How can PHPStorm be configured to handle character encoding issues in existing files?

Character encoding issues in existing files can be handled in PHPStorm by configuring the file encoding settings. This can be done by going to File > Settings > Editor > File Encodings and setting the default encoding for the project. Additionally, PHPStorm provides the option to convert the encoding of individual files or entire directories.

// Example code snippet to set the default encoding to UTF-8 in PHPStorm
// File > Settings > Editor > File Encodings > Project Encoding: UTF-8

// This will ensure that PHPStorm uses UTF-8 encoding for all files in the project