Resolving "Illegal Character 0x7 (Bell)" Error in DX Exports

Overview

This article explains how to troubleshoot and remove illegal control characters (0x7, "bell") in XHTML content that cause DX exports to fail.

1. Understanding the Error Message

✔ Error: Failed Exchange – EXPORT: SERIALIZATION phase null
✔ DX_DEBUG.log shows: "Illegal character 0x7 (bell)" detected in HTML content
✔ Cause:

• The bell character (0x7) is an old control character that was likely copy-pasted from another source.

• This character is not printable and is illegal in XML.

• It breaks DX exports because XML does not support it.

2. How to Find and Remove Illegal Characters

A. Search for Control Characters in the ReqIF File

✔ Open the ReqIF file in a text editor (e.g., Notepad++, VS Code).
✔ Use Find & Replace (Ctrl + H) to search for:

CopyEdit

\x07

✔ If found, replace it with a space ( ) or remove it.

B. Use an XML Validator to Detect the Character

✔ Upload the ReqIF file to an XML validation tool (XMLValidator).
✔ The validator should highlight invalid characters in the file.

C. Search HTML Content for Hidden Control Characters

✔ If DX export logs suggest an HTML content issue, search for:

• Hidden Unicode control characters in HTML blocks.

• Copy-pasted content from another source (e.g., Word, PDFs).
  ✔ Remove the bell character (0x7) from the HTML content before re-exporting.

3. How to Prevent Illegal Characters in Future Exports

✅ Avoid copy-pasting text directly into Jama fields from other sources (use plain text format).
✅ Run ReqIF files through an XML validator before import/export.
✅ Enable Jama’s defect fix (if available) to automatically remove illegal characters during exports.

4. Conclusion

• Illegal character 0x7 (bell) causes DX export failures because XML does not support it.

• The character likely came from a copy-paste operation and must be manually removed.

• Use text editors, XML validators, or HTML scrubbing tools to detect and eliminate hidden control characters.