefile directly. When I save the project and do this task then it work correctly)

Answer 1

From the menubar, go to:

Settings > Options > Data Sources > Data source handling

and uncheck the Ignore shapefile encoding declaration setting:

This sets all layers loaded into QGIS to be default encoded to UTF-8

Answer 2

To recapitulate the different location where you can set the encoding:

When you open a shapefile:

When you open a CSV:

When you save a vector file:

In the layer properties:

And, as mentioned by @Joseph, you should probably uncheck the Ignore shapefile encoding declaration setting.

Answer 3

When you use Save As ..., you have to select a different filename, and Add file to canvas.

As a consequence, you MUST save the project too to get the new shapefile in it. The unsaved project still includes the untouched shapefile, and the wrong encoding.

BTW the Data encoding in the Layer properties is part of the project file, not the shapefile. Your code example does not write anything inside the shapefile, it changes just the layer settings of the project.