> Date:    Wed, 12 Apr 2000 12:58:02 +0100
> From:    Steven Swann <[log in to unmask]>
>
> Hello all,
>    Can any one tell me what the following lines in my autoexec.bat file mean?
>
> mode con codepage prepare=((850) C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\ega.cpi)
> mode con codepage select=850
>
> Regards,
>
> Steven Swann.

It comes from Windows (or DOS under it).  Check out the MODE and CHCP
(CHange Code Page) commands in a good DOS manual for a listing (and a
proof sheet for each code page).  This changes the way each binary code
is displayed/printed.  437 (US-ASCII) has dollar sign and cent sign.  850
(UK) has dollar sign, but a different cent sign.  863 has French-Canadian
accents.  860 Portugese.  865 Nordic.  There are others.

Depending on which code page you have running at the moment, you may see
something different when you type <Alt>+<the decimal equivalent of the binary
code (range 0 to 255 decimal)>.  For example:

Code Page   UK/Multilingual  US-ASCII   Hexadecimal  Decimal   Binary
                 850           437
Symbol       dollar sign   dollar sign      24          36    0011 0110
                o + /        cent sign      9B         155    1001 1011
             librum sign   librum sign      9C         156    1001 1100
                O + /         yen sign      9D         157    1001 1101
              cent sign        - + "        BD         189    1011 1101


Boyd Ramsay

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