Article ID: 97697 - Last Review: October 13, 2003 - Revision: 2.0

Generic/Text Only: Can't Use Null Character in Escape Sequence

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This article was previously published under Q97697
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SYMPTOMS

When you enter printer commands in the Modify dialog box for the Generic/Text Only printer driver (TTY.DRV), the null character (ASCII 0), entered by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+@ (At sign), is incorrectly sent to the printer as ASCII character 255. However, when the null character is entered in the Character dialog box to substitute it for another character, it is sent correctly.
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CAUSE

The null character is required by many printers in their escape sequence commands. The null character cannot be entered in a document in most Windows-based applications.
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WORKAROUND

As a workaround, substitute the null character for an unused character in the Characters dialog box and use that character in an embedded escape sequence in the application.

For example, to send "ESC X (0)" (in ASCII, 27 120 0) from Microsoft Windows Write and replace character 255, do the following:
  1. In the Characters dialog box of the Generic/Text Only driver, choose character 255 in the On Screen box and press CTRL+SHIFT+@ in the On Printer box.
  2. In Write, enter the escape sequence as ESC X (255). The key combination is ALT+027 on the numeric keypad X ALT+0255 on the numeric keypad.
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows 3.1 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 3.11 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
KB97697
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