html character code function

// check character names for special characters
function htmlEncode(characterName) {
  var n = characterName.length;
  var encoded = [];

  while (n--) {
    var charCode = characterName[n].charCodeAt();
    if (charCode < 65 || charCode > 127 || (charCode > 90 && charCode < 96)) {
      encoded[n] = '&#' + charCode + ';';
    } else {
      encoded[n] = characterName[n];
    }
  }

  return encoded.join('');
}