LATIN1.INF November 28, 1993 Caveats ------- The TAPCIS editor will remove character 141 () from a file imported with F9-Import, or when the E>dit command is used from the main menu. Ultravision supports only code page 437 (English) What is Latin-1? ---------------- CompuServe messaging has, in the past, been limited to the characters included in the ASCII character set. To support the use of international characters, CompuServe has adopted the ISO 8859-1 character set, also called Latin-1. CompuServe has also assigned an Ascii equivalent for each of the Latin1 characters, and will display the substitute character to terminals without Latin1 support. A character of data is stored internally on a computer as a number from 0 through 255. A character set defines how each character code will appear when displayed. Personal computers running MS-DOS, use the character set defined in their active "code page" to determine the appearance of individual characters. Although many of the ISO/Latin1 characters are available in the MS-DOS code pages, the character code numbers assigned to them are not the same. In order for an MS-DOS application to send and receive Latin1 characters, the character codes must be translated. When the /LATIN1 startup option is used, either on the command line or in the TAPCIS.CFG file, TAPCIS will determine the active MS-DOS code page and load appropriate translation tables from the CHARMAPS.TAP file. In cases where a particular Latin-1 character is not available in the current DOS code page, TAPCIS will use the Ascii substitute character selected by CompuServe. The CHARMAPS.TAP file includes support for the following code pages: 437 - English 850 - Multilingual 863 - Canadian-French 865 - Nordic Code page 850 supports the most comprehensive set of Latin-1 characters. The SHOWCP.EXE utility will display the currently active MS-DOS code page. Using Latin1 characters ----------------------- If you are already using a keyboard and code page that allow for the entry and display of extended characters, you can use them with TAPCIS just by turning on the /LATIN1 option in your TAPCIS.CFG file. To enter characters which are available in your active code page, but which aren't included on your keyboard, press and hold the ALT key while you type the character code number on your keyboard's numeric keypad. Refer to the table at the end of this document to see which characters are available in your code page. If you are using a standard US keyboard, the keyboard driver supplied with MS-DOS 5.0 provides an alternative method for entering accented characters. If you install the Brazilian keyboard driver, you can create accented characters by typing the accent character followed by the character above which it should appear. The following accents are available: Acute accent - Apostrophe (') Grave accent - Grave accent(`) Circumflex - Caret/circumflex (^) Tilde - Tilde (~) Diaeresis/Umlaut - Quote (") To create the cedilla character, type If the character typed following the accent is not available as an accented character in your active code page, the keyboard driver will beep and display the two characters separately. Keyboard support can be installed in either your AUTOEXEC.BAT file or your CONFIG.SYS file as follows: AUTOEXEC.BAT c:\dos\keyb.com br,437,c:\dos\keyboard.sys CONFIG.SYS device=c:\dos\keyb.com br,437,c:\dos\keyboard.sys Once the driver has been loaded, you can use the DOS commands: KEYB US and KEYB BR to toggle accented character support off and on. You can effect the toggle while running TAPCIS by pressing and entering the appropriate command as the "Program to execute". CompuServe Mail --------------- In order to send Latin-1 characters in CompuServe Mail messages, TAPCIS must use B+ Protocol to upload the message as /TYP:LATIN1. Forum Libraries --------------- Latin1 characters are allowed in library file descriptions, titles, keywords, and in text files. When Latin1 library files are read online by Ascii users, CompuServe will automatically translate the contents to 7-bit Ascii. When Latin1 library files are downloaded with B+ protocol, no translation takes place. The downloaded file will still contain ISO/Latin1 characters. In order for the information to be viewable as DOS text, the file must be translated by a separate utility program. Alternatively, the file can be viewed in a Windows application, since most Windows fonts support the ISO/Latin-1 character set directly. Microsoft Windows ----------------- When TAPCIS records Latin1 characters on your local disk, in your forum.MSG or forum.CAT files, it uses the DOS character code appropriate to your active code page. If you need to import the information into a Windows application, the Latin1 characters will need to be converted from DOS/OEM text back to their ANSI/ISO equivalents. If you use the Windows clipboard to mark and copy information from TAPCIS running in Windowed mode, this translation is automatic. If you are importing a saved Latin1 message into a Windows application, you will need to use an appropriate conversion. For example, in Microsoft Word for Windows, select the DOS-Text conversion. Changing Code Pages ------------------- The most comprehensive set of Latin1 characters is found in DOS code page 850. The following procedures for selecting code page 850 have been tested with MS-DOS 5.0 and a VGA display. If you are using an LCD display, the procedure may be different and you should consult your DOS manual. If you are using Microsoft Windows, you will also need to revise your Windows setup when changing code pages. Changing code pages must be done outside of Windows, so multiple code page support has little advantage. To switch to an alternate code page ----------------------------------- CONFIG.SYS country=001,,c:\dos\country.sys device=c:\dos\display.sys con=(ega,850,1) AUTOEXEC.BAT c:\dos\nlsfunc.exe c:\dos\mode con codepage prepare=((850)c:\dos\ega.cpi) c:\dos\keyb.com br,850,c:\dos\keyboard.sys chcp 850 For multiple code page support ------------------------------ CONFIG.SYS: country=001,,c:\dos\country.sys device=c:\dos\display.sys con=(ega,437,2) AUTOEXEC.BAT: c:\dos\nlsfunc.exe c:\dos\mode con codepage prepare=((437 850)c:\dos\ega.cpi) c:\dos\keyb.com br,,c:\dos\keyboard.sys chcp 850 (Use command CHCP 437 to switch pages) Changing the OEM code page in Windows 3.1 ----------------------------------------- Before you begin: Backup your WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI files Have available: Windows setup/installation disks - Exit from Windows - Change to your Windows directory (CD\WINDOWS) - Run SETUP and select the new hardware code page (If the code page has not been previously installed, you'll be prompted for one of your Windows disks.) Note: Check your system.ini file after Setup has finished. If you notice that lots of lines in the [Boot] section are blank to the right of the "=" sign, run SETUP from DOS again and reinstall/reselect your Display driver. ================================================================== The following table lists the ISO/Latin-1 characters along with the character codes assigned to them in the supported DOS code pages. Where the code page does not include the correct representation of the ISO character, the table shows the literal Ascii substitue character. To enter a character which is not available on your keyboard, press and hold the ALT key while you type the character code number on your keyboard's numeric keypad. ISO/Latin-1 character name | 437 | 850 | 863 | 865 | ----------------------------------------------------- Inverted exclamation | 173 | 173 | ! | 173 | Cent sign | 155 | 189 | 155 | c | Pound sign | 156 | 156 | 156 | 156 | Currency sign | | 207 | 152 | 175 | Yen sign | 157 | 190 | Y | Y | Broken bar | 124 | 124 | 160 | 124 | Section sign | S | 245 | 143 | S | Diaeresis | " | 249 | 164 | " | Copyright sign | C | 184 | C | C | Feminine ordinal indicator | 166 | 166 | a | 166 | Left guillemet | 174 | 174 | 174 | " | Not sign | 170 | 170 | 170 | 170 | Soft hyphen | 045 | 240 | - | 045 | Registered trademark | R | 169 | R | R | Macron | _ | 238 | 167 | _ | | | | | | Ring above/degree | 248 | 248 | 248 | 248 | Plus-minus sign | 241 | 241 | 241 | 241 | Superscript two | 253 | 253 | 253 | 253 | Superscript three | 3 | 252 | 166 | 3 | Acute accent | ' | 239 | 161 | ' | Micro sign | 230 | 230 | 230 | 230 | Pilcrow sign | P | 244 | 134 | P | Middle dot | 250 | 250 | 250 | 250 | Cedilla | , | 247 | 165 | , | Superscript one | 1 | 251 | 1 | 1 | Masculine ordinal indicator | 167 | 167 | o | 167 | Right guillemet | 175 | 175 | 175 | " | One quarter | 172 | 172 | 172 | 172 | One half | 171 | 171 | 171 | 171 | Three quarters | | 243 | 173 | | Inverted question mark | 168 | 168 | ? | 168 | | | | | | Capital A with grave accent | A | 183 | 142 | A | Capital A with acute accent | A | 181 | A | A | Capital A with circumflex | A | 182 | 132 | A | Capital A with tilde | A | 199 | A | A | Capital A with diaeresis | 142 | 142 | A | 142 | Capital A with ring | 143 | 143 | A | 143 | Capital diphthong A with E | 146 | 146 | A | 146 | Capital C with cedilla | 128 | 128 | 128 | 128 | Capital E with grave accent | E | 212 | 145 | E | Capital E with acute accent | 144 | 144 | 144 | 144 | Capital E with circumflex | E | 210 | 146 | E | Capital E with diaeresis | E | 211 | 148 | E | Capital I with grave accent | I | 222 | I | I | Capital I with acute accent | I | 214 | I | I | Capital I with circumflex | I | 215 | I | I | Capital I with diaeresis | I | 216 | I | I | | | | | | Capital Eth | D | 209 | D | D | Capital N with tilde | 165 | 165 | N | 165 | Capital O with grave accent | O | 227 | O | O | Capital O with acute accent | O | 224 | O | O | Capital O with circumflex | O | 226 | 153 | O | Capital O with tilde | O | 229 | O | O | Capital O with diaeresis | 153 | 153 | O | 153 | Multiplication sign | x | 158 | x | x | Capital O with oblique stroke | O | 157 | O | 157 | Capital U with grave accent | U | 235 | 157 | U | Capital U with acute accent | U | 233 | U | U | Capital U with circumflex | U | 234 | 158 | U | Capital U with diaeresis | 154 | 154 | 154 | 154 | Capital Y with acute accent | Y | 237 | Y | Y | Capital Thorn | p | 232 | p | p | Small German sharp s | 225 | 225 | 225 | 225 | | | | | | Small a with grave accent | 133 | 133 | 133 | 133 | Small a with acute accent | 160 | 160 | a | 160 | Small a with circumflex | 131 | 131 | 131 | 131 | Small a with tilde | a | 198 | a | a | Small a with diaeresis | 132 | 132 | a | 132 | Small a with ring | 134 | 134 | a | 134 | Small diphthong a with e | 145 | 145 | a | 145 | Small c with cedilla | 135 | 135 | 135 | 135 | Small e with grave accent | 138 | 138 | 138 | 138 | Small e with acute accent | 130 | 130 | 130 | 130 | Small e with circumflex | 136 | 136 | 136 | 136 | Small e with diaeresis | 137 | 137 | 137 | 137 | Small i with grave accent | 141 | 141 | i | 141 | Small i with acute accent | 161 | 161 | i | 161 | Small i with circumflex | 140 | 140 | 140 | 140 | Small i with diaeresis | 139 | 139 | 139 | 139 | | | | | | Small eth | d | 208 | d | d | Small n with tilde | 164 | 164 | n | 164 | Small o with grave accent | 149 | 149 | o | 149 | Small o with acute accent | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | Small o with circumflex | 147 | 147 | 147 | 147 | Small o with tilde | o | 228 | o | o | Small o with diaeresis | 148 | 148 | o | 148 | Division sign | 246 | 246 | 246 | 246 | Small o with oblique stroke | o | 155 | o | 155 | Small u with grave accent | 151 | 151 | 151 | 151 | Small u with acute accent | 163 | 163 | 163 | 163 | Small u with circumflex | 150 | 150 | 150 | 150 | Small u with diaeresis | 129 | 129 | 129 | 129 | Small y with acute accent | y | 236 | y | y | Small thorn | p | 231 | p | p | Small y with diaeresis | 152 | 152 | y | 152 |