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How to Fix French Accented Characters in Yammer Message API

Khadija Khan Oct 12, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to resolve an issue where French accented characters are sent as raw Unicode strings instead of displaying correctly through the JSON API.

How to Display French Accented Characters Correctly in the Yammer Message API

Product: Yammer / Viva Engage
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Posting messages containing French accented characters via the Yammer or Viva Engage Message JSON API.
Observed behavior: French accented characters such as 'é' appear as literal Unicode text (e.g., \u00E9) in the posted messages.

Before you start

Verify that your API client or script is set to use UTF-8 encoding and check if your JSON payload is being double-escaped before submission.

Solution 1Recommended

Format and Decode JSON Payload Properly

Ensure your integration correctly encodes the payload in JSON and that the API client decodes Unicode escape sequences prior to sending the POST request.

When JSON payloads are serialized incorrectly, standard Unicode representations like \u00E9 can be interpreted as literal text rather than the intended accented characters.

Because this involves custom API integrations, general Microsoft 365 support primarily focuses on out-of-the-box issues and may not investigate custom script anomalies.

Check payload encoding

Review your application's serialization logic to ensure the JSON request body is correctly encoded in UTF-8 without double-escaping special characters.

Decode escape sequences in client

Configure your API client, middleware, or integration tool to properly parse and decode Unicode sequences (translating \u00E9 back to é) before finalizing the API POST request.

Test with direct API tools

Use a tool like Postman or cURL to manually send a test message containing French accents. This helps determine whether the rendering issue originates from the Yammer endpoint or your custom application code.

Consult developer communities

If you cannot resolve the rendering issue within your script, post your API-specific formatting problem in Microsoft Q&A or the Viva Engage developer community for specialized developer assistance.

Developer Support: Standard Microsoft 365 support typically does not cover custom JSON API troubleshooting. Utilizing dedicated developer communities will yield faster, more accurate solutions for integration issues.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do accents appear as \u00E9 in Yammer messages?

When JSON payloads are serialized incorrectly or double-escaped by the client application, standard Unicode representations like \u00E9 are interpreted by the Yammer API as literal text strings rather than being rendered as the intended accented characters.

Where can I get help with Viva Engage custom API scripts?

Because standard Microsoft 365 support focuses on out-of-the-box features, it is highly recommended to post API-specific issues on the Microsoft Q&A platform or the Viva Engage developer forums to get help from integration specialists.

Does this issue affect other special characters besides French accents?

Yes. Any non-ASCII character, including Spanish tildes, German umlauts, and emojis, may render as raw Unicode strings if the JSON encoding and escape sequences are not handled correctly by the sending application.

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