Directory and file names with spaces and accents

[Darwiniano]

Hi, I have a problem with spaces and accents. When I create a directory or file in the Finder, usually I use spaces or accents for french or spanish words. But then I cannot acces them from the Terminal! (if I say, for instance, "cd important stuff", it doesn't recognize the space as part of the name and looks for "important", and the caracters with accents appear something like this "orle??ans" in the lists)
Does somebody know how can I solve the problem? (without changing all the names, of course!!)
Thank you!!

 

[JadeNB]

Quotation marks, as in

cd "important stuff",

or slashes, as in

cd important\ stuff,

will make sure that it allows spaces. I only have one or two files with `unusual' characters in their names, but a tab-complete to access a directory named "Sinead O'Connor" (with the usual accent on the e) gives me

cd Sine\314\201ad\ O\'Connor

I don't know what the codes are -- ASCII, maybe? (But then why two of them?)