This paper presents three types of auto-detection methods to determine encodings of documents without explicit charset declaration. We discuss merits and demerits of each method and propose a composite approach in which all 3 types of detection methods are used in such a way as to maximize their strengths and complement other detection methods. We argue that auto-detection can play an important role in helping transition browser users from frequent uses of a character encoding menu into a more desirable state where an encoding menu is rarely, if ever, used. We envision that the transition to the Unicode would have to be transparent to the users. Users need not know how characters are displayed as long as they are displayed correctly -- whether it’s a native encoding or one of Unicode encodings. Good auto-detection service could help significantly in this effort as it takes most encoding issues out of the user’s concerns.