Special Characters in HTTP Requests
Depending upon the content type of the data for the request, the request can contain URL-encoded data and the server is expected to decode the data. For example, an incoming request may have the following message body:
name=John%20Smith&address=500%201%2F2%20Main%20Street
If the message body is not parsed (Parse Post Method Data is unchecked on the Configuration tab), the body of the message remains URL-encoded in the PostData output element. If the message body is parsed, the data is decoded before being placed into the PostData output element, and that element would appear as follows:
name=John Smith&address=500 1/2 Main Street
Because the PostData output element can contain different data and be a different length depending upon whether the message body is parsed, it is recommended that you obtain data from the parameters output element when the message body is parsed.
For more information about the URL specification, see http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt.