Digital PDFs

EK-PPLV2-PM-B01

September 1991

234 pages

Original

0.7MB

Document:	Digital Ansi-Compliant Print Protocol Lev 2 Program. Ref. Man.
Order Number:	EK-PPLV2-PM
Revision:	B01
Pages:	234
Original Filename:

OCR Text

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing
Protocol
Level 2 Programming Reference
Manual
Order Number: EK–PPLV2–PM. B01

This document describes level 2 of Digital’s ANSI-Compliant Printing
Protocol (DEC PPL2). It contains information pertaining to all level 2
printers.

Revision/Update Information:

Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

This is a revised manual.

First Printing, September 1991
Revised, August 1994
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be
construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation.
Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this
document.
Any software described in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied
only in accordance with the terms of such license. No responsibility is assumed for the use or
reliability of software or equipment that is not supplied by Digital Equipment Corporation or its
affiliated companies.
Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to
restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer
Software clause at DFARS 252.227–7013.
© Digital Equipment Corporation 1991, 1994.
All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
The Reader’s Comments form at the end of this document requests your critical evaluation to
assist in preparing future documentation.
The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation:
DEC, DEClaser, LA50, LA70, LA75, LA310, LA600, LN01, LN03, LN03 PLUS, PrintServer,
PrintServer 20, PrintServer 40, PrintServer 40 Plus, and the DIGITAL Logo.
ANSI is a registered trademark of the American National Standards Institute, Inc. PCL
is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. IBM and Proprinter are registered
trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. PostScript is a registered
trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc.

S2695

This document was prepared using VAX DOCUMENT Version 2.1.

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 Protocol Concepts
1.1
1.2
1.3

Levels of the Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extensions and Exceptions to the Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Relationship to the Printing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1–1
1–2
1–2

2 Character Processing
2.1
Coded Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2
Printable Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1
Selecting Graphic Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2
Line Terminators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3
Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4
Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.1
Processing 2/0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.2
Processing 7/15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.3
Processing 10/0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.4
Processing 15/15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5
Control Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.1
Escape Sequence Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.2
Control Sequence Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.2.1
Parameter Values in Control Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.2.2
Private Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.2.3
Selectable Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.3
Control Strings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.3.1
Device Control String (DCS) Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.5.3.2
Application Program Command, Operating System
Command, and Privacy Message Control Strings . . . . . . .
2.5.4
Special Parsing Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2–2
2–6
2–6
2–7
2–8
2–9
2–9
2–10
2–10
2–10
2–10
2–10
2–11
2–12
2–13
2–14
2–14
2–15
2–15
2–16

iii

3 Page Coordinate System
3.1
Coordinate System Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.1
Character Cell Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.2
Point Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.3
Conformance to Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1.4
Origin and Extent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2
Positioning and Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1
Advance Increments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1.1
HAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.1.2
VAI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.2.2
Positioning Control Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3
Bounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.1
Left Margin Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.2
Right Margin Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.3
Top Margin Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.4
Bottom Margin Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.4
Mapping Logical Page to Physical Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.5
Partial Line Motion (PLU and PLD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.6
Side Effects of Positioning Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.7
Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.8
Conditional Form Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.9
Conditional Sheet Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3–1
3–2
3–2
3–2
3–2
3–3
3–3
3–3
3–3
3–3
3–5
3–6
3–6
3–7
3–8
3–8
3–9
3–9
3–10
3–11
3–11

4 Fonts
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.4
4.4.1
4.4.2
4.4.3

Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Font Repertory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Font Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Downloaded Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supported Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Font Selection Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Font Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Current Font Definition (CFD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Font Selection and Fallbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4–1
4–1
4–2
4–2
4–3
4–3
4–4
4–4
4–4
4–5

5 Sixel Graphics
5.1
Terminology and Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.2
Converting Sixel Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.3
Selecting Sixel Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4
Protocol Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1
Protocol Selector — Formatting Information . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1.1
Ps1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1.2
Ps2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1.3
Pn3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.1.4
q — Sixel Graphics Protocol Selector Final . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.2
Picture Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.4.3
String Terminator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5
Character Processing in Sixel Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.1
Sixel Printable Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.2
Sixel Graphics Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.3
Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.4
Parameter Separator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.5.5
Exiting Sixel Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6
Sixel Graphics and Text Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.1
State upon Entering Sixel Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.2
Interaction with Text Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.6.3
State After Exiting Sixel Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.7
Graphics Programming Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.7.1
Parameter Usage and Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.7.2
Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.7.3
Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.7.4
Compatibility or Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.8
Sixel Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECGCR ( $ ) — Graphics Carriage Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECGNL ( - ) — Graphics Next Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECGRA ( " ) — Set Raster Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECGRI ( ! ) — Graphics Repeat Introducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5–1
5–3
5–3
5–4
5–4
5–5
5–5
5–5
5–6
5–6
5–6
5–6
5–6
5–8
5–9
5–9
5–9
5–10
5–10
5–10
5–10
5–10
5–11
5–11
5–12
5–12
5–12
5–13
5–22
5–23
5–24
5–26

6 Control Characters
6.1
6.2
6.3

Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C0 Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
C1 Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6–1
6–1
6–5

7 Command Dictionary
ASCEF — Announce Subset of Code Extension Facilities . . . . . .
CRM — Control Representation Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA — Device Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DAR (generic response) — Device Attributes Report . . . . . . . . . .
DAR (alias response) — Device Attributes Report . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA2 — Secondary Device Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA2R — Secondary Device Attributes Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECAC1 — Accept C1 Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECASFC — Automatic Sheet Feeder Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECAUPSS — Assign User Preference Supplemental Set . . . . . .
DECAWM — Autowrap Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECBAR — Start or Stop Bar Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECCAHT — Clear All Horizontal Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECCAVT — Clear All Vertical Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECCRNLM — Carriage Return /New Line Mode . . . . . . . . . . .
DECDEN — Density Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECDLD — Download Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECFSR — Font Status Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECHPWA — Set Page Width Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECHTS — Horizontal Tab Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECIPEM — Enter IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode . . . . . . . . .
DECIPEM — Return from IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode . . . .
DECRFS — Request Font Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSBCA — Select Bar Code Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSCL — Select Conformance Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSHORP — Set Horizontal Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSHTS — Set Horizontal Tab Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSLPP — Set Lines per Physical Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSLRM — Set Left and Right Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSTBM — Set Top and Bottom Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7–6
7–7
7–9
7–10
7–12
7–13
7–14
7–15
7–16
7–17
7–19
7–20
7–22
7–23
7–24
7–25
7–26
7–35
7–36
7–38
7–39
7–40
7–41
7–42
7–44
7–45
7–47
7–48
7–50
7–52

DECSTR — Soft Terminal Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECSVTS — Set Vertical Tab Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECTC1 — Truncate C1 Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECUPM — Unidirectional Print Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECVERP — Set Vertical Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECVTS — Vertical Tab Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DSR — Device Status Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DSR — Device Status Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HPA — Horizontal Position Absolute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HPR — Horizontal Position Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LNM — Line Feed/New Line Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
LS*/LS*R/SS* — Locking and Single Shifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RIS — Reset to Initial State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ROCS — Return from Other Coding System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SCS — Select Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes . . . . . . . .
SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Fonts . . . . . . . . . . .
SOCS — Select Other Coding System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TBC — Tab Clear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VPA — Vertical Position Absolute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VPR — Vertical Position Relative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7–54
7–55
7–56
7–57
7–58
7–61
7–62
7–64
7–66
7–67
7–68
7–69
7–71
7–72
7–73
7–77
7–81
7–82
7–83
7–84
7–85
7–86

A Character Sets
A.1
A.2
A.3
A.4
A.5
A.6
A.7
A.8
A.9
A.10
A.11
A.12

ASCII Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Special Graphics Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Technical Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin Alphabet No. 1 Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . .
National Replacement Character (NRC) Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Legal Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hebrew Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Greek Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Turkish Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eastern European Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JIS Katakana Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A–2
A–2
A–4
A–6
A–8
A–9
A–26
A–28
A–32
A–35
A–39
A–42

vii

Index
Figures
2–1
2–2
2–3
2–4
2–5
3–1
5–1
5–2
A–1
A–2
A–3
A–4
A–5
A–6
A–7
A–8
A–9
A–10
A–11
A–12
A–13
A–14
A–15
A–16
A–17
A–18
A–19
A–20
A–21
A–22
A–23
A–24
A–25

viii

Standard 8-Bit Code Table (Left Half) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Standard 8-Bit Code Table (Right Half) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Designating and Invoking Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Escape Sequence Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Control Sequence Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bounds in the Page Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sixel Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sixel Graphics Device Control String (DCS) Envelope . . . . . .
ASCII Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Special Graphics Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Technical Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin Alphabet No. 1 Supplemental Character Set . . . .
British Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Finnish Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
French Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC French-Canadian Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
German Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Italian Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JIS Roman Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Norwegian/Danish Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Spanish Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Swedish Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Norwegian/Danish Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Dutch Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Swiss Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Portuguese Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Legal Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Hebrew Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Greek Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . .

2–4
2–5
2–7
2–11
2–12
3–6
5–2
5–4
A–3
A–4
A–5
A–7
A–9
A–12
A–13
A–14
A–15
A–16
A–17
A–18
A–19
A–20
A–21
A–22
A–23
A–24
A–25
A–27
A–29
A–30
A–31
A–33
A–34

A–26
A–27
A–28
A–29
A–30
A–31

DEC 7-Bit Turkish Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin-5 Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin-2 Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental Character Set . . . . . . . . . . .
JIS Katakana Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A–36
A–37
A–38
A–40
A–41
A–43

Documentation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7-Bit and 8-Bit Control Character Equivalence . . . . . . . . . . .
Special Character Parsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Positioning Controls and Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Side Effects of Vertical Positioning Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Side Effects of Horizontal Positioning Controls . . . . . . . . . . .
Macro Parameter Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Printable Dot Patterns for Sixel Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . .
Sixel Graphics Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HLS Color Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RGB Color Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commands Listed by Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extension Parameters for Generic Primary DA Response . . .
User Preference Supplemental Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . .
DECDLD Selective Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page Length Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SCS Intermediate Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SCS Intermediate (I2 ) and Final Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SCS Final Characters for Fallback Character Sets . . . . . . . .
ESC Sequences Sorted by Final Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Control Sequences Sorted by Final Character . . . . . . . . . . . .
DCS Strings Sorted by Final Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEC Technical Character Set Component Characters . . . . . .
National Replacement Character Set Pairing Fallbacks . . . .

xiii
2–8
2–18
3–4
3–9
3–10
5–5
5–7
5–9
5–14
5–19
7–2
7–10
7–18
7–27
7–49
7–73
7–74
7–75
7–86
7–88
7–90
A–8
A–11

Tables
1
2–1
2–2
3–1
3–2
3–3
5–1
5–2
5–3
5–4
5–5
7–1
7–2
7–3
7–4
7–5
7–6
7–7
7–8
7–9
7–10
7–11
A–1
A–2

Preface

Purpose
This document describes the printer functions that comprise level 2 of Digital’s
ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol (DEC PPL2). It contains information
pertaining to all level 2 printers. Use the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing
Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement to reference information specific to
a particular device.

Organization
This manual contains the following chapters and appendixes.
•

Chapter 1, Protocol Concepts, provides an overview of the levels of the
protocol and describes the relationship to the printing environment.

•

Chapter 2, Character Processing, describes character processing concepts,
character sets, and control function formats.

•

Chapter 3, Page Coordinate System, describes the page coordinate system.

•

Chapter 4, Fonts, contains general information on fonts and the font
selection process.

•

Chapter 5, Sixel Graphics, describes sixel graphics commands and concepts.

•

Chapter 6, Control Characters, describes the C0 and C1 control characters
used in DEC PPL2.

•

Chapter 7, Command Dictionary, describes the DEC PPL2 commands and
reports, including side effects and error handling.

•

Appendix A, Character Sets, describes the supported character sets.

For More Information
This manual is associated with the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing
Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement (referred to in this manual as
the Programming Supplement), which supplies information about particular
level 2 devices.
The following table lists the titles and order numbers of DEC PPL2
documentation and other Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol manuals.
For ordering information, see ‘‘How to Order Additional Documentation’’ at the
end of this book.
Manual

Comments

Order Number

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2
Programming Reference Manual

Information relating to all DEC
PPL2 devices

EK–PPLV2–PM

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2
Programming Supplement

Information specific to particular
DEC PPL2 devices

EK–PPLV2–PS

DEC PPL2 Documentation Kit

Set containing both DEC PPL2
manuals

EK–PPLV2–DK

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 3
Programming Reference Manual

Information relating to all DEC
PPL3 devices

EK–PPLV3–PM

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 3
Programming Supplement

Information specific to particular
DEC PPL3 devices

EK–PPLV3–PS

DEC PPL3 Documentation Kit

Set containing both DEC PPL3
manuals

EK–PPLV3–DK

Font File Format User’s Manual

Technical font file information for
use with DEC PPL3 devices

EK–CFFFM–UG

xii

Conventions Used in This Manual
Table 1 shows conventions used in this manual.
Table 1 Documentation Conventions
Control
Functions

Characters used in control functions appear in monospaced type. Below each
character is a column/row number that indicates the coded character’s position
in a standard code table such as the one shown in Figure 2–1 and Figure 2–2.

ESC
1/11

#
2/3

6
3/6

ASCII character form
Column/Row form

Both the ASCII character form and the Column/Row form of the control
function coding are provided. Note that if a character set other than ASCII is
in use on the input device, the input character form is different.
Spaces appear between characters in sequences for clarity; they are not part
of the format. Space is designated as SP when it is part of the format of a
command or sequence.
Ps

The term Ps indicates a selective parameter. See also Section 2.5.2.1

The term Pn indicates a numeric parameter. See also Section 2.5.2.1

Boldface text

Boldface text represents the introduction of a new term.

Italic text

Italic text indicates items for which the software supplies a value.

xiii

1
Protocol Concepts
This chapter describes the following topics:
•

Levels of the protocol, Section 1.1

•

Extensions and exceptions to the protocol, Section 1.2

•

Relationship to the printing environment, Section 1.3

1.1 Levels of the Protocol
The Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol is divided into three functional
levels. Digital printers support one or more levels of the protocol, implementing
all of the functions defined by that level. Each higher level includes all of the
functions defined by the lower levels.
This manual describes level 2 of the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol
(DEC PPL2).
•

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 1 (DEC PPL1)
includes the functions for a basic character cell printer (for example, the
LA50). Basic character cell printers are monospaced devices and may
support different horizontal pitches. Functions for backwards vertical
movement, vertical margins, or vertical tabs are not included in this level.

•

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2 (DEC PPL2)
includes the functions for an advanced character cell printer (for example,
the LA75). Advanced character cell printers are also monospaced devices
and support different horizontal pitches and fonts. Functions for limited
backwards vertical movement, vertical margins, and vertical tabs are
included in this level.

•

Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 3 (DEC PPL3)
includes the functions for a page printer (for example, the LN03). In
page-oriented printers, positions on the page can be addressed in any order.
Functions for proportionally spaced text are included in this level.

Protocol Concepts 1–1

Printers are categorized by the highest level of the protocol that they support.
For example, the LA75 is categorized as a level 2 printer because it supports
level 1 and level 2 of the protocol.
Level 1 and level 2 printers are addressed in terms of columns and lines,
similar to setting tabs on a typewriter. In order to be compatible with level 1
and level 2 printers, level 3 printers can also be addressed in terms of columns
and lines. A level 3 printer can also be addressed in smaller units, such as
centipoints, to use the advanced level 3 functions.

1.2 Extensions and Exceptions to the Protocol
The Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol also includes a number of
functions that are specified as either extensions or exceptions to the
protocol.
Extensions to the protocol are defined to allow additional features not provided
on all printers to be used in a device-independent manner. Applications taking
advantage of these functions are portable only among those devices that
provide the additional feature. For example, paper tray selection functions
are an extension to the protocol because not all devices support more than one
paper tray. However, the protocol extension allows those devices that have
more than one paper tray to be addressed in the same manner.
Exceptions are functions that allow applications to take advantage of unique
or device-specific hardware features. Applications taking advantage of these
functions are generally not portable from printer to printer.
Refer to the Programming Supplement for information on which extensions
and exceptions to the protocol are supported by a particular device.

1.3 Relationship to the Printing Environment
The Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol recognizes a separation between
document creation and printer management. In some printing environments,
an application communicates directly with a printer connected to a port on a
host computer. Sometimes, however, there is an intermediate entity called a
driver, spooler, or symbiont between the application and the printer. This is
often the case when several users share a device.
•

The application is typically concerned with document creation, including
page composition, font selection, and other document description,
independent of the physical characteristics of the printer. The application
may store the created document for later printing.

1–2 Protocol Concepts

•

The symbiont is any code or device that controls print-time functions, such
as the physical configuration, printer memory configuration, and other
printer management operations. The symbiont receives the printer’s device
attributes report, informs the user to load paper when necessary, or selects
the proper paper tray, for example.

A separate symbiont or printer driver allows applications to drive several
printers without requiring each application to manage the different physical
characteristics of the printers.
In Chapter 7 of this document, each control function is labeled Symbiont or
Application to specify which component should send the control function to
perform the desired function.
Note
Digital does not recommend using symbiont commands in an
application. Since the symbiont should be updated whenever a
printer is released, the application can avoid making changes by not
implementing symbiont functions in the application itself, or by putting
the symbiont functions in a module that can be released in a separate
revision when it is desirable to support another printer.

Protocol Concepts 1–3

2
Character Processing
In the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol, text and control information
is represented by coded characters. Coded characters consist of a series
of binary digits or bits. Older devices use 7 bits to encode each character.
Newer devices use 8 bits, which provide more characters. The newer devices
can also use 7-bit characters. This chapter describes how coded characters are
processed.
The following topics are covered in this chapter:
•

Coded characters, Section 2.1

•

Printable characters, Section 2.2

•

Control characters, Section 2.3

•

Special characters, Section 2.4

•

Control functions, Section 2.5

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) specify standards for character
encoding. This protocol is compatible with the following ANSI , JIS, and ISO
standards:
ANSI X3.4-1986

American National Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII)

ANSI X3.32-1973

Graphic Representation of the Control Characters of
the American National Standard Code for Information
Interchange

ANSI X3.64-1979

Additional Controls for Use with the American National
Standard Code for Information Interchange

JIS X 0201-1976

Japanese Industrial Standard Katakana character set

ISO 646:1983

Information processing — ISO 7-bit coded character set for
information interchange

Character Processing 2–1

ISO 2022:1986

Information processing — ISO 7-bit and 8-bit coded
character sets — Code extension techniques

ISO 4873:1986

Information processing — ISO 8-bit code for information
interchange — Structure and rules for implementation

ISO 6429:1988

Information processing — Control functions for 7-bit and
8-bit coded character sets

ISO 8859

Information processing — 8-bit, single-byte coded graphic
character sets — See individual ISO character sets in
Appendix A.

ISO 8859-8:1988

Information processing — 8-bit, single-byte coded graphic
character sets — Part 8: Latin-Hebrew Alphabet

ISO/IEC DIS 10538

Information technology — Control functions for text
communication

2.1 Coded Characters
Character processing is described in terms of the standard 8-bit coded
character set that is divided into the following categories of coded characters:
•

A set of 32 control characters called the C0 control set (0/0–1/15, inclusive).

•

A set of 94 graphic characters called the GL (Graphics Left) graphics set
(2/1–7/14, inclusive).

•

A set of 32 control characters called the C1 control set (8/0–9/15, inclusive).

•

A set of 94 graphic characters called the GR (Graphics Right) graphics set
(10/1–15/14, inclusive).

•

A set of special characters outside of these categories: 2/0, 7/15, 10/0, and
15/15.

2–2 Character Processing

Figure 2–1 and Figure 2–2 illustrate the Standard 8-Bit Code Table, using
ASCII as the GL character set and DEC Supplemental as the GR character set.
The Standard 8-Bit Code Table shows the character allocated to each position
in the standard 8-bit coded character set.
In an 8-bit environment, the low-order 7 bits determine whether the character
is printable or is a control character. The eighth bit of the character specifies
the following active character sets:
Eighth Bit

Active Character Set

GL or C0

GR or C1

In some environments, only 7 bits are used to encode characters, using the
standard 7-bit coded character set. The standard 7-bit set includes only the C0
and GL character sets and special characters 2/0 and 7/15. Figure 2–1, alone,
is an example of the Standard 7-Bit Code Table.

Character Processing 2–3

Figure 2–1 Standard 8-Bit Code Table (Left Half)
Standard Left
C0 Control Set
Column

Row
0

NUL

SOH

STX

ETX

EOT

ENQ

ACK

BEL

0
0
0
0
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
6
7
7
7
10
8
8
11
9
9
12
10
A
13
11
B
14
12
C
15
13
D
16
14
E
17
15
F

Graphics Left (GL)
2

DLE
DC1
(XON)
DC2
DC3
(XOFF)
DC4
NAK
SYN
ETB
CAN
EM
SUB
ESC
FS
GS
RS
US

20
16
10
21
17
11
22
18
12
23
19
13
24
20
14
25
21
15
26
22
16
27
23
17
30
24
18
31
25
19
32
26
1A
33
27
1B
34
28
1C
35
29
1D
36
30
1E
37
31
1F

40
32
20

SP
!
"
#
$
%
&

(
)
*
+
,

41
33
21
42
34
22
43
35
23
44
36
24
45
37
25
46
38
26
47
39
27
50
40
28
51
41
29
52
42
2A
53
43
2B
54
44
2C
55
45
2D
56
46
2E
57
47
2F

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

4
60
48
30
61
49
31
62
50
32
63
51
33
64
52
34
65
53
35
66
54
36
67
55
37
70
56
38
71
57
39
72
58
3A
73
59
3B
74
60
3C
75
61
3D
76
62
3E
77
63
3F

@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

5
100
64
40
101
65
41
102
66
42
103
67
43
104
68
44
105
69
45
106
70
46
107
71
47
110
72
48
111
73
49
112
74
4A
113
75
4B
114
76
4C
115
77
4D
116
78
4E
117
79
4F

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]
^

6
120
80
50
121
81
51
122
82
52
123
83
53
124
84
54
125
85
55
126
86
56
127
87
57
130
88
58
131
89
59
132
90
5A
133
91
5B
134
92
5C
135
93
5D
136
94
5E
137
95
5F

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

7
140
96
60
141
97
61
142
98
62
143
99
63
144
100
64
145
101
65
146
102
66
147
103
67
150
104
68
151
105
69
152
106
6A
153
107
6B
154
108
6C
155
109
6D
156
110
6E
157
111
6F

p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
{

}
~

160
112
70
161
113
71
162
114
72
163
115
73
164
116
74
165
117
75
166
118
76
167
119
77
170
120
78
171
121
79
172
122
7A
173
123
7B
174
124
7C
175
125
7D
176
126
7E
177

DEL 127
7F

ASCII Graphic Character Set
LEGEND

GL
A

4/1
101
65
41

2–4 Character Processing

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003973

Figure 2–2 Standard 8-Bit Code Table (Right Half)
Standard Right
C1 Control Set

1
2
3
4

BPH
NBH
IND

NEL

SSA

ESA

HTS

HTJ

VTS

PLD

PLU

SS2

SS3

200
128
80
201
129
81
202
130
82
203
131
83
204
132
84
205
133
85
206
134
86
207
135
87
210
136
88
211
137
89
212
138
8A
213
139
8B
214
140
8C
215
141
8D
216
142
8E
217
143
8F

220
DCS 144
90
221
PU1 145
91
222
146
PU2 92
223
STS 147
93
224
148
CCH 94
225
MW 149
95
226
150
SPA 96
227
EPA 151
97
230
152
SOS 98
231
153
99
232
SCI 154
9A
233
CSI 155
9B
234
ST 156
9C
235
157
OSC 9D
236
PM 158
9E
237
159
APC 9F

240
160
A0

241
161
A1
242
162
A2
243
163
A3
244
164
A4
245
165
A5
246
166
A6
247
167
A7
250
168
A8
251
169
A9
252
170
AA
253
171
AB
254
172
AC
255
173
AD
256
174
AE
257
175
AF

2
3

1
o

Row
0

Column

Graphics Right (GR)
12
260
176
B0
261
177
B1
262
178
B2
263
179
B3
264
180
B4
265
181
B5
266
182
B6
267
183
B7
270
184
B8
271
185
B9
272
186
BA
273
187
BB
274
188
BC
275
189
BD
276
190
BE
277
191
BF

A
A
A
~
A
..
A
A

C
E
E
E
..
E
I
I
I
..
I

13
300
192
C0
301
193
C1
302
194
C2
303
195
C3
304
196
C4
305
197
C5
306
198
C6
307
199
C7
310
200
C8
311
201
C9
312
202
CA
313
203
CB
314
204
CC
315
205
CD
316
206
CE
317
207
CF

~
N
O
O
O
~
O
..
O
OE
O
U
U
U
..
U
..
Y

14
320
208
D0
321
209
D1
322
210
D2
323
211
D3
324
212
D4
325
213
D5
326
214
D6
327
215
D7
330
216
D8
331
217
D9
332
218
DA
333
219
DB
334
220
DC
335
221
DD
336
222
DE
337
223
DF

a
a
a
a~
..
a
a
ae
c
e
e
e
..
e
i
i
i
..
i

15
340
224
E0
341
225
E1
342
226
E2
343
227
E3
344
228
E4
345
229
E5
346
230
E6
347
231
E7
350
232
E8
351
233
E9
352
234
EA
353
235
EB
354
236
EC
355
237
ED
356
238
EE
357
239
EF

n~
o
o
o
o~
..
o
oe
o
u
u
u
..
u
..
y

360
240
F0
361
241
F1
362
242
F2
363
243
F3
364
244
F4
365
245
F5
366
246
F6
367
247
F7
370
248
F8
371
249
F9
372
250
FA
373
251
FB
374
252
FC
375
253
FD
376
254
FE
377
255
FF

DEC Supplemental Graphic Character Set
LEGEND

GR
A

12/1
301
193
C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003974

Character Processing 2–5

2.2 Printable Characters
The characters in GL in a 7-bit environment and the characters in GL and GR
in an 8-bit environment are interpreted as printable characters whenever they
are not part of a control function.
Both a font and a graphic character set must be specified to print a character.
The graphic character set specifies what character (for example, a capital
letter A) is printed. Each set is an ordered group of 94 or 96 characters, and is
described by the code table for that graphic character set.
The font specifies the size, style, and design used to print the character. For
example, a Courier 10-point font describes the type family (Courier) and size
(10 point) of the character.
See Appendix A for the code tables of the character sets supported by DEC
PPL2 devices. See Chapter 4 for more information on fonts.

2.2.1 Selecting Graphic Character Sets
Several graphic character sets reside in the device. Additional sets may
be downline loaded or provided by font cartridges. See the Programming
Supplement to determine whether cartridges or downline loading are available
in a particular device. A graphic character set need not be selected every
time the device is used; default character sets can be used. ASCII, DEC
Supplemental, DEC Technical, and DEC Special Graphics are examples of
graphic character sets.
Graphic character sets are selected for printing as follows:
1. Designate the set as one of the logical G0, G1, G2, or G3 sets.
2. Map (invoke) one of the G-sets into the graphic left (GL) or graphic right
(GR) logical set. (In a 7-bit environment, only the GL set is available.)
Figure 2–3 shows the process of designating and invoking character sets. The
Select Character Set (SCS) command designates the graphic character set (see
Chapter 7). The Locking Shift and Single Shift commands map the logical
sets into the GL or GR set. See Locking and Single Shifts (LS*/LS*R/SS*) in
Chapter 7.
In addition, the User Preference logical character set provides an extra level
of indirection. This allows any one of several different character sets to be
selected using the same designating command. See Assign User Preference
Supplemental Set (DECAUPSS) in Chapter 7 for more information on the User
Preference character set.

2–6 Character Processing

Figure 2–3 Designating and Invoking Character Sets

1 LS0
2 LS1
GL

GR
3 SS2
or LS2
4 LS1R

Invoking

"Invoking"
Sequences
Locking Shift,
Single Shift,
or Announcers

5 SS3
or LS3
6 LS2R
7 LS3R

or
Announcer
Sequences

"Designating"
Sequences
(SCS)
or Announcers

Selecting

94-Char
Graphic
Repertory

96-Char
Graphic
Repertory

DECAUPSS
User
Preference
MLO-003976

2.2.2 Line Terminators
In order to minimize print operations, optimize print quality, and optimize
print speed, the device may buffer information. In this case, the device does
not perform a print operation until a line terminator has been received. See
the Programming Supplement for more information.

Character Processing 2–7

2.3 Control Characters
The characters in C0 in a 7-bit environment and the characters in C0 and
C1 in an 8-bit environment are interpreted as control characters. They are
processed as described in Chapter 6.
All C1 control characters abort an incomplete escape sequence, control
sequence, or control string.
In a 7-bit environment, C1 control characters in the range 8/0–9/15 can be
accessed by using an equivalent 2-character escape sequence with a final
character in the range 4/0–5/15. For example, the escape sequence ESC K (1/11
4/11) is equivalent to the 8-bit control character PLD (8/11). Another example
is CSI, which may be encoded as ESC [ (1/11 5/11) or as CSI (9/11). Table 2–1
provides these equivalent sequences.
Table 2–1 7-Bit and 8-Bit Control Character Equivalence
8-Bit Column/Row

Mnemonic

7-Bit Equivalent Sequence

8/0

Reserved

ESC @

1/11 4/0

8/1

Reserved

ESC A

1/11 4/1

8/2

BPH

ESC B

1/11 4/2

8/3

NBH

ESC C

1/11 4/3

8/4

IND

ESC D

1/11 4/4

8/5

NEL

ESC E

1/11 4/5

8/6

SSA

ESC F

1/11 4/6

8/7

ESA

ESC G

1/11 4/7

8/8

HTS

ESC H

1/11 4/8

8/9

HTJ

ESC I

1/11 4/9

8/10

VTS

ESC J

1/11 4/10

8/11

PLD

ESC K

1/11 4/11

8/12

PLU

ESC L

1/11 4/12

8/13

ESC M

1/11 4/13

8/14

SS2

ESC N

1/11 4/14

8/15

SS3

ESC O

1/11 4/15

9/0

DCS

ESC P

1/11 5/0
(continued on next page)

2–8 Character Processing

Table 2–1 (Cont.) 7-Bit and 8-Bit Control Character Equivalence
8-Bit Column/Row

Mnemonic

7-Bit Equivalent Sequence

9/1

PU1

ESC Q

1/11 5/1

9/2

PU2

ESC R

1/11 5/2

9/3

STS

ESC S

1/11 5/3

9/4

CCH

ESC T

1/11 5/4

9/5

ESC U

1/11 5/5

9/6

SPA

ESC V

1/11 5/6

9/7

EPA

ESC W

1/11 5/7

9/8

SOS

ESC X

1/11 5/8

9/9

Reserved

ESC Y

1/11 5/9

9/10

SCI

ESC Z

1/11 5/10

9/11

CSI

ESC [

1/11 5/11

9/12

ESC \

1/11 5/12

9/13

OSC

ESC ]

1/11 5/13

9/14

ESC ^

1/11 5/14

9/15

APC

ESC _

1/11 5/15

2.4 Special Characters
Special characters are characters that are part of the 8-bit code table but not
part of the C0, GL, C1, or GR character sets. The special characters are:
•

2/0

•

7/15

•

10/0

•

15/15

In a 7-bit environment, only 2/0 and 7/15 are available.

2.4.1 Processing 2/0
If a 94-character graphic character set is selected into GL, 2/0 always prints a
Space (SP).
If a 96-character graphic character set resides in GL, 2/0 prints the specified
character from that set. If 2/0 is undefined in that set, the error character is
printed.

Character Processing 2–9

2.4.2 Processing 7/15
If a 94-character graphic character set is selected into GL, 7/15 is always
ignored.
If a 96-character graphic character set resides in GL, 7/15 prints the specified
character from that set. If 7/15 is undefined in that set, the error character is
printed.

2.4.3 Processing 10/0
If a 94-character graphic character set is selected into GR, 10/0 prints the error
character.
If a 96-character graphic character set is selected into GR, 10/0 prints the
specified character from that set. If 10/0 is undefined in that set, the error
character is printed.

2.4.4 Processing 15/15
If a 94-character graphic character set is selected into GR, 15/15 is always
ignored.
If a 96-character graphic character set is selected into GR, 15/15 prints the
specified character from that set. If 15/15 is undefined in that set, the error
character is printed.

2.5 Control Functions
Control functions consist of control characters, escape sequences, control
sequences, and control strings. This section describes the format and
processing of escape sequences, control sequences, and control strings,
collectively termed commands.
The device recognizes the control function formats and ignores all commands
that are not listed in Chapter 7 or the Programming Supplement.

2.5.1 Escape Sequence Format
The format of an escape sequence is:
ESC

I ... I

1/11

2/0–2/15

3/0–7/14

Escape Sequence
Introducer

Intermediate Characters
(0 or more characters)

Final Character
(1 character)

The ESC control character (1/11) is the Escape Sequence Introducer. After
ESC is received, all characters received within the proper range are not printed
but are stored as part of the sequence.
2–10 Character Processing

Intermediate characters are characters in the range 2/0–2/15 received after
ESC. Escape sequences with a maximum of three intermediate characters are
recognized and stored. If a fourth intermediate character is received, the event
is noted and when the final character arrives, the entire escape sequence is
ignored.
The final character is the character in the range 3/0–7/14 received after ESC
and after 0 or more intermediate characters. The final character indicates the
end of the escape sequence. The intermediate characters (if any) and the final
character together define the function of the sequence.
Figure 2–4 shows an example of an escape sequence.
Figure 2–4 Escape Sequence Example
ESC
(
B
1/11
2/8
4/2
|
|
|
|
|
-----Final Character
|
------------Intermediate Character
--------------------Escape Sequence Introducer

2.5.2 Control Sequence Format
The format of a control sequence is:
CSI

P ... P

I ... I

9/11

3/0–3/15

2/0–2/15

4/0–7/14

Control
Sequence
Introducer

Parameter
Characters (0 or
more characters)

Intermediate
Characters (0 or
more characters)

Final Character
(1 character)

The CSI control character is the Control Sequence Introducer. CSI has an
8-bit code of 9/11. This is equivalent to the escape sequence consisting of the
ESC (1/11) and ‘‘[’’ (5/11) characters. Both encodings are recognized as CSI.
After CSI is received, all characters up to and including the final character are
not printed but are stored as part of the sequence.
Parameter characters are characters in the range 3/0–3/15, received
after CSI and before any intermediate characters or the final character. A
parameter character modifies the action or interpretation of the sequence.
Generally, a parameter character is an ASCII digit and modifies the sequence
as a numerical index. Parameter characters are grouped to form parameters.
The occurrence of the ? character (3/15) or > character (3/14) at the beginning
of a parameter string indicates Digital private parameters. See Section 2.5.2.2
for more information.

Character Processing 2–11

If the : character (3/10), < character (3/12), or = character (3/13) is received
during processing of a parameter string, or if 3/14 or 3/15 is received after the
first character of a parameter string, the event is noted and when the final
character arrives, the entire sequence is ignored.
Intermediate characters are characters in the range 2/0–2/15, received after
CSI and after the parameter characters, if any. Only control sequences with 0
or 1 intermediate character are recognized by the device.
The final character is the character in the range 4/0–7/14, received after
the CSI and after the parameter or intermediate characters, if any. The final
character indicates the end of the control sequence. The parameters and
intermediate characters (if any) and the final character together define the
function of the sequence.
Figure 2–5 shows an example of a control sequence.
Figure 2–5 Control Sequence Example
ESC
[
1 0
;
6 0
"
s
1/11
5/11 3/1 3/0 3/11 3/6 3/0 2/2 7/3
|
|
|
|
|
|
+-------+
+-----------------+
|
|
|
|
|
|
Control Sequence Introducer |
|
|
|
|
|
Parameters
|
|
|
|
Intermediate Character |
|
Final Character
2.5.2.1 Parameter Values in Control Sequences
There are two types of parameters: numeric and selective.
•

A numeric parameter is interpreted as a number of units that specify a
distance or quantity pertaining to the control function. In this document
Pn is used to denote a numeric parameter value.

•

A selective parameter is interpreted as identifying an entry from a list of
options pertaining to the control function. In this document Ps is used to
denote a selective parameter value.

Parameters are interpreted as unsigned decimal integers, with the most
significant digit sent first. Leading zeros are allowed but are ignored. Plus and
minus signs are not allowed.

2–12 Character Processing

If no value is received for a parameter in a sequence, a value of zero is assumed
for that parameter. The maximum value for a numeric parameter is at least
as great as the greatest value needed by any supported control sequence. Any
larger value received is replaced by the maximum value.
If multiple parameters are encoded in a single sequence, they are separated by
a ; (semicolon, 3/11). A maximum of 16 parameters is allowed. If more than
16 parameter values are received, only the first 16 are evaluated. The extra
parameters do not invalidate the entire control sequence.
Some sequences require a fixed number of selective parameters. Others accept
a variable number. Unless otherwise stated, if one of a variable-length string
of selective parameters is out of range for a particular control function, the
parameter is ignored. See individual control functions in Chapter 7 for error
handling of fixed-length selective parameter strings.
Side effects of commands are performed even if one or more parameters are out
of range for that function.
2.5.2.2 Private Parameters
If the ? character (3/15) or the > character (3/14) occurs at the beginning
of a string of parameters, the parameters that follow are Digital private
parameters. The device notes this event. When the final character is received,
the presence or absence of ? or > contributes to determining the validity and
meaning of the parameter.
If ? or > occurs in the control sequence, other than as the first character of the
parameter string, the entire sequence is discarded.
The following example shows a valid control sequence using private
parameters:
CSI ?

;

The following example shows an invalid control sequence:
CSI ?

;

? 4

A string of parameters preceded by ? or > where no preceding character is
expected is considered out of range. The device ignores the parameters, but
processes any side effects related to the sequence.
Note
The ? and > characters are not interchangeable. They signify different
types of private parameters.

Character Processing 2–13

2.5.2.3 Selectable Modes
Selectable modes control the way data is transmitted, interpreted, or imaged,
instead of causing some action or printing to occur. For example, Line Feed
/New Line Mode (LNM) controls how the Line Feed (LF) control character is
interpreted: either as a line feed or a new line. The Set Mode (SM) and Reset
Mode (RM) control sequences that toggle the state of each selectable mode are
listed in Chapter 7.
To use one SM or RM sequence to turn several selectable modes on or off
at the same time, send the control sequence introducer, followed by the list
of the parameters for each mode, separated by semicolons, followed by the
appropriate final character: h (6/8) for set, or l (6/12) for reset. An SM or RM
control sequence with multiple selective parameters is treated as multiple SM
or RM sequences, each with one parameter.
There are two types of selectable modes: ANSI and Digital private. The ?
character (3/15) or > character (3/14) is used to indicate a private parameter
string. When you combine multiple selectable modes in a single sequence, all
parameters must be of the same type.
Some mode switch parameters set the device to an emulation protocol. Any
parameters received after a protocol mode switch parameter are ignored.
Parameters received in DEC PPL2 mode before the protocol mode switch
parameter are valid. When using a mode switch command to exit an emulation
protocol, do not send extra parameters.

2.5.3 Control Strings
Control strings are used to pass variable length data strings. The format of a
control string is:
Control string introducer

Protocol selector

D ... D

The following C1 control characters are the control string introducers:
Application Program Command (APC), Device Control String (DCS), Operating
System Control (OSC), or Privacy Message (PM).
The protocol selector specifies the meaning of the data and consists of
parameter characters (optional), intermediate characters (optional), and a final
character. The protocol selector format is unique for each type of control string.
D . . . D is data to be passed with the control string. This data string must be
made up of characters in the range 0/8–0/13 and 2/0–7/14.
ST is the C1 control character String Terminator.

2–14 Character Processing

2.5.3.1 Device Control String (DCS) Format
The format of a device control string is:
DCS

P ... P

I ... I

9/0

3/0–3/15

2/0–2/15

7/0–7/14

Device
Control
String

Parameter
Characters
(0 or more
characters)

Intermediate Final
Character
Characters
(1
(0 or more
character)
characters)

Introducer

D ... D

ST
9/12

Data
(0 or more
characters)

String
Terminator

Protocol Selector

The DCS control character is the Device Control String introducer. DCS
has an 8-bit code of 9/0. This is equivalent to the escape sequence consisting of
the ESC (1/11) and P (5/0) characters. Both encodings are recognized as DCS.
After DCS is received, all characters received up to and including the String
Terminator (ST) are not printed but are stored as part of the control string.
The protocol selector consists of parameter characters (P . . . P), intermediate
characters (I . . . I), and the final character. These characters are processed
identically to the format of a control sequence (See Section 2.5.2). The
intermediate characters, if any, and the final character, specify the meaning
of the data. If present, the parameter string can further elaborate the
interpretation of the data.
If the protocol selector is parsed but not recognized, all data that follows is
ignored until it is either terminated by ST or aborted.
2.5.3.2 Application Program Command, Operating System Command, and Privacy
Message Control Strings
The device recognizes the start of Application Program Command (APC),
Operating System Command (OSC), and Privacy Message (PM) control strings,
but it ignores the protocol selector and data that follows until the control string
is either aborted or terminated by ST. See Table 2–2 for further information.

Character Processing 2–15

2.5.4 Special Parsing Requirements
When an error occurs during character processing, for example, when invalid
parameters are specified or when control characters are embedded in control
functions, the device recovers from the condition by performing the appropriate
action listed in this section.
•

Escape sequences, control sequences, and control strings not recognized by
the device are ignored.

•

Unless otherwise stated, up to 16 parameters can be received with any
control sequence or device control string. Any parameter beyond those
specified for the command is ignored, regardless of its value, and the
remainder of the command is processed.

•

Unless otherwise stated, a selective parameter in a valid position but with
an invalid value is ignored. The remaining valid parameters are processed,
and any side effects of the control sequence take effect.

•

Unless otherwise stated, when a numeric parameter (Pn) exceeds the
specified maximum, the maximum allowable value for that parameter is
used.

•

Unless otherwise stated, when a numeric parameter (Pn) is less than the
specified minimum, the minimum allowable value for that parameter is
used.

•

Unless otherwise stated, if a required parameter is omitted or a semicolon
(;) is received without a parameter, a parameter value of zero is assumed.

•

Incomplete control strings are generally ignored. There is one exception:
in Sixel Graphics mode, any sixels received are processed.

•

If a C0 or C1 control character is received after a Single Shift control
character (SS2 or SS3), the control character is processed and the single
shift flag remains set. If an escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string is received after SS2 or SS3, the sequence is processed and the
single shift flag remains set.

2–16 Character Processing

•

If the special characters 2/0 or 7/15 are received after SS2 or SS3, the
following occurs:
If a 94-character graphic character set resides in the set being accessed,
G2 or G3, 2/0 or 7/15 is processed normally and the single shift flag
remains set. (Refer to Section 2.4.)
If a 96-character graphic character set resides in the set being accessed,
G2 or G3, the corresponding graphic character 2/0 or 7/15 is imaged
and then the single shift flag is reset.

•

If a GR character is received after SS2 or SS3, the eighth bit is ignored.
The single shift function is then applied to the remaining seven bits, which
define a GL character, and the single shift flag is reset.
Note
Do not use a GR character after SS2 or SS3. This is an error.

•

If the special characters 10/0 or 15/15 are received after SS2 or SS3, the
following occurs:
If a 94-character graphic character set resides in the set being accessed,
G2 or G3, 10/0 or 15/15 is processed normally and the single shift flag
is reset. (Refer to Section 2.4.)
If a 96-character graphic character set resides in the set being accessed,
G2 or G3, the corresponding graphic character 10/0 or 15/15 is imaged
and then the single shift flag is reset.

Table 2–2 summarizes the special parsing rules for the interaction of control
characters and graphic characters with escape sequences, control sequences,
and control strings.

Character Processing 2–17

Table 2–2 Special Character Parsing
Sequences1
Received
Character

Control String Data (D . . . D)

Sixel Graphics

DECAUPSS

DECDLD

Undefined
Control
String

ESC

See a.

CAN

See b.

SUB

See b.

See g.

See b.

See g.

See b.

Format
Effectors2

See c.

Ignore

Other C03

See c.

Ignore

See c.

2/1–7/14

See d.

Ignore

8/0–9/15

See b.

10/1–15/14

See e.

2/0

See f.

Ignore

See f.

See h.

Ignore

10/0

See f.

Ignore

See f.

Ignore

7/15

Ignore

15/15

Ignore

1 Includes escape sequences, control sequences and protocol selectors (See Section 2.5.3).
2 Includes Horizontal Tab (HT), Backspace (BS), Line Feed (LF), Vertical Tab (VT), Form Feed (FF), and

Carriage Return(CR).

3 Includes Bell (BEL), Shift In (SI), and Shift Out (SO).

Action taken:
a.—Character aborts the command, then introduces a new command.
b.—Character aborts the command, then the control character is processed.
c.—Character is processed as if received before the command, then command processing resumes.
d.—Character is processed as a printable character.
e.—Eighth bit of character is ignored, then processed as a GL printable character.
f.—Character processed as 2/0 (Space, SP).
g.—Character processed as ? (3/15).
h.—Character ignored unless part of a character set designator.

2–18 Character Processing

3
Page Coordinate System
This chapter covers the following topics:
•

Coordinate system models, Section 3.1

•

Active position, positioning controls, and advance increments, Section 3.2

•

Coordinate system bounds, Section 3.3

•

Mapping the logical page onto the physical sheet , Section 3.4

•

Partial line motion (PLU and PLD), Section 3.5

•

Positioning controls and partial line motion, Section 3.6

•

Tabs, Section 3.7

•

Conditional Form Feed, Section 3.8

•

Conditional Sheet Feed, Section 3.9

The page coordinate system is a rectangular array of addressable positions
specified by a positive X-coordinate and a positive Y-coordinate. The positive X
direction is to the right, the positive Y direction is down.
The page coordinate system defines the logical page. The physical sheet
(that is, the sheet of paper) is described by the actual paper size and
orientation. These factors also determine certain aspects of the logical page.
See Section 3.4 for more details.

3.1 Coordinate System Models
There are two coordinate system models: The character cell model and the
point model.
•

In the character cell model, a position covers an entire character.
Therefore, the whole character is the smallest addressable unit.

•

In the point model, a position is a dimensionless location, and the unit of
addressing is not directly related to characters.

Page Coordinate System 3–1

3.1.1 Character Cell Model
The character cell model specifies the coordinates of a character cell position
as the line and character number, starting with character 1 of line 1. This is
a simple model used for monospaced presentation. The character cell model is
not used for proportionally spaced characters.
The monospaced character cells of the character cell model are placed on a
grid, which is defined by the current character and line spacing. Changes in
character or line spacing result in changes in the currently selected grid size.
Whenever the grid size changes, the device adjusts the coordinates of certain
key reference points (such as margins or active position) so that they always
fall on even grid boundaries.
The character box is the size of the character as stored in the font. In level
2 printers, the software can vary the width of the character box (by changing
the width of the current character spacing, which in turn scales the character
size), but it cannot vary the height of the character box.
The character cell is the distance from one character to another. The host
software can vary this distance by changing the height of the current line
spacing and the width of the current character spacing.
In level 2 printers, the width of the character cell is always the same as the
width of the character box, but the host software can set the height of the
character cell larger than, equal to, or smaller than the height of the character
box of a font being used.

3.1.2 Point Model
In the point model, the coordinates of a position are specified in units of
decipoints (exactly 1/720 in.), centipoints (exactly 1/7200 in.), or devicedependent pixels (the smallest addressable dot on the device).

3.1.3 Conformance to Models
Level 2 devices support only the character cell model. Point addressing is not
supported.

3.1.4 Origin and Extent
The page coordinate system origin is at (1,1), not (0,0). All values in the
coordinate system are referenced to the origin.
The exact placement of the origin with respect to the physical sheet depends on
the imaging capabilities of the printer. For example, the device may place the
first line of text lower on single sheets than on fanfold paper. In some devices
host software can also partially control the placement of the origin, by using

3–2 Page Coordinate System

the Horizontal Page Width Alignment (DECHPWA) command. This allows the
user to vary the position of the paper horizontally within the paper-handling
mechanism.

3.2 Positioning and Movement
The active horizontal position and the active vertical position together
represent the position on the logical page where the next character is printed.
After each character is printed, the active position is updated. In addition,
there are several control functions that can change the active position. The
control functions are listed in Table 3–1.

3.2.1 Advance Increments
After each character is printed, the active horizontal position is updated
according to the current Horizontal Advance Increment (HAI). After each
line is printed, the active vertical position is updated according to the current
Vertical Advance Increment (VAI). The values of HAI and VAI can be
changed by control functions. In level 2 devices, HAI and VAI are always of
fixed width, that is, they do not automatically change based upon the character
being printed or the font in use.
3.2.1.1 HAI
Fixed horizontal motion does not vary from character to character or font to
font. The HAI is explicitly defined by Set Horizontal Pitch (DECSHORP).
When an HAI is in use that has a different width from the stored character box
of the currently selected font, the device modifies the width of the character
box to obtain the desired pitch.
3.2.1.2 VAI
Fixed vertical motion does not vary from font to font. The VAI is explicitly
defined by Set Vertical Pitch (DECVERP). When a VAI is in use that is shorter
than the character box, the device overlaps the character boxes. When a VAI is
in use that is taller than the character box, the device adds more white space
between lines.

3.2.2 Positioning Control Functions
The control functions that change the active position are listed in Table 3–1.
In general, Absolute positioning requires no knowledge of the active position
to correctly specify a new position. Relative positioning requires knowledge of
the active position to execute correctly.

Page Coordinate System 3–3

Table 3–1 Positioning Controls and Commands
Control Function

Type

Motion

Autowrap

Relative

Vertical, Horizontal

Backspace (BS)

Relative

Horizontal

Carriage Return (CR)

Absolute

Vertical1 , Horizontal

Graphics Carriage Return
(DECGCR)

Absolute

Horizontal

Graphics Next Line (DECGNL)

Relative

Vertical, Horizontal

Form Feed (FF)

Absolute

Vertical

Horizontal Position Absolute
(HPA)

Absolute

Horizontal

Horizontal Position Relative
(HPR)

Relative

Horizontal

Horizontal Tab (HT)

Absolute

Horizontal

Index (IND)

Relative

Vertical

Line Feed (LF)

Relative

Vertical, Horizontal2

Next Line (NEL)

Relative

Vertical, Horizontal

Partial Line Down (PLD)

Relative

Vertical

Partial Line Up (PLU)

Relative

Vertical

Vertical Position Absolute (VPA)

Absolute

Vertical

Vertical Position Relative (VPR)

Relative

Vertical

Vertical Tab (VT)

Absolute

Vertical

1 Performs vertical motion only if Carriage Return/New Line Mode (DECCRNLM) is set.
2 Performs horizontal motion only if Line Feed/New Line Mode (LNM) is set.

Note
Other sequences or actions can set or modify the active position as a
side effect.
The units for many control functions are defined as lines or columns. A
line is defined as one VAI. Therefore, VPR with a parameter value of 3 would
modify the active vertical position by (3 * VAI). A column is defined as one

3–4 Page Coordinate System

HAI. Therefore, HPR with a parameter value of 5 would modify the active
horizontal position by (5 * HAI).

3.3 Bounds
Before imaging a character, the device determines if the active position is legal,
by testing to see if the character cell to be imaged is within the page coordinate
system bounds.
The page coordinate system bounds are also known as limit bounds or
margins.
A limit bound constrains the movement of the active position. The limit bounds
are:
•

Top Margin Line

•

Bottom Margin Line

•

Left Margin Position

•

Right Margin Position

Figure 3–1 illustrates the relationship of limit bounds to the page coordinate
system.

Page Coordinate System 3–5

Figure 3–1 Bounds in the Page Coordinate System
Top Margin Line

Logical Page
Physical Sheet

Left Margin Position

Right Margin Position
Platen

Bottom Margin Line

Limit Bounds
Physical Sheet, Logical Page
Maximum Physical Sheet for Device

MLO−006625

3.3.1 Left Margin Position
The horizontal positioning control functions are constrained to keep the active
position to the right of the Left Margin Position. If a control function attempts
to move the active horizontal position to the left of the Left Margin Position, or
attempts to set the Left Margin Position to the right of the active position, the
active horizontal position is set to the Left Margin Position.

3.3.2 Right Margin Position
The horizontal positioning control functions are constrained to allow text to be
printed only to the left of the Right Margin Position.
If a right margin violation occurs, the printer enters a state indicated in this
document by a flag called the Right Margin Flag (RMF).

3–6 Page Coordinate System

The Right Margin Flag is set under the following conditions:
•

A horizontal positioning control function attempts to exceed the right
margin.

•

An attempt is made to image a character beyond the right margin.

If text is received when the RMF is set and autowrap is enabled, the RMF
is cleared, autowrap occurs, and the text is printed from the Left Margin
Position on the next line. If the RMF is set and autowrap is disabled, the
device ignores printable data and enters an error state. Use an absolute
horizontal positioning command (for example, Carriage Return) to return the
active position to a point where characters can be imaged.
If a character is imaged that exactly fills the last position on a line, the device
does not set the Right Margin Flag. Instead, the active horizontal position
advances to the first value that exceeds the Right Margin Position. The
character cell is entirely outside the Right Margin Position (column 81 when
the right margin is set at 80).
•

If a Backspace (BS) is received, the active position moves backward to
allow overstrike of the last character.

•

If autowrap is off and more graphic characters or Space (SP) are received,
the device ignores the character and sets the Right Margin Flag.

•

If autowrap is on and more graphic characters or SP are received, autowrap
occurs and the text is printed from the Left Margin Position on the next
line.

3.3.3 Top Margin Line
The vertical positioning control functions are constrained to keep the active
position below or equal to the Top Margin Line. The only exception is Partial
Line Up (PLU).
If a vertical positioning command attempts to move the active vertical position
above the Top Margin Line or an attempt is made to set the Top Margin Line
below the current active position, the device sets the active vertical position to
the Top Margin Line.
PLU can set the active vertical position above the Top Margin Line. This
allows superscripts on the first line. See Section 3.5.
Form Feed (FF), whether explicit (caused by receipt of an FF control
character) or implicit (caused by a wrap from the previous page or a
conditional FF, for example) sets the active position to the Top Margin Line.
Form Feed does not modify the active horizontal position.

Page Coordinate System 3–7

3.3.4 Bottom Margin Line
The vertical relative and absolute positioning control functions are constrained
to keep the active position above or equal to the Bottom Margin Line.
If a Vertical Position Absolute (VPA) or Vertical Position Relative (VPR)
positioning command attempts to move the active position below the Bottom
Margin Line, the device sets the active vertical position to the Bottom Margin
Line.
If any other vertical positioning command attempts to move the active position
below the Bottom Margin Line or an attempt is made to set the Bottom Margin
Line above the current active position, the device performs a Form Feed.
Partial Line Down (PLD) can set the active position below the Bottom Margin
Line. This allows subscripts on the bottom line. See Section 3.5.
Whenever a character box exceeds the bottom margin, the device executes a
Form Feed before it images the character.
If, however, the Top Margin Line and the Bottom Margin Line are less than
one character box apart, the device images one line that extends over the
bottom margin, then wraps as usual.

3.4 Mapping Logical Page to Physical Sheet
Software can define the logical page length using Set Lines per Physical
Page (DECSLPP). The logical page size so defined is the basis for the page
coordinate system described in this chapter.
The physical sheet size is determined by one or all of the following input
mechanisms (depending on the device capabilities and the input mechanism
selected):
•

Horizontal Page Width Alignment (DECHPWA)

•

Page length user setup input

•

Page width user setup input — same as width component of DECHPWA

•

Initial state values (see the Programming Supplement).

If the paper that you insert into the machine does not match the physical sheet
size, the alignment of the physical sheet onto the paper is device dependent.
For example, if fanfold paper is installed that does not match the user setup
page length selection, the device prints over the perforation. If the paper is
narrower than the setup width selection, the device usually prints off the paper
onto the platen.

3–8 Page Coordinate System

The logical page length is determined by Set Lines per Physical Page
(DECSLPP). There is no input mechanism for the logical page width, which is
therefore always the same as the physical sheet width.
The logical page size is constrained to be less than or equal to the physical
sheet size on the device.

3.5 Partial Line Motion (PLU and PLD)
Partial Line Up (PLU) and Partial Line Down (PLD) provide simple superscript
and subscript capability by applying a vertical offset of 1/12 in. to the current
font. The device counts current outstanding unmatched PLU and PLD
sequences to determine the amount of motion for subsequent corresponding
PLD and PLU sequences.
The count is maintained for up to 255 unmatched PLU and PLD sequences.
One PLU level is allowed beyond the top margin, and one PLD level is allowed
below the bottom margin.
The control functions and activities that reset the PLU/PLD count are listed in
Table 3–2.

3.6 Side Effects of Positioning Controls
Table 3–2 summarizes the vertical positioning controls and commands and
their effect on the PLU/PLD count.
Table 3–2 Side Effects of Vertical Positioning Controls
Vertical Motion

PLU/PLD Count

Next Line (NEL)

Reset

Line Feed (LF)

Reset

Graphics New Line (DECGNL)

Reset

Form Feed (FF)

Reset

Vertical Position Absolute (VPA)

Reset

Vertical Position Relative (VPR)

Reset

Index (IND)

Reset

Partial Line Down (PLD)

Modified

Partial Line Up (PLU)

Modified
(continued on next page)

Page Coordinate System 3–9

Table 3–2 (Cont.) Side Effects of Vertical Positioning Controls
Vertical Motion

PLU/PLD Count

Vertical Tab (VT)

Reset

Autowrap

Reset

Conditional Form Feed

Reset

Set Top and Bottom Margins
(DECSTBM)

Reset

For the horizontal components of Next Line (NEL) and Line Feed (LF) when
Line Feed New Line Mode (LNM) is set, see Carriage Return (CR) in Table 3–3.
Table 3–3 summarizes the horizontal positioning controls and commands and
their effect on the Right Margin Flag (RMF).
Table 3–3 Side Effects of Horizontal Positioning Controls
Horizontal Motion

Right Margin Flag

Backspace (BS)

Unchanged

Carriage Return (CR)

Cleared

Horizontal Position Absolute
(HPA)

Cleared1

Horizontal Position Relative
(HPR)

Unchanged1

Horizontal Tab (HT)

Unchanged1

1 If the resulting active position is to the right of the right margin, the RMF is then set.

For the vertical component of CR when DECCRNLM is set, see LF in
Table 3–2.

3.7 Tabs
Tab stops are stored relative to the origin. If the origin is moved for any
reason, for example, with Horizontal Page Width Alignment (DECHPWA), the
tabs are moved relative to the paper, but remain unchanged with respect to the
page coordinate system. Stored coordinate values remain the same.

3–10 Page Coordinate System

A Vertical Tab (VT) control function causes the active position to advance to
the next tab stop, even if the motion is less than the current line size. This can
occur due to the action of Partial Line Up (PLU) or Partial Line Down (PLD).
The only exception occurs when there is a bottom margin violation.
Changes in horizontal pitch can affect print positions set by tab characters.
Refer to the description of Set Horizontal Pitch (DECSHORP) in Chapter 7.

3.8 Conditional Form Feed
A number of control functions, such as Soft Terminal Reset (DECSTR),
implicitly ‘‘complete’’ a current page in process. This action is referred to as a
conditional Form Feed. A conditional Form Feed causes a Form Feed (FF)
if there has been a marking operation on the current page, or if the current
active position is not line 1, column 1. Marking operations consist of printable
characters or graphics. A page is considered marked by a printable character
even when the graphic character has a blank glyph. In this context Space (SP)
acts like a printable character.

3.9 Conditional Sheet Feed
A number of control functions, such as Select Conformance Level (DECSCL),
implicitly ‘‘complete’’ a current sheet in process. This action is referred to
as a conditional Sheet Feed and is used to control the output on duplex
page printers. On level 2 devices a conditional Sheet Feed is processed as a
conditional Form Feed.

Page Coordinate System 3–11

4
Fonts
This chapter covers the following topics:
•

Character sets, Section 4.1

•

Fonts, Section 4.2

•

Font repertory, Section 4.3

•

Font selection process, Section 4.4

4.1 Character Sets
A graphic character set is a set of coded characters in which each character
is specified by an abstract name or names that indicate the general appearance
of the character, but are independent of the font or type design. Two graphic
character sets are considered different sets even if only one character is
different. Each character is given a code in the code table for that graphic
character set. For example, the ASCII character set consists of 94 graphic
characters. In the ASCII character set, the Exclamation Point is specified
as 2/1, the Double Quotation Mark as 2/2, the Number Sign is specified as
2/3, and so on. (See Section 4.3.3 and Appendix A for further information on
supported character sets.)

4.2 Fonts
A font is the visual representation of characters, independent of graphic
character sets. The description of a font consists of a single instance of
typestyle and density.
For example, the following would comprise a single font:
Courier
Letter quality

Fonts 4–1

This font could be used for imaging the characters of the ASCII, DEC
Supplemental, or other graphic character sets. The graphic character set
specifies what character is to be imaged, and the font specifies how that
character is to be imaged. A font may support many character sets, but has
only one density and typestyle.
Level 2 printers apply algorithms as necessary to provide attributes for
emphasis, lining, and so on.

4.3 Font Repertory
Each instance of a character set in a given combination of style and density is
called a font file. It contains 94 or 96 character images, called glyphs.
The font repertory of the device may include font files from the following
sources:
•

Built-in fonts
See the Programming Supplement for a list of built-in fonts. These fonts
are coded as best suited to the internal design of the device.

•

Standard font cartridges available for the device.
See Section 4.3.1 for information on font cartridge font files.

•

Font files developed by customers (Download Font — DECDLD)
See DECDLD in Chapter 7 for information on downloading font files.
Note
To determine whether a particular printer supports DECDLD (and
thus has downloadable fonts capability), refer to the Digital ANSICompliant Printing Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement.

Regardless of the source, all font files are selected by specifying typestyle,
density, and character set, as described in Section 4.4.

4.3.1 Font Cartridges
Font cartridges are used to provide alternate typestyles, alternate character
sets, or both for built-in fonts.
In order to provide font files for imaging, a font cartridge supports font
assignments to Select Graphic Rendition (SGR) font selection parameters.
These assignments allow the default font assignments to be redefined to a
cartridge-dependent value as part of printer initialization.

4–2 Fonts

4.3.2 Downloaded Fonts
Each downloaded font file contains information identifying its density and
character set, as well as an assignment to a Select Graphic Rendition (SGR)
font selection parameter. This assignment allows the default font assignment
to be redefined to a download-dependent value at the time of the download.
See Download Font (DECDLD) in Chapter 7 for more information on the
download process.
Note
To determine whether a particular printer supports DECDLD (and
thus has downloadable fonts capability), refer to the Digital ANSICompliant Printing Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement.

4.3.3 Supported Character Sets
The printer supports font files with any valid character set designator,
including 96-character graphic character sets, whether they are built in,
downloaded, or provided with a cartridge. Refer to the the Programming
Supplement for the character set repertory provided by the built-in fonts.
Each font file includes a field that represents the designating escape sequence
for the character set.
Note
This field should represent the actual designating escape sequence.
Do not use the User Preference Supplemental Set designator (<) as a
downloaded font file character set designator.

See the Select Character Set (SCS) command in Chapter 7 for further
information on character set designating escape sequences. See Download
Font (DECDLD) in Chapter 7 for further information on downloading.
The printer derives font files to support the National Replacement Character
(NRC) sets defined in Section A.6. Font files for NRC sets are derived
whenever an ASCII font file exists with either a DEC Supplemental or
ISO Latin-1 Supplemental font file. If font files for both DEC Supplemental
and ISO Latin-1 Supplemental exist, the ISO Latin-1 Supplemental font file is
used. In either case, the font files to be paired must be identical in typestyle
and density and must come from the same source. For example, both must be
from the same cartridge or both must be built-in fonts.

Fonts 4–3

The process of combining font files is called pairing. Pairing of NRC sets does
not increase the number of glyphs; rather, the printer selects characters from
two separate font files according to the NRC set definition.

4.4 Font Selection Process
A font is selected after a series of evaluations and comparisons of each font
file in the font dictionary (font file repertory) against a set of font selection
criteria called the Current Font Definition.
The font file required for character imaging can change every time any of the
font selection criteria change.

4.4.1 Font Dictionary
The printer supports a font dictionary, composed of the available font files from
the font repertory, and a system to manage them. The font dictionary provides
the list of available font files for selection algorithms to work on.
Font files from the built-in fonts (main board ROM) and cartridge fonts are
included in the font dictionary. Downline loaded font files are added to the
font dictionary on receipt. The font dictionary can also contain fonts created
by combining different font files together to construct a font file for a National
Replacement Character (NRC) set.
The font dictionary is initialized at startup for built-in fonts. Font cartridges
are also detected at startup. Entries from the cartridges take precedence
over built-in fonts. If several slots exist, entries from cartridge slot 1 take
precedence over entries from cartridge slot 2, and so on. Downline loaded fonts
have precedence over all other sources.

4.4.2 Current Font Definition (CFD)
The collection of font selection criteria is referred to as the Current Font
Definition, or CFD. The CFD consists of the following components:
•

Typestyle

•

Character set

•

Density

The typestyle component is always defined by the active font selection
parameter, Select Graphic Rendition (SGR) 10–19.

4–4 Fonts

The character set component is taken from either the GL or GR character
set, based on the character code. In either case, the GL and GR sets map to
one of the G-sets (G0 . . . G3). The G-sets are associated to a character set as
defined by Select Character Set (SCS) or the initial state. If the current G-set
is defined as the User Preference Supplemental set, the character set defined
by Assign User Preference Supplemental Set (DECAUPSS) or the initial state
is referenced.
Density is defined by Density Selection (DECDEN).

4.4.3 Font Selection and Fallbacks
The device assigns the current font file based on the following order of priority:
1. Character set (highest)
2. Typestyle
3. Density (lowest)
The device compares each font file in the font dictionary to the CFD, noting
the files that satisfy the highest priority attribute. Among multiple files
that satisfy equal priority levels, the device selects the files satisfying the
next highest level, and so on. If the end result is a list of multiple font files,
the device selects one font file according to the order of precedence given in
Section 4.4.1.
For example, if the DEC Technical character set and a cartridge typestyle
are requested, and DEC Technical is not available in that cartridge typestyle,
the device uses the built-in Courier DEC Technical. If ASCII Orator Draft
is requested and only letter quality is available in the Orator typestyle, the
device prints ASCII Orator letter quality (LQ).
Note
For any additional information on the font selection mechanism for
a particular device, refer to the Digital ANSI- Compliant Printing
Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement.
If a requested character set is not available at all, the device images the error
character for each character from the set. This is known as a character set
fault.

Fonts 4–5

The error character is taken from the ASCII character set. The processing of
2/0 and 7/15 is based on the character set requested, not the fallback character
set. For example, if a 96-character graphic character set is requested, 2/0 and
7/15 are imaged as the error character.

4–6 Fonts

5
Sixel Graphics
This chapter describes the Sixel Graphics protocol. You use sixels to transmit
and print black and white or color bitmap data to create a graphics image.
This chapter covers the following topics:
•

Terminology and concepts — Section 5.1

•

Converting Sixel Graphics data for transmission — Section 5.2

•

Selecting Sixel Graphics mode — Section 5.3

•

Protocol structure — Section 5.4

•

Character processing in Sixel Graphics mode — Section 5.5

•

Graphics and text interactions — Section 5.6

•

Programming considerations — Section 5.7

•

Sixel control codes — Section 5.8

5.1 Terminology and Concepts
To print a graphics picture in Digital Sixel Graphics protocol, you send the
picture to the device in bitmap form. The bitmap data for the picture, known
as the raster, is divided into horizontal scan lines, each of which is six bitmap
elements high. Before sending the data, you can define the horizontal and
vertical spacing between elements. Small spacing provides a fine-grained
picture. Larger spacing produces a coarse-grained picture, but requires less
time to transmit.
The bitmap elements that you send to the device are known as pixels. A pixel
is the logical rectangular image area defined by each bit of graphics data that
you send. Six pixels arranged vertically on the page and grouped together for
transmission are known as a sixel. Sixels are in turn arranged into horizontal
rows known as scan lines.

Sixel Graphics 5–1

The positions on the page where the device places pixels is known as the grid.
When you change the grid size using the parameters given in this chapter, you
are changing the spacing (horizontally, vertically, or both) between adjacent
pixels. The pixel aspect ratio is the ratio of the length of the pixel to its
width. For example, a square pixel has an aspect ratio of 1 to 1 (or 100 to 100)
and a pixel twice as high as wide has an aspect ratio of 2 to 1 (or 200 to 100).
The actual area imaged for each pixel is known as a pixel-spot. The shape
and size of a pixel-spot is device-dependent and may vary. Pixel-spots are,
however, spaced to coincide with the grid size. Therefore, there may be overlap
or white space between adjacent pixel-spots. The exact relationship between
pixel-spot and grid size varies from device to device and from one set of
parameters to the next on the same device.
The smallest unit that can be displayed on a particular device is known as a
dot. Dots can be round, oval, square, or rectangular, and small or large. A
device may use several dots to represent a single pixel as a pixel-spot, and to
ensure good coverage of an entire grid position.
The data describing the image, including colors, grid size, pixel aspect ratio,
and the encoded raster, is known as the picture data. The picture data
does not include formatting information, such as position or actual size
when printed. Within the picture data are sixel control codes that provide
additional information beyond the encoded raster, such as line breaking.
Figure 5–1 illustrates the relationship between sixels, pixels, and dots.
Figure 5–1 Sixel Representation
Dot

Pixels Defined by Sixel
Pixel

This example has
12 dots per pixel.
MLO-003978

In the Sixel Graphics protocol the software sets the context and attributes for
the pixels and then prints the sixels consecutively on adjacent grid positions.
The device images sixels from left to right, top to bottom.

5–2 Sixel Graphics

The graphics left margin marks the left edge of the picture. The graphics
active position keeps track of the current grid position.
Sixel Graphics mode is selected using the device control string shown in
Figure 5–2.
Upon entering Sixel Graphics mode, the device sets the graphics active position
and graphics left margin as described in Section 5.6.1.
After each sixel is printed, the graphics active position advances to the next
horizontal grid position.
A Graphics Carriage Return (DECGCR) control code or a Graphics Next Line
(DECGNL) control code moves the graphics active position to the graphics left
margin. In addition, a Graphics Next Line (DECGNL) control code moves the
graphics active position down to the next scan line (six vertical grid positions
below the current active position). See these control codes in Section 5.8 for
further information.
The String Terminator (ST) control character causes the device to exit Sixel
Graphics mode and return to text mode. Other control characters may cause
an abnormal termination of Sixel Graphics mode. See Table 2–2 for more
information.

5.2 Converting Sixel Data
Sixels are coded as 7-bit or 8-bit bytes. Each byte is represented in this
document as an ASCII character code. When Sixel Graphics mode is selected,
the device interprets the bytes as sixel data. The device processes printable
sixel data as bits of information. A bit value of 1 means print the pixel. A bit
value of 0 means do not print the pixel (leave a space).
To create a byte of printable sixel data, first determine the sixel you want to
print, as described in Section 5.5.1. Then add 3F hexadecimal to form a coded
character between 3F and 7E hexadecimal.

5.3 Selecting Sixel Graphics Mode
The device control string envelope defined by DEC PPL2 contains the graphics
introducer and all graphics data. This envelope is initiated using the Device
Control String introducer (DCS) control character and is terminated with the
String Terminator (ST) control character. The following components make up
the Device Control String for the sixel protocol:
•

String introducer

•

Protocol selector

Sixel Graphics 5–3

•

Picture data

•

String terminator

Figure 5–2 shows the control string format.
Figure 5–2 Sixel Graphics Device Control String (DCS) Envelope
DCS

Ps1

;

Ps2

;

Pn3

Protocol
Selector

Picture
Data

String
Introducer

String
Terminator
MLO-003979

5.4 Protocol Structure
The structure of the Sixel Graphics protocol supports a layered system
approach, whereby several independent processes define or interpret portions
of the total data. Thus the size of an image can be described independently of
the actual image definition.
The primary data and command fields include:
•

Picture data — This is the body of the protocol. Software that creates or
edits the graphic picture uses the picture data part of the protocol, either
with no formatting information or with default formatting information, to
describe the graphics image.

•

Formatting information — The protocol selector provides formatting
information only. Page-composition software adds the formatting
information to the picture data to define the size of the picture.

5.4.1 Protocol Selector — Formatting Information
The page composition software includes formatting information in the sixel
protocol selector. The format of the protocol selector is:
Ps1
***

;
Ps2
3/11 ***

5–4 Sixel Graphics

;
Pn3 q
3/11 *** 7/1

5.4.1.1 Ps1
Ps1 is a macro parameter that selects the horizontal grid size and pixel aspect
ratio. These implicitly define the vertical grid size.
Table 5–1 lists the Ps1 parameter macro values. These values are compatibile
with devices that use a native grid size of 1/660 inch. Some devices may use
slight variations of these grid sizes to provide high-quality approximations. See
the Programming Supplement for the table that relates directly to a particular
device.
Table 5–1 Macro Parameter Selections
True Horiz.
Grid Size
(1/660 in.)

Approx. Horiz.
Grid Size
(Centipoints)

Aspect Ratio

True Vert.
Grid Size
(Centipoints)

0
(default)

200:100

100

200:100

100

450:100

100

300:100

100

250:100

100

183:100

100

150:100

100

130:100

100

112:100

100

100:100

100

200:100

100

Ps1

5.4.1.2 Ps2
Ps2 selects a background color. The device ignores this parameter. Software
can include Ps2 for compatibility with video devices.
5.4.1.3 Pn3
Pn3 selects the horizontal grid size explicitly, in decipoints (1/720 inch). Any
value other than 0 overrides the Ps1 value for horizontal grid size. The
maximum horizontal grid size is 99 decipoints.

Sixel Graphics 5–5

Together, the Pn3 value and the pixel aspect ratio define the vertical grid size.
The vertical grid size equals the horizontal grid size times the pixel aspect
ratio. The pixel aspect ratio may be defined by Ps1 (Section 5.4.1.1) or the Set
Raster Attributes sixel control code (see Table 5–3). The maximum value for
the vertical grid size is 99,000 decipoints.
These are the device-independent maximum values. Level 2 devices have a
more limited range. See the Programming Supplement for Sixel Graphics
mode fallbacks.
5.4.1.4 q — Sixel Graphics Protocol Selector Final
The character q identifies this protocol selector as the Sixel Graphics envelope
and places the device in Sixel Graphics mode.

5.4.2 Picture Data
Picture data includes sixel printable characters and sixel control codes. These
are processed as defined in Section 5.5.

5.4.3 String Terminator
The String Terminator (ST) control character is used to exit Sixel Graphics
mode and return to text mode.

5.5 Character Processing in Sixel Graphics Mode
Sixel printable characters and sixel control codes, including the aspect ratio,
form the picture data. Sixel printable characters comprise the encoded
graphics image raster. Sixel control codes further define how the device images
the raster.

5.5.1 Sixel Printable Characters
Characters in the range 3/15–7/14 are interpreted as sixel printable characters.
The device subtracts the offset (3F hexadecimal) from the received code,
assigning each of the remaining low-order six bits to a grid position. The six
pixels are arranged vertically, as follows:
Top pixel

Bit 0 (LSB)
Bit 1
Bit 2
Bit 3
Bit 4

Bottom pixel

5–6 Sixel Graphics

Bit 5 (MSB)

For example, if the device receives the character code 43 hexadecimal
(01000011 binary), it subtracts the offset value (3F hexadecimal) from the
code value. The resulting value of 4 maps into the scan line, as follows:
MSB
LSB
5 4 3 2 1 0
+---+---+---+---+---+---+
4 = | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+
Sixel:

o (top --- LSB)
o
x
o
o
o (bottom --- MSB)

The letter ‘‘x’’ indicates a printed pixel-spot, and the letter ‘‘o’’ indicates an
unprinted pixel-spot.
Table 5–2 shows the printable dot patterns for a select group of representative
character codes.
Table 5–2 Printable Dot Patterns for Sixel Graphics Mode
Character

Hexadecimal
Value

Dot Pattern

Action

Advance by a sixel space

o
o
o
o
o
@

Print only top pixel

o
o
o
o
o
(continued on next page)

Sixel Graphics 5–7

Table 5–2 (Cont.) Printable Dot Patterns for Sixel Graphics Mode
Character

Hexadecimal
Value

Dot Pattern

Action

Print second-from-top pixel

x
o
o
o
o
y

o
x

Print second-from-top pixel
and bottom three pixels

o
x
x
x
~

Print one full column

x
x
x
x
x

See also Section 2.5.4 for error handling.

5.5.2 Sixel Graphics Control Codes
Sixel control codes provide further definition of the encoded graphics image
raster, beyond that provided by the protocol selector, as well as line breaks and
color information.
Table 5–3 summarizes sixel control codes and functions. Specific sixel control
codes (commands) consist of a code in the range 2/1–3/14 (except parameter
characters 3/0–3/9 and the parameter separator 3/11), followed by zero or more
parameters. Sixel commands are terminated by any non-parameter character.
See Section 5.8 for details on each control code.

5–8 Sixel Graphics

Table 5–3 Sixel Graphics Control Codes
Name

Abbreviation

Code

Function

Set Raster
Attributes

DECGRA

"
2/2

Sets raster attributes.

Graphics
Repeat
Introducer

DECGRI

!
2/1

Begins repeat sequence.

Graphics
Carriage
Return

DECGCR

$
2/4

Returns active position to
graphics left margin.

Graphics
Next Line

DECGNL

–
2/13

Returns active position to graphics left
margin and increments to next graphics
line.

Graphics
Color
Introducer

DECGCI

#
2/3

Specifies color. Monochrome devices
ignore DECGCI. All sixel data is printed
in black.

Parameter
Characters

0–9
3/0–3/9

Parameters.

Parameter
Separator

;
3/11

Separates parameters.

Other codes in the range 2/1–3/14 are reserved for future use.

5.5.3 Parameters
Sixel Graphics control codes are sometimes followed by one or more numeric
parameters. Each parameter value is encoded as a decimal number using the
characters in the range 0–9 (3/0–3/9). A numeric value is terminated by any
non-digit value.

5.5.4 Parameter Separator
The parameter separator (;) is used to separate a series of numeric parameters.
If a number does not precede the separator, a value of zero is assumed. If a
number does not follow the separator, a value of zero is assumed.

5.5.5 Exiting Sixel Graphics Mode
To exit Sixel Graphics mode, use the String Terminator (ST) control character.

Sixel Graphics 5–9

5.6 Sixel Graphics and Text Interactions
Interactions between the Sixel Graphics protocol and text mode occur in the
area of the active position and margins.

5.6.1 State upon Entering Sixel Graphics Mode
Upon entering Sixel Graphics mode, the device sets the graphics horizontal
active position to the text active horizontal position. The device sets the
graphics vertical position so that the top dot of the first sixel falls 700
centipoints above the baseline of adjacent text. The device also sets the
graphics left margin to the text active horizontal position.

5.6.2 Interaction with Text Margins
There is no horizontal autowrap in Sixel Graphics mode. Sixels that extend
beyond the right margin are ignored. The Graphics Carriage Return
(DECGCR) sixel control code brings the horizontal position back to the
graphics left margin, not the text left margin.
If the bottom pixel would fall below the bottom margin, the device performs a
Form Feed before printing the sixel (Section 3.3.3).

5.6.3 State After Exiting Sixel Graphics Mode
After exiting Sixel Graphics mode, the device returns to text mode with the
following conditions:
•

The text active horizontal position is the same as just before entering Sixel
Graphics mode.

•

The text active vertical position is the same as the graphics active vertical
position. As a result, the baseline of subsequent text is contiguous with a
point 700 centipoints below the top pixel of the last sixel line.
In addition, the first text mode vertical motion command (LF, VT, and so
on) causes the device to advance to the next text mode line (get back on
grid) before executing the vertical motion command.

•

All text attributes, font selections, pitches, margins, and so on are restored
to the state that existed before the device entered Sixel Graphics mode.

5.7 Graphics Programming Considerations
Because different devices have different native resolutions (dot sizes), be sure
to take issues of compatibility and quality into account when determining the
parameters of the protocol selector and the Set Raster Attributes (DECGRA)
sixel control code.

5–10 Sixel Graphics

5.7.1 Parameter Usage and Interactions
This section uses a generic Sixel Graphics envelope to explain the relationships
and interactions between parameters, as follows:
DCS Ps1 ; Ps2 ; Pn3 q " Pn4 ; Pn5 ; Pn6 ; Pn7 picture_data ST
Ps1
A selective parameter that specifies horizontal grid size and aspect ratio. Ps1
is the only parameter recognized by older impact printers.
Ps2
A selective parameter for background color. Digital printers ignore Ps2.
However, software can include Ps2 for compatibility with video terminals.
Pn3
A numeric parameter that specifies the horizontal grid size in centipoints. Pn3
overrides the horizontal grid size in Ps1. It does not override the aspect ratio.
Pn4 and Pn5
Numeric parameters that together specify the aspect ratio. For example,
100;250 gives a 1:2.5 aspect ratio. These parameters override the aspect ratio
defined by Ps1. To ensure maximum device-independence of the graphics
image, specify the aspect ratio with Pn4 and Pn5 as well as Ps1 .
Pn6 and Pn7
Numeric parameters that together specify the extent (size) of the picture in
pixels. The device ignores Pn6 and Pn7. However, page composition software
can include these parameters for compatibility with video terminals.

5.7.2 Compatibility
Problems of device compatibility may occur if application programs use an
incompatible graphics string for the grid size calculation. This is most likely
when software is designed to be used without modification on level 3 devices
as well as level 2 devices. See the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol—
Level 3 Programming Reference Manual for suggestions for mixed-level
programming.
Level 2 devices do vary in their native resolutions. The fallbacks listed in this
chapter allow the devices to maintain a relatively high degree of compatibility.
Older level 2 devices, however (for example, the LA100), ignore Ps2–Pn7.
When compatibility with older devices is desired, use Ps1 only, or use Ps1
along with equivalent values for Ps2–Pn7.

Sixel Graphics 5–11

5.7.3 Quality
Follow these suggestions to ensure highest graphics quality.
•

Ensure that the grid size is an integral number of dots. This helps
eliminate beat frequencies or undesirable secondary patterns. Such
patterns are especially noticeable in grey scale or cross-hatching.

•

Use lines at least two dots in thickness. Dots on some devices are irregular
in shape. Depending on the orientation of the line, this can result in lines
that vary in width. Increasing the thickness of the lines lessens this visual
effect.

5.7.4 Compatibility or Quality
There are tradeoffs in choosing between compatibility and quality. Choosing
compatibility can force the device to emulate a grid size that is not a multiple
of its native dot size, causing problems with print quality. This does, however,
allow one figure to have a similar size and shape when printed on two very
different devices.
Choosing quality implies either of the following:
•

The page composition software calls the creating software with different
parameters for different devices to get both the correct size and quality.

•

The page composition software adjusts the size of the image to find a
match between the natural grid of the printer, the pixel aspect ratio, and
the desired size.

The page composition software controls the Sixel Graphics introducer (DCS
through q). The creating software controls the picture data (the pixel aspect
ratio, extent, and the actual sixels).

5.8 Sixel Control Codes
This section describes each sixel control code in detail, organized as follows:
Format
Description
Error Handling

5–12 Sixel Graphics

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer
Assigns a color to a color number or selects a predefined color number.

Format
# Pc ;
Pu ;
Px ;
Py ;
Pz
2/3 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 ***

Description
DECGCI parameters are as follows:
Parameter

Description

Pc
Pu
Px
Py
Pz

Color number parameter
Universal coordinate system selector
System color coordinate
System color coordinate
System color coordinate

Pc indicates the color number (from 0–255) to be used for subsequent sixel
data. Pu, Px, Py, and Pz indicate a specific color to be assigned to Pc. Up to
256 different color numbers can be assigned to different colors to make up a
color map. Once the assignment has been made, Pc can be specified alone to
select a color for printing.
Note
Color numbers remain assigned even after leaving and reentering Sixel
Graphics mode. At power-up, Soft Terminal Reset (DECSTR), Select
Conformance Level (DECSCL), and Reset to Initial State (RIS), the
device assigns all color numbers to black.
Upon entering Sixel Graphics mode, the device selects color 0.

Monochrome devices ignore DECGCI. Any subsequent sixel data is printed in
black.

Sixel Graphics 5–13

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Some devices support 64 colors. Others support only 8 colors. Both color
systems are given in Table 5–4 and Table 5–5. To support 64 colors, the
selected grid size must provide 4 dots per sixel. Otherwise the device chooses
from an 8-color palette.
Pu names the universal color coordinate system as follows:
Value

Coordinate System

1
2
Other

HLS (hue/lightness/saturation)
RGB (red/green/blue)
Ignore sequence

Px ; Py ; Pz together select the color coordinates in the specified system, as
follows:

Px
Py
Pz

Meaning, Range if HLS Selected

Meaning, Range if RGB Selected

Hue angle, 0–360
Lightness, 0–100
Saturation, 0–100

Red, 0–100
Green, 0–100
Blue, 0–100

HLS Color Map
Table 5–4 defines the HLS color map.
Table 5–4 HLS Color Map
HLS Range

8-Color Map Designation

64-Color Map Designation

For Saturation 0 and Hue 0–359

L = 0–24
L = 25–49
L = 50–74
L = 75–100

Black
Black
White
White

Black
Dim grey
Bright grey
White
(continued on next page)

5–14 Sixel Graphics

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Table 5–4 (Cont.) HLS Color Map
HLS Range

8-Color Map Designation

64-Color Map Designation

For Saturation 1–100 and Hue 0–359

L = 0–14
L = 86–100

Black
White

For Lightness 15–28 and Saturation 1–100

H = 330–29
H = 30–89
H = 90–149
H = 150–209
H = 210–269
H = 270–329

Blue
Blue
Red
Green
Green
Cyan

Medium blue
Violet
Indian red
Dark olive green
Dark green
Dark slate grey

For Lightness 29–42 and Saturation 1–49

H = 300–59
H = 60–179
H = 180–299

Blue
Magenta
Green

Cornflower blue
Salmon
Medium sea green

For Lightness 29–42 and Saturation 50–100

H = 340–19
H = 20–59
H = 60–99
H = 100–139
H = 140–179
H = 180–219
H = 220–259
H = 260–299
H = 300–339

Cyan
Blue
Magenta
Red
Yellow
Green
Green
Green
Cyan

Navy blue
Dark slate blue
Maroon
Firebrick
Sienna
Medium forest green
Forest green
Sea green
Steel blue
(continued on next page)

Sixel Graphics 5–15

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Table 5–4 (Cont.) HLS Color Map
HLS Range

8-Color Map Designation

64-Color Map Designation

For Lightness 43–57 and Saturation 1–33

H = 360–119
H = 120–239
H = 240–359

Blue
Yellow
Cyan

Violet blue
Khaki
Cadet blue

For Lightness 43–57 and Saturation 34–66

H = 340–19
H = 20–59
H = 60–99
H = 100–139
H = 140–179
H = 180–219
H = 220–259
H = 260–299
H = 300–339

Cyan
Blue
Magenta
Red
Yellow
Green
Green
Cyan
Cyan

Medium blue
Dark orchid
Violet red
Orange
Gold
Yellow green
Lime green
Medium aquamarine
Sky blue
(continued on next page)

5–16 Sixel Graphics

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Table 5–4 (Cont.) HLS Color Map
HLS Range

8-Color Map Designation

64-Color Map Designation

For Lightness 43–57 and Saturation 67–100

H = 345–14
H = 15–44
H = 45–74
H = 75–104
H = 105–134
H = 135–164
H = 165–194
H = 195–225
H = 225–254
H = 255–284
H = 285–314
H = 315–344

Blue
Blue
Magenta
Magenta
Red
Red
Yellow
Green
Green
Green
Cyan
Cyan

Blue
Medium slate blue
Magenta
Orange red
Red
Coral
Yellow
Medium spring green
Green
Spring green
Cyan
Slate blue

For Lightness 58–71 and Saturation 1–49

H = 300–59
H = 60–179
H = 180–299

Cyan
Magenta
Green

Light steel blue
Pink
Pale green
(continued on next page)

Sixel Graphics 5–17

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Table 5–4 (Cont.) HLS Color Map
HLS Range

8-Color Map Designation

64-Color Map Designation

For Lightness 58–71 and Saturation 50–100

H = 360–39
H = 40–79
H = 80–119
H = 120–159
H = 160–199
H = 200–239
H = 240–279
H = 280–319
H = 320–359

Blue
Magenta
Magenta
Yellow
Yellow
Green
Cyan
Cyan
Cyan

Medium orchid
Orchid
Medium violet red
Tan
Goldenrod
Green yellow
Aquamarine
Medium turquoise
Dark turquoise

For Lightness 72–85 and Saturation 1–49

H = 360–119
H = 120–239
H = 240–359

Magenta
Yellow
Cyan

Thistle
Wheat
Light blue

For Lightness 72–85 and Saturation 50–100

H = 360–119
H = 120–239
H = 240–359

Magenta
Yellow
Cyan

Plum
Medium goldenrod
Turquoise

RGB Color Map
RGB parameters range from 0–100.
Table 5–5 shows the colors available for 8-color and 64-color devices. To
transform the offset found in Table 5–5 into its RGB components, apply the
following algorithm to the offset:
C = Offset
B1 = C mod 4
G1 = (C - B1) mod 16
R1 = (C - B1 - G1) mod 64

5–18 Sixel Graphics

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

B = 25*B1
G = 25*G1/4
R = 25*R1/16
Example:
C = Color 41 — Khaki
B1 = 41 mod 4 = 1
G1 = 40 mod 16 = 8
R1 = 32 mod 64 = 32
B = 25 * 1 = 25
G = 25 * 8/4 = 50
R = 25 * 32/16 = 50
x mod y is the remainder when x is divided by y.
Note
If you are writing an 8-color application, use the offsets for red, green,
blue, yellow, magenta, and cyan from the 64-color table. Then, if
your application is used on a 64-color device, the colors will still be as
expected.

Table 5–5 RGB Color Map
Offset

8-Color
Device

64-Color
Device

Offset

8-Color
Device

64-Color
Device

Black

Blue

02
04

Cyan
Green

Navy blue
Dark green

03
05

Blue
Cyan

06
08
10
12

Cyan
Green
Cyan
Green

Steel blue
Forest green
Cyan
Green

07
09
11
13

Cyan
Green
Cyan
Green

Medium blue
1
Blue
Dark slate
grey
Slate blue
Sea green
Sky blue
Spring green

(continued on next page)

Sixel Graphics 5–19

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Table 5–5 (Cont.) RGB Color Map
Offset

8-Color
Device

64-Color
Device

Cyan

16
18

Offset

8-Color
Device

64-Color
Device

Cyan

Red
Blue

Medium aquamarine
Indian red
Dark slate blue

17
19

Blue
Blue

20
22

Green
Blue

Dark olive green
Cornflower blue

21
23

Black
Cyan

Green

Cyan

Medium forest
green
Cadet blue

Cyan

Green

30
32
34
36
38

Cyan
Red
Magenta
Yellow
Blue

Medium spring
green
Aquamarine
Firebrick
Magenta
Sienna
Violet blue

Medium
turquoise
Violet
Medium slate
blue
Dim grey
Medium blue
2
Medium sea
green
Dark
turquoise
Lime green

31
33
35
37
39

Cyan
Magenta
Blue
Magenta
Blue

40
42

Yellow
White

Yellow
Bright grey

41
43

Yellow
Cyan

44
46
48
50
52
54
56

Green
Green
Red
Magenta
Red
Magenta
Yellow

Yellow green
Pale green
Red
Violet red
Coral
Medium violet red
Gold

45
47
49
51
53
55
57

Green
Cyan
Magenta
Magenta
Red
Magenta
Yellow

Turquoise
Maroon
Dark orchid
Salmon
Medium
orchid
Khaki
Light steel
blue
Green yellow
Light blue
Orange red
Orchid
Orange
Plum
Tan

(continued on next page)

5–20 Sixel Graphics

DECGCI ( # ) — Graphics Color Introducer

Table 5–5 (Cont.) RGB Color Map
Offset

8-Color
Device

64-Color
Device

Offset

8-Color
Device

64-Color
Device

58
60

Magenta
Yellow

Pink
Goldenrod

59
61

Magenta
Yellow

Yellow

Wheat

White

Thistle
Medium
goldenrod
White

Error Handling
If HLS is selected, and hue, lightness, or saturation is omitted, a value of 0
is assumed. If lightness or saturation is greater than 100, the sequence is
ignored. If hue is greater than 360, the sequence is ignored.
If RGB is selected, and red, green, or blue is omitted, a value of 0 is assumed.
If red, green, or blue is greater than 100, the sequence is ignored.

Sixel Graphics 5–21

DECGCR ( $ ) — Graphics Carriage Return

DECGCR ( $ ) — Graphics Carriage Return
Moves the graphics active horizontal position to the graphics left margin.

Format
$
2/4

Description
DECGCR terminates a scan line. In order to optimize for throughput, the
device may not print the scan line immediately. Depending on the current
vertical grid size, the device may store multiple sixel lines before printing
actually occurs.
Carriage Return/New Line Mode (DECCRNLM) has no effect on DECGCR.

5–22 Sixel Graphics

DECGNL ( - ) — Graphics Next Line

DECGNL ( - ) — Graphics Next Line
Moves the graphics active position to the graphics left margin and down one
line of sixels (six actual grid units).

Format
2/13

Description
In order to optimize for throughput, the printer may not perform the physical
vertical advance immediately. Depending on the current vertical grid size, the
device may store multiple sixel lines before printing actually occurs.
See Section 3.3 for the interaction with the page coordinate system bounds.

Sixel Graphics 5–23

DECGRA ( " ) — Set Raster Attributes

DECGRA ( " ) — Set Raster Attributes
Defines the pixel aspect ratio, overriding Ps1 of the protocol selector. DECGRA
also defines the extent (size) of the raster. DEC PPL2 devices ignore the extent
parameters.

Format
"
Pn1 ;
Pn2 ;
Pn3 ;
Pn4
2/2 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 ***

Description
This command must precede all other picture data information. Otherwise,
this command is ignored.
Parameter

Description

Pn1
Pn2
Pn3
Pn4

Pixel aspect ratio numerator
Pixel aspect ratio denominator
Horizontal extent
Vertical extent

Pn1 describes the vertical size of a pixel in an arbitrary distance unit. Pn2
describes the horizontal size of a pixel in the same distance unit. For example,
to define a pixel to be half as wide as it is tall, send 200 for Pn1 and 100 for
Pn2.
The pixel aspect ratio times the horizontal grid size (From Ps1 or Ps3 of the
protocol selector) yields the vertical grid size.
Pn3 and Pn4 define the horizontal and vertical extent, respectively, in pixels.
Level 2 printers ignore these parameters. Page composition software can
include these parameters for compatibility with video terminals.

Error Handling
If Pn1 or Pn2 is greater than 32K, the value 32K is used. If Pn1 or Pn2 is 0 or
omitted, the device sets it to 1.
The maximum aspect ratio supported is 1:10 or 10:1 (after reducing the ratio
to the lowest possible format).
The maximum parameter implemented for DECGRA is 999 (decimal).

5–24 Sixel Graphics

DECGRA ( " ) — Set Raster Attributes

These maximum values may be further limited in some devices by the fallbacks
table in the Programming Supplement.
Any additional parameters received are ignored.
If the Set Raster Attributes sequence is received after a sixel printable
character, or another sixel control code is received, the command is ignored.

Sixel Graphics 5–25

DECGRI ( ! ) — Graphics Repeat Introducer

DECGRI ( ! ) — Graphics Repeat Introducer
Repeats the sixel that follows the repeat introducer a specified number of
times.

Format
!
Pn
2/1 ***

Description
The device repeats the sixel that follows the repeat introducer Pn times.
The following examples illustrate repeat sequences:
•

! 1 0 ? — repeats 10 graphics spaces

•

! 6 @ — repeats 6 patterns of top dot

Error Handling
If the repeat count is zero or is omitted, it is treated as a repeat count of one.
Values that exceed the maximum value are treated as the maximum value.
See the ‘‘Sixel Graphics’’ Column of Table 2–2 for processing of codes 0/0–2
/0 received within a DECGRI sequence. ‘‘Ignore’’ indicates that the code is
ignored and the repeat sequence is processed as though the code was not
received.
If a graphics control code is received within a DECGRI sequence, the repeat
sequence is ignored. This includes control codes in the range 2/1–2/15, 3/10,
and 3/12–3/14.
If multiple parameters are received (separated by 3/11), the device uses the
first parameter and ignores the rest.

5–26 Sixel Graphics

6
Control Characters
This chapter discusses the following topics:
•

Control characters, Section 6.1

•

C0 control characters, Section 6.2

•

C1 control characters, Section 6.3

6.1 Control Characters
Control characters generally are not printed but instead perform a control
function or action. An exception is when Control Representation Mode (CRM)
is set. See the description of CRM in Chapter 7.
The three types of control characters are:
•

C0 control characters (0/0–1/15)

•

C1 control characters (8/0–9/15, or 7-bit equivalents)

•

Special characters (2/0, 7/15, 10/0, 15/15)

See Section 2.4 for more information about processing special characters.
See Table 2–2 for the interaction of all these control characters with escape
sequences, control sequences, and control strings.

6.2 C0 Control Characters
With the exception of Escape (ESC), Cancel (CAN), and Substitute (SUB), C0
control characters do not affect escape sequences, control sequences, or control
strings. See Table 2–2 for further information.
ACK (0/6)
Acknowledge (ACK) is ignored. The use of ACK for communications flow
control in serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.

Control Characters 6–1

BEL (0/7)
Bell (BEL) causes the device to sound a bell or buzzer. See the Programming
Supplement to determine the availability of BEL in a particular device.
BS (0/8)
Backspace (BS) moves the active horizontal position back one Horizontal
Advance Increment (see Section 3.2.1). However, if the Right Margin Flag is
set (the right margin has been exceeded), BS is ignored. See Section 3.3.1,
Section 3.3.2, and Table 3–3 for the interaction of BS with other margins.
CAN (1/8)
Cancel (CAN) is ignored unless received in an escape sequence, control
sequence, or control string, where it aborts the sequence or string in progress.
See also Table 2–2.
CR (0/13)
Carriage Return (CR) sets the active horizontal position to the Left Margin
Position. If Carriage Return/New Line Mode (DECCRNLM) is set, the device
also moves down one Vertical Advance Increment (VAI). See Section 3.2.1. See
Section 3.3 for the interaction with the coordinate system bounds.
CR clears the Right Margin Flag. See Section 3.3.2 for further information.
DC1 (1/1) (XON)
Device Control 1 (DC1) is ignored. The use of DC1 for communications flow
control in serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.
DC2 (1/2)
Device Control 2 (DC2) is ignored.
DC3 (1/3) (XOFF)
Device Control 3 (DC3) is ignored. The use of DC3 for communications flow
control in serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.
DC4 (1/4)
Device Control 4 (DC4) is ignored.
DLE (1/0)
Data Link Escape (DLE) is ignored.
EM (1/9)
End of Medium (EM) is ignored.

6–2 Control Characters

ENQ (0/5)
Enquiry (ENQ) is ignored. The use of ENQ at the communications level in
serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.
EOT (0/4)
End of Transmission (EOT) is ignored. The use of EOT at the
communications level in serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.
ESC (1/11)
Escape (ESC) introduces an escape sequence. An ESC control character
received in an escape sequence, control sequence, or control string aborts that
sequence and begins a new escape sequence. See also Table 2–2.
ETB (1/7)
End of Transmission Block (ETB) is ignored.
ETX (0/3)
End of Text (ETX) is ignored. The use of ETX for communications flow control
in serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.
FF (0/12)
Form Feed (FF) indicates the end of the current page and beginning of the
new page. Subsequent output is printed on the new page. The FF sets the
active vertical position to the Top Margin Line. FF does not modify the active
horizontal position. FF resets the PLU/PLD count. See Section 3.3 for the
interaction with the coordinate system bounds.
FS (1/12)
File Separator (FS) is ignored.
GS (1/13)
Group Separator (GS) is ignored.
HT (0/9)
Horizontal Tab (HT) moves the active position to the next horizontal tab
stop on the same line. If no tab stop exists to the right of the active horizontal
position and within the right margin, HT moves to the right margin and sets
the Right Margin Flag. See Section 3.3.2 for further information.
LF (0/10)
Line Feed (LF) moves the active vertical position down one Vertical Advance
Increment (VAI). See Section 3.2.1. If Line Feed/New Line Mode (LNM) is set,
the active horizontal position moves to the Left Margin Position. LF resets the

Control Characters 6–3

PLU/PLD count. See Section 3.3 for the interaction with the coordinate system
bounds.
NAK (1/5)
Negative Acknowledge (NAK) is ignored.
NUL (0/0)
Null (NUL) is ignored. The use of NUL for communications flow control in
serial devices is not part of DEC PPL2.
RS (1/14)
Record Separator (RS) is ignored.
SI (0/15)
Shift In (SI), also named Locking Shift Zero (LS0), invokes character set G0
as the GL character set.
SO (0/14)
Shift Out (SO), also named Locking Shift One (LS1), invokes character set
G1 as the GL character set.
SOH (0/1)
Start of Header (SOH) is ignored.
STX (0/2)
Start of Text (STX) is ignored.
SUB (1/10)
Substitute (SUB) in an escape or control sequence aborts the sequence in
progress. SUB in a control string generally aborts the string in progress. See
Table 2–2 for exceptions.
SUB in printable text causes the error character (a reverse question mark) to
be printed.
SYN (1/6)
Synchronous Idle (SYN) is ignored.
US (1/15)
Unit Separator (US) is ignored.
VT (0/11)
Vertical Tab (VT) moves the active position to the next vertical tab stop on
the current page. If no tab exists between the active position and the bottom

6–4 Control Characters

margin, VT moves to the bottom margin. VT resets the PLU/PLD count. See
Section 3.3 for the interaction with the coordinate system bounds.

6.3 C1 Control Characters
All C1 control characters abort any escape sequence, control sequence, or
control string in progress. Refer to Table 2–2 for more information.
C1 control characters can be represented by a 7-bit equivalent escape sequence.
Refer to Table 2–1.
APC (9/15)
Application Program Command (APC) introduces an application program
command control string. APC control strings are ignored. See Section 2.5.3.2.
BPH (8/2)
Break Permitted Here (BPH) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence,
or control string in progress. BPH is otherwise ignored.
CCH (9/4)
Cancel Character (CCH) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or
control string in progress. CCH is otherwise ignored.
CSI (9/11)
Control Sequence Introducer (CSI) introduces a control sequence. A CSI
control character received in an escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string aborts that sequence and begins a new control sequence.
DCS (9/0)
Device Control String (DCS) introduces a device control string. A DCS
control character received in an escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string aborts that sequence and begins a new device control string.
EPA (9/7)
End of Protected Area (EPA) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence,
or control string in progress. EPA is otherwise ignored.
ESA (8/7)
End of Selected Area (ESA) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or
control string in progress. ESA is otherwise ignored.
HTJ (8/9)
Horizontal Tab with Justification (HTJ) aborts any escape sequence,
control sequence, or control string in progress. HTJ is otherwise ignored.

Control Characters 6–5

HTS (8/8)
Horizontal Tab Set (HTS) sets a horizontal tab stop at the active horizontal
position. No change occurs if that position is already a tab stop. If the number
of stored horizontal tabs is already at a maximum, the printer discards the
highest tab stop (farthest to the right). If the new tab stop is the farthest to
the right, it is discarded.
IND (8/4)
Index (IND) moves the active vertical position down one Vertical Advance
Increment. See Section 3.2.1. IND resets the PLU/PLD count. See Section 3.3
for the interaction with the coordinate system bounds.
MW (9/5)
Message Waiting (MW) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or
control string in progress. MW is otherwise ignored.
NBH (8/3)
No Break Here (NBH) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or
control string in progress. NBH is otherwise ignored.
NEL (8/5)
Next Line (NEL) sets the active horizontal position to the Line Home Position
and moves the active vertical position down one Vertical Advance Increment
(VAI). See Section 3.2.1. NEL clears the Right Margin Flag and resets the
PLU/PLD count. See Section 3.3 for the interaction with the coordinate system
bounds.
OSC (9/13)
Operating System Command (OSC) introduces an Operating System
Command control string. OSC control strings are ignored. See Section 2.5.3.2.
PLD (8/11)
Partial Line Down (PLD) moves the active vertical position downward by
1/12 inch. See Section 3.5 for further information.
PLU (8/12)
Partial Line Up (PLU) moves the active vertical position upward by 1/12
inch. See Section 3.5 for further information.
PM (9/14)
Privacy Message (PM) introduces a privacy message control string. PM
control strings are ignored. See Section 2.5.3.2 for further information.

6–6 Control Characters

PU1 (9/1)
Private Use 1 (PU1) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string in progress. PU1 is otherwise ignored.
PU2 (9/2)
Private Use 2 (PU2) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string in progress. PU2 is otherwise ignored.
RI (8/13)
Reverse Index (RI) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string in progress. RI is otherwise ignored.
SCI (8/3)
Single Character Introducer (SCI) aborts any escape sequence, control
sequence, or control string in progress. SCI is otherwise ignored.
SOS (8/3)
Start of String (SOS) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or control
string in progress. SOS is otherwise ignored.
SPA (9/6)
Start of Protected Area (SPA) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence,
or control string in progress. SPA is otherwise ignored.
SS2 (8/14)
Single Shift 2 (SS2) temporarily invokes character set G2 into GL to print one
character. See also Section 2.5.4.
SS3 (8/15)
Single Shift 3 (SS3) temporarily invokes character set G3 into GL to print one
character. See also Section 2.5.4.
SSA (8/6)
Start of Selected Area (SSA) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence,
or control string in progress. SSA is otherwise ignored.
ST (9/12)
String Terminator (ST) indicates the end of a control string. See
Section 2.5.3 for further information.
STS (9/3)
Set Transmit State (STS) aborts any escape sequence, control sequence, or
control string in progress. STS is otherwise ignored.

Control Characters 6–7

VTS (8/10)
Vertical Tab Set (VTS) sets a vertical tab stop at the active vertical position.
No change occurs if that position is already a vertical tab stop.
If the number of stored vertical tabs is already at a maximum, the printer
discards the highest tab stop (farthest down on the page). If the new tab stop
is the farthest down, it is discarded.
8/0, 8/1, and 9/9
These positions in the 8-bit code table are reserved for future use. They abort
any escape sequence, control sequence, or any control string in progress. They
are otherwise ignored.

6–8 Control Characters

7
Command Dictionary
This chapter describes each command in detail, organized as follows:
Format
Description
Side Effects
Error Handling
Notes to Software
If no side effects, error handling, or software information exists for a command,
no special side effects or error handling need to be considered.
The command dictionary also includes information on where commands
should be generated (Source) and for which type of device they are intended
(Destination).
•

Command sources include Symbiont and Application. See Section 1.3 for
more information on Symbiont and Application sources.

•

Command destinations include levels 1, 2, and 3. Level 3 commands can
be used only on a level 3 device. Level 1 or 2 commands can also be used
on a level 3 device.

•

Certain commands are referred to as deprecated. These commands are
included only for backwards compatibility and are not recommended for
new software.

•

Commands that are labeled Extension are considered extensions to the
protocol and may not be available on every device.

•

Commands labeled Exception have a special use. For example, they may
be used in debugging programs or they may be device-specific.

See Chapter 1 for more information on printer levels.

Command Dictionary 7–1

Some sequences are sent from the device to the host. In this case, the device is
the source and the application or symbiont is the destination.
Notes
See the Programming Supplement to determine which extensions and
exceptions are supported by a particular device.
Information on side effects and error handling is included here for
completeness and clarification. However, error handling may vary
from device to device. Do not depend on side effects or error handling
conditions.
Most devices have a user setup feature, often performed using
keyswitches on the front panel, which allows the user to customize the
device. In some cases the setup values interact in various ways with
the commands in this chapter. See the Programming Supplement for
more information.

The following command summaries are provided for your convenience:
•

Table 7–1, Commands Listed by Function

•

Table 7–9, ESC Sequences Sorted by Final Character

•

Table 7–10, Control Sequences Sorted by Final Character

•

Table 7–11, DCS Strings Sorted by Final Character

Table 7–1 provides a short summary of commands, grouped by function.
Table 7–1 Commands Listed by Function
Sheet Size and Margins
DECHPWA

Set Page Width Alignment

DECSLPP

Set Lines per Physical Page

DECSLRM

Set Left and Right Margins

DECSTBM

Set Top and Bottom Margins
(continued on next page)

7–2 Command Dictionary

Table 7–1 (Cont.) Commands Listed by Function
Explicit Cursor Movement
HPA

Horizontal Position Absolute

HPR

Horizontal Position Relative

VPA

Vertical Position Absolute

VPR

Vertical Position Relative

Type Size and Spacing, Managing Implicit Cursor Motion
DECAWM

Autowrap Mode

DECCRNLM

Carriage Return/New Line Mode

DECSHORP

Set Horizontal Pitch

DECVERP

Set Vertical Pitch

LNM

Line Feed/New Line Mode

Font Management and Attribute Selection
SGR

Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Fonts

SGR

Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes

DECDLD

Download Font

Tabs
DECCAHT

Clear All Horizontal Tabs

DECCAVT

Clear All Vertical Tabs

DECHTS

Horizontal Tab Set

DECSHTS

Set Horizontal Tab Stops

DECSVTS

Set Vertical Tab Stops

DECVTS

Vertical Tab Set

TBC

Tab Clear
(continued on next page)

Command Dictionary 7–3

Table 7–1 (Cont.) Commands Listed by Function
Character Set Selection
ASCEF

Announce Subset of Code Extension Facilities

DECAUPSS

Assign User Preference Supplemental Set

LS*/LS*R/SS*

Locking and Single Shifts

SCS

Select Character Set

Reports
DA

Device Attributes

DAR

Device Attributes Report

DA2

Secondary Device Attributes

DA2R

Secondary Device Attributes Report

DECFSR

Font Status Report

DECRFS

Request Font Status

DSR

Device Status Request

DSR

Device Status Report

Explicit Resets
DECSCL

Select Conformance Level

DECSTR

Soft Terminal Reset

RIS

Reset to Initial State

Emulations
DECIPEM

IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode

ROCS

Return from Other Coding System

SOCS

Select Other Coding System
(continued on next page)

7–4 Command Dictionary

Table 7–1 (Cont.) Commands Listed by Function
Miscellaneous
CRM

Control Representation Mode

DECASFC

Automatic Sheet Feeder Control

DECSBCA

Select Bar Code Attributes

DECBAR

Start or Stop Bar Codes

DECDEN

Density Selection

DECAC1

Accept C1 Control Codes

DECTC1

Truncate C1 Control Codes

DECUPM

Unidirectional Print Mode

Command Dictionary 7–5

ASCEF — Announce Subset of Code Extension Facilities

ASCEF — Announce Subset of Code Extension Facilities
Indicates which subset of code extension facilities or what level of ISO 4873 is
used for subsequent exchanges of information. These three control functions
are macros that incorporate the effects of Select Character Set (SCS) and
Locking Shift (LS) commands.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
ESC
1/11
ESC
1/11
ESC
1/11

SP L
2/0 4/12
SP M
2/0 4/13
SP N
2/0 4/14

ISO 4873, level 1.
ISO 4873, level 2.
ISO 4873, level 3.

Description
Level 1 and level 2 result in the following settings:
•

ASCII designated into G0 and invoked into GL

•

ISO Latin-1 Supplemental designated into G1 and invoked into GR

Level 3 results in the following settings:
•

ASCII designated into G0 and invoked into GL

Refer to Section 2.2.1 for more information on invoking and designating
character sets.
Note
The levels referred to here are ISO 4873 standard levels. They have
no relationship to the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol levels
described in Section 1.1.

7–6 Command Dictionary

CRM — Control Representation Mode

CRM — Control Representation Mode
Enters or exits a mode in which the device prints a graphic token for each byte.
In this mode, the device does not act upon most control characters.
Source: Application, Symbiont

Destination: Exception — use at any level
for debugging software

Format
CSI
9/11
CSI
9/11

3 h
3/3 6/8
3 l
3/3 6/12

Set Control Representation mode.
Reset Control Representation mode.

Description

Note
For any details on the CRM output for a particular device, refer to
the Digital ANSI- Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2 Programming
Supplement.
When Control Representation mode is set, the device does not act on control or
special characters, with the following exceptions:
•

Line Feed (LF) is printed as <LF>, then executes a Carriage Return/Line
Feed.

•

Form Feed (FF) is printed as <FF>, then executes a Form Feed.

•

The Control Representation Mode reset command is printed as
<CSI> 3 l, then executes an exit from CRM.

Autowrap mode is in effect while CRM is set. On exiting CRM, Autowrap mode
is restored to its previous state.
All Select Graphic Rendition (SGR) attributes are turned off while CRM is set.
On exiting CRM, SGR attributes are restored to their previous state.
Control Representation mode does not affect imaging of printable characters.
They are imaged from GL/GR as is normal, using the current character set
selections.
Command Dictionary 7–7

CRM — Control Representation Mode

Control and special characters are imaged in bold, using the appropriate twoor three-letter acronym from Chapter 6, in angle brackets. For example, <FF>.
Those characters that have no acronym are printed in hexadecimal. For
example, 8/0 is imaged as <X80>. Some control characters may be intercepted
by the communication interface and may not be available for CRM. See the
Programming Supplement for the interaction with setup or the front panel, if
any.

Notes to Software
Use CRM only when debugging software. CRM in some devices may reset
states or variables other than those mentioned above.
CRM may be set by alternate methods at the physical device. In such cases,
the CRM reset command does not disable CRM. Also, the manually invoked
CRM may cause a power-up reset of the device.

7–8 Command Dictionary

DA — Device Attributes

DA — Device Attributes
Requests the device product identification.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
CSI Ps c
9/11 *** 6/3

Ps (if present) must equal 0.

Description
The device responds to the DA command by sending a Device Attributes Report
(DAR).
There are two types of Device Attributes Reports: generic and alias. The
generic DAR reports the protocol level of the device. The alias DAR is used to
mimic an older printer for compatibility.
See also DAR in this chapter. See the Programming Supplement for a list of
alias responses (if any) and for configuration information.

Error Handling
If Ps is present and has a value other than 0, the device ignores the command.

Notes to Software
Use DA (generic response) for normal symbiont inquiries and forward
compatibility. Use DA (alias response) for backwards compatibility with
older devices.
It is recommended that you send this command with no parameter. Although
the DEC PPL2 parsing rules allow a parameter in any control sequence, this
command is traditionally sent without one.

Command Dictionary 7–9

DAR (generic response) — Device Attributes Report

DAR (generic response) — Device Attributes Report
Response to a symbiont request for a Device Attributes (DA) report.
Source: Device

Destination: Symbiont

Format
ESC [
?
Ps1 ;
Ps2 ;
...
1/11 5/11 3/15 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 . . .

;
Psn c
3/11 *** 6/3

Description
The device sends this command when set to the generic response. The device
may be set to use the alias response. See DAR (alias response) in this chapter.
See the Programming Supplement for configuration information.
Ps1 = 72
Ps2–Psn describe the implemented extensions to DEC PPL2. See Chapter 1 for
an explanation of extensions.
Table 7–2 contains a list of possible extensions. See the Programming
Supplement for the extensions supported by a particular device.
Table 7–2 Extension Parameters for Generic Primary DA Response
Minimum
Level

Parameter

3/1
3/4
3/5
3/6
3/7

1
4
5
6
7

1
1
1
1
2

Protocol Extension

Color
Sixel Graphics
Katakana character set
Sheet feeder
Dynamically redefinable character sets
(Downloaded fonts, DECDLD)
(continued on next page)

7–10 Command Dictionary

DAR (generic response) — Device Attributes Report

Table 7–2 (Cont.) Extension Parameters for Generic Primary DA Response
Parameter

3/1 3/2
3/2 3/3
3/2 3/4
3/2 3/5
3/2 3/6

12
23
24
25
26

Minimum
Level

Protocol Extension

1
2
2
2
2

Hebrew character sets
Metric line-spacing parameters
Greek character sets
Cyrillic character sets
Turkish character sets

The response depends on the configuration.
The reply to the DA request is sent to the host only after all preceding
data (except DSR) has been processed. This provides host software with a
mechanism for synchronization.

Notes to Software
Ps1 indicates the highest conformance level supported by the device.
Level 3 devices support level 2 control functions, so software written for
level 2 devices should accept the level 3 response (Ps1 = 73). For forward
compatibility, all software should accept all higher Ps1 responses, even those
above level 3, up to and including 79.
It is recommended that all new software use the device set to generic response.
When values are not returned, they are left out of the response entirely (that
is, there are not any blanks indicated by semicolons). However, software
should always accept blank parameters.
The device sends parameters in ascending order. However, software should
accept the parameters in any order.

Command Dictionary 7–11

DAR (alias response) — Device Attributes Report

DAR (alias response) — Device Attributes Report
Response to a symbiont request for a Device Attributes (DA) Report.
See the Programming Supplement for the list of alias responses supported by
the device.
Source: Device

Destination: Symbiont

Format
ESC [
?
Ps1 ;
Ps2 ;
...
1/11 5/11 3/15 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 . . .

;
Psn c
3/11 *** 6/3

Description
The device sends this sequence when set to the alias response. The device
may be set to use the generic response. See the Programming Supplement for
configuration information and for the alias responses supported by the device.
The reply to the DA request is sent to the host only after all preceding
data (except DSR) has been processed. This provides host software with a
mechanism for synchronization.

7–12 Command Dictionary

DA2 — Secondary Device Attributes

DA2 — Secondary Device Attributes
Requests a Secondary Device Attributes Report (DA2R). DA2R contains deviceand version-specific product information.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
CSI >
Ps c
9/11 3/14 *** 6/3

Ps (if present) must equal 0.

Description
The device responds to the DA2 request by sending a Secondary Device
Attributes Report (DA2R).

Error Handling
If Ps is present and has a value other than 0, the device ignores the command.

Notes to Software
This command should be used only by diagnostic programs or specialized
symbionts.
Use DA (generic response) for normal symbiont inquiries and forward
compatibility. Use DA (alias response) for backwards compatibility with
older devices.

Command Dictionary 7–13

DA2R — Secondary Device Attributes Report

DA2R — Secondary Device Attributes Report
Response to a request for a Secondary Device Attributes Report.
Source: Device

Destination: Symbiont

Format
ESC [
>
Ps1 ;
Ps2 c
1/11 5/11 3/14 *** 3/11 *** 6/3

Description
The selective parameters are as follows:
Ps

Meaning

Ps1

A device-specific value indicating the model of the device. See the
Programming Supplement.
Firmware revision level times 10. V1.0 would be encoded as 10, and
V1.1 would be encoded as 11.

Ps2

Additional selective parameters may be present in the report, indicating minor
revision levels or device-specific hardware options. Refer to the Programming
Supplement for more information.

7–14 Command Dictionary

DECAC1 — Accept C1 Control Characters

DECAC1 — Accept C1 Control Characters
Instructs the device to accept 8-bit C1 control characters.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Level 2, 3

Format
ESC SP 7
1/11 2/0 3/7

Description
For all subsequent characters, the device processes 2-character sequences
as shown in the ‘‘7-Bit Equivalent Sequence’’ column and 8-Bit C1 control
characters as shown in the ‘‘8-Bit Column/Row’’ column of Table 2–1.
This sequence is processed in sequence with all other data. Therefore, it is
recommended that software send this sequence before all other commands to
prevent confusion.
If the device is set to 7 data bits through a setup feature or the front panel,
this sequence is ignored.
See also Truncate C1 Control Characters (DECTC1) in this chapter.

Command Dictionary 7–15

DECASFC — Automatic Sheet Feeder Control

DECASFC — Automatic Sheet Feeder Control
Selects the specified paper tray position and performs a conditional Sheet Feed
on a multiple-tray printer. On devices with only one input tray, DECASFC
performs a conditional Sheet Feed.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3 Extension

Format
CSI Ps !
v
9/11 *** 2/1 7/6

Description
Selective parameters for DECASFC are as follows:
Ps

Action

0
1
2
3
n
99

No tray position change.
Tray position 1.
Tray position 2.
Tray position 3.
Tray position n.
Manual feed.

This command causes a conditional Sheet Feed, even when the tray requested
is already selected. The device feeds subsequent sheets from the indicated tray
position. See the Programming Supplement for further information on input
trays.

Side Effects
The device performs a conditional Sheet Feed for any valid Ps, whether or not
the device recognizes it.

Error Handling
If an unsupported parameter is received, it is treated as Ps = 0.
See the Programming Supplement for error handling when the physical sheet
size does not match the logical page size.

7–16 Command Dictionary

DECAUPSS — Assign User Preference Supplemental Set

DECAUPSS — Assign User Preference Supplemental Set
Assigns a particular character set to the User Preference Supplemental set.
This becomes the character set designated by the final character of the User
Preference Supplemental character set when used in a Select Character Set
(SCS) sequence.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

DCS Ps !
u
D ... D
9/0 *** 2/1 7/5 * . . . *

ST
9/12

Format

Description
Ps indicates whether the User Preference Supplemental set is a 94-character
or a 96-character set:
Ps

Meaning

0
1

94-character set.
96-character set.

D . . . D is a string containing the intermediate and final characters of
the designating sequence used explicitly to select the User Preference
Supplemental character set. See SCS in this chapter for a list of intermediate
and final characters.
To assign DEC Supplemental as the User Preference Supplemental character
set, use the following DECAUPSS command:
DCS 0 ! u %5 ST
To assign ISO Latin-1 Supplemental as the User Preference Supplemental set,
use the following DECAUPSS command:
DCS 1 ! u A ST
To use the User Preference Supplemental set, see User Preference under SCS.

Command Dictionary 7–17

DECAUPSS — Assign User Preference Supplemental Set

The supported character sets are shown in Table 7–3:
Table 7–3 User Preference Supplemental Character Sets
Character Set

DEC Supplemental
ISO Latin-1 Supplemental
DEC 8-Bit Hebrew Supplemental
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental
DEC Technical
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental
DEC Greek Supplemental

0
1
0
1
0
1
0

Error Handling
If Ps is an unsupported value, the command is ignored.
If Ps does not match the available character sets for a particular device,
refer to the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2 Programming
Supplement for any additional information.
If the character set is not available when an imaging function is attempted,
the device follows the action taken on a character set fault. See Section 4.4.3
for more information on character set faults.

7–18 Command Dictionary

DECAWM — Autowrap Mode

DECAWM — Autowrap Mode
Instructs the device whether to execute an automatic Carriage Return/Line
Feed when the active position exceeds the right margin.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2

Format
CSI
9/11
CSI
9/11

?
7 h
3/15 3/7 6/8
?
7 l
3/15 3/7 6/12

Set Autowrap mode.
Reset Autowrap mode.

Description
When DECAWM is set and the active position is beyond the right margin,
printable characters that follow are printed on the next line beginning at the
left margin. When DECAWM is reset, all printable characters received beyond
the right margin are ignored (truncated). See Section 3.3.2 for more details
about actions at the right margin.
The device always autowraps when Control Representation mode is set.

Side Effects
Setting Autowrap mode may cause the device to generate extra line feeds
which may, in turn, cause a wrap to the next page.

Command Dictionary 7–19

DECBAR — Start or Stop Bar Codes

DECBAR — Start or Stop Bar Codes
Enables and disables bar code printing defined by the last Select Bar Code
Attributes (DECSBCA) sequence.
Some devices do not support bar codes. See the Programming Supplement.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2, 3 Exception

Format
ESC
1/11
ESC
1/11

%
2/5
%
2/5

SP 0
2/0 3/0
@
4/0

Start bar code.
Stop bar code.

Description
Bar code attributes are defined by the last Select Bar Code Attributes
(DECSBCA) sequence, which is used to select the bar code encoding system
(bar code style). For the list of bar code styles provided by a particular printer,
refer to the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2 Programming
Supplement.
If human-readable characters are selected, the Start code, the Stop code, and
the Center code (if any) as well as all bar code characters have human-readable
characters printed beneath the bar code. See the Programming Supplement for
details on human-readable character attributes.
While bar code imaging is enabled, any printable character not considered
part of the selected bar code system is ignored. All control characters are also
ignored, except the following:
•

Escape (ESC) — abort bar code sequence, enter regular text mode, and
process the ESC

•

Cancel (CAN) — abort bar code sequence, enter regular text mode, and
process the CAN

•

Substitute (SUB) — abort bar code sequence, enter regular text mode, and
process the SUB

For any details on how a particular device processes control codes while bar
code imaging is enabled, refer to the Programming Supplement.

7–20 Command Dictionary

DECBAR — Start or Stop Bar Codes

Only 7-bit characters are processed. If an 8-bit character is received, the
printer strips the eighth bit and processes the character as a 7-bit character.
The Start Bar Code command is coded similar to the Select Other Coding
System (SOCS) command. The Stop Bar Code command is coded the same as
the Return from Other Coding System (ROCS) command. However, the bar
code commands function as described here, not as described under SOCS and
ROCS.

Error Handling
Bar codes that extend beyond the margins are truncated, regardless of the
setting of Autowrap mode.

Notes to Software
To print a bar code of an arbitrary height, repeat the bar code start, data, and
stop on consecutive lines, as follows:
ESC # SP 0 barcode_data ESC # @
ESC # SP 0 barcode_data ESC # @
ESC # SP 0 barcode_data ESC # @
ESC # SP 0 barcode_data ESC # @
ESC # SP 0 barcode_data ESC # @
For any information on a particular device’s capability for using the DECSBCA
command to set bar code height, refer to the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing
Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement.
To print human-readable characters, send a new DECSBCA command before
the last line of bar codes.

Command Dictionary 7–21

DECCAHT — Clear All Horizontal Tabs

DECCAHT — Clear All Horizontal Tabs
Clears horizontal tab stops.
Source: Application
(deprecated command)

Destination: Level 2

Format
ESC 2
1/11 3/2

Description
See Tab Clear (TBC) with Ps = 2.

Notes to Software
This command is included for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should not use this command.

7–22 Command Dictionary

DECCAVT — Clear All Vertical Tabs

DECCAVT — Clear All Vertical Tabs
Clears vertical tab stops.
Source: Application
(deprecated command)

Destination: Level 2

Format
ESC 4
1/11 3/4

Description
See Tab Clear (TBC) with Ps = 4.

Notes to Software
This command is included for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should not use this command.

Command Dictionary 7–23

DECCRNLM — Carriage Return /New Line Mode

DECCRNLM — Carriage Return /New Line Mode
Instructs the device whether to perform a Line Feed (LF) upon receipt of a
Carriage Return (CR).
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI ?
4 0 h
9/11 3/15 3/4 3/0 6/8
CSI ?
4 0 l
9/11 3/15 3/4 3/0 6/12

Set — CR acts as New Line.
Reset — CR acts as Carriage Return.

Description
If DECCRNLM is set and a CR is received, the active position advances to the
left margin of the next line. If DECCRNLM is reset and a CR is received, the
active position returns to the left margin of the current line.
See Section 2.5.2.3 for information about parsing this command with multiple
parameters.

Notes to Software
Symbionts developed by Digital handle record terminators without using
Carriage Return/New Line Mode. This command is available for third-party
symbionts.

7–24 Command Dictionary

DECDEN — Density Selection

DECDEN — Density Selection
Selects print density.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2

Format
CSI Ps "
z
9/11 *** 2/2 7/10

Description
The selective parameters for DECDEN are as follows:
Ps

Selection

0
1
2
3
4

Selects draft print density (highest speed).
Selects draft print density (highest speed).
Selects letter-quality print density (highest quality).
Selects memo print density.
Selects near letter-quality print density.

Not all densities may be present in all devices. See the Programming
Supplement for the densities available in a particular device, fallbacks for
those that are not available, and interaction with front panel or setup, if any.

Error Handling
All other parameter values are ignored.

Command Dictionary 7–25

DECDLD — Download Font

DECDLD — Download Font
Loads a font file description into the device, which can be subsequently
designated and invoked as a resident character set or typestyle. Some devices
do not support downloaded fonts. See the Programming Supplement.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2 Extension

Format
DCS Pfn ; Pcn ; Pe ; Pcmw ; Pss ; Pu ; Pcmh ; Pcss ; Psgr {
D . . . D ST
9/0 Parameter String . . .
7/11 * . . . * 9/12

Description
Use DECDLD to download font buffers from the host. The DECDLD command
contains a sequence of binary data in sixel format which defines the glyphs
of the font file. Using the DECDLD control string, you can downline load one
or more characters of a specified 94-character or 96-character font file with a
specified dot pattern.

D . . . D also contains the designating intermediate and final characters for

the character set being downloaded. These are in the form I2 I3 F, identical to
the format used by Select Character Set (SCS).
Once the font file has been loaded, you may designate it to any of the four
G-sets (G0, G1, G2, or G3) and invoke it into either GL or GR using the
sequences for designating and invoking character sets listed in this chapter.
See also SCS, Locking and Single Shifts (LS*/LS*R/SS*), and Assign User
Preference Supplemental Set (DECAUPSS) in this chapter.
Every downloaded font must be assigned a Select Graphic Rendition (SGR)
number. The device uses the SGR number to identify the typestyle of the
downloaded font. You may include an SGR number in the download sequence
or allow the device to use the default typestyle, which is the same as the
built-in fonts.
Once the font is downloaded and has an assigned typestyle (SGR number)
and a character set designator, the device enters it into the Font Dictionary.
See Section 4.4.1 for more information. Font selection occurs according to the
character set, typestyle, and density currently in use.

7–26 Command Dictionary

DECDLD — Download Font

The device deletes downline loaded fonts whenever there is a change in protocol
or when the device is powered down.
Note
Different devices have different inherent dot sizes and print densities.
Because DECDLD addresses individual dots of the device, it is
considered device dependent. Level 3 devices do not support DECDLD.
It is available only on certain level 2 devices.

Parameters
The DECDLD command is a device control string consisting of a protocol
selector followed by string data. The protocol selector is terminated by the
final character ({).
The selective parameters within the protocol selector control the operation of
the font load function.
The selective parameters for DECDEN are shown in Table 7–4:
Table 7–4 DECDLD Selective Parameters
Parameter

Description

Pfn

Font Number

Pcn

First Character
in Set to Load

Specifies the particular font buffer to be loaded. The
device supports up to three, numbered 1–3. See
the Programming Supplement for the exact number
supported.
Selects the first character in the font buffer to be loaded.
This parameter interacts with Character Set Size (PCSS).
See Pcss in this table for more information.
(continued on next page)

Command Dictionary 7–27

DECDLD — Download Font

Table 7–4 (Cont.) DECDLD Selective Parameters

Parameter

Description

Erase Control

Controls which characters are erased before loading takes
place:
0 — Erase all characters in the specified font buffer.
1 — Erase only the characters that are loaded.
2 — Erase all characters in all font buffers.

Pcmw1

Character Cell
Matrix Width

Pss

Font Set Size

A parameter value of 1 permits the changing of one or
more characters in the specified font without affecting
remaining characters of that font. Characters that
have been erased from the buffer and not redefined are
represented by the error character (reverse question
mark) when printed.
Defines the limit of the character cell matrix width,
in dots, of the font being loaded. Legal values for
this parameter depend on the Font Usage parameter
(Pu). See the Programming Supplement for supported
parameter values.
Density of downloaded font file.
0 — default to draft density
1 — draft density
2 — near letter quality density
3 — letter quality
See the Programming Supplement for supported
parameters.

1 The device associates this parameter with the selected download buffer number. Subsequent downloads into
the same buffer with a different value for this parameter result in the erasure of the entire buffer before the
download.

(continued on next page)

7–28 Command Dictionary

DECDLD — Download Font

Table 7–4 (Cont.) DECDLD Selective Parameters
Pu1

Parameter

Description

Font Usage

Defines the loaded font as either a text font or a full
cell font. Full cell fonts can individually address all dots
in a cell; text fonts may not be able to address all dots
individually.
In general, standard text character boxes are designed
to be printed in one pass of the printhead, and are big
enough for 10-point Roman text characters with accents
and descenders. Full text character cells are designed to
connect vertically when printed at 6 lines/inch.
Supported values of this parameter are:
1 — Text
2 — Full Cell

Pcmh1

Character Cell
Matrix Height

Defines the limit of the character cell matrix height in
dots of the font being loaded. Supported values of this
parameter are given in the Programming Supplement.

(continued on next page)

Command Dictionary 7–29

DECDLD — Download Font

Table 7–4 (Cont.) DECDLD Selective Parameters
Pcss1

Parameter

Description

Character Set
Size

Controls the size of the associated character set and
modifies the interpretation of the Pcn parameter. The
value of the parameter indicates the size of the character
set associated with the downloaded font:
0 — 94-character set
1 — 96-character set
A parameter value of 1 permits the loading of the 2/0
and 7/15 characters in the font, and requires that the
96-character designating escape sequences be used to
designate the font (see Select Character Size—SCS).
Interaction between Pcn and Pcss:

Psgr1

Select Graphic
Rendition (SGR)
Number

Pcn

Pcss

Start Loading at:

0
1
2–94
>94
0–95
>95

0 (94)
0 (94)
0 (94)
0 (94)
1 (96)
1 (96)

2/1
2/1
2/2–7/14
Ignore sequence
2/0–7/15
Ignore sequence

Assigns an SGR number to the downloaded font file. This
allows you to associate a typestyle with the downloaded
font. If the SGR number assigned is 10, the downloaded
font overrides the built-in font. See Section 4.4.1 for a
complete explanation of precedence rules. For maximum
flexibility, use SGR numbers 11, 12, and 13 for download
buffers 1, 2, and 3 respectively. This minimizes conflicts
with built-in and cartridge fonts.

7–30 Command Dictionary

DECDLD — Download Font

D ... D
The data string (D . . . D) represents the actual font load data. The syntax of

D . . . D is as follows:

Dscs glyph_data_1 ; glyph_data_2 ; . . . ; glyph_data_n ST
Dscs — Character Set Designator
Dscs defines the intermediate and final characters of the Select Character
Set (SCS) sequence used to designate the loaded font as an active character
set.

Dscs is a set of zero, one, or two intermediate characters, followed by a
final character (
2 3 ). See Select Character Set (SCS) in this
chapter for a description of the designating command. See Table 7–7 for a
list of character set designators.
The designating sequence may be either a replacement for a built-in
set, such as the ASCII character set, or the downloaded character set
designator from Table 7–7.
For example:
•

If Dscs = B, the loaded font is defined as the ASCII character set.

•

If Dscs = SP @, the loaded font is defined as the downloaded character
set. This is the recommended value for user-defined character sets.

Font_data_n — Sixel Bit Patterns
There is one font_data bit pattern string for each downloaded character.
Strings are separated by the semicolon character ; (3/11). Each individual
sixel bit pattern string consists of a sequence of sixel characters that
defines one horizontal scan of a character pattern and is terminated by a
slash character / (2/15).
Character codes 0/8—0/13 may be included in the data strings. These codes
are ignored and do not affect the interpretation of the data.
The binary data is encoded in sixels. The application software adds an
offset of 3FH to the binary data to form a printable character between ?
(3/15) and ~ (7/15).
The bits are represented as a vertical, 1x6 dot matrix, with the least
significant bit at the top. A set bit (one) specifies a printed dot.

Command Dictionary 7–31

DECDLD — Download Font

Note
The DECDLD data string uses the sixel data format, but not the
control functions, defined in Chapter 5.
To load the dot pattern for an individual character in a font (one font_data_
n pattern), send a sequence of sixel characters, with each sixel specifying
one vertical column of six dots. After loading each sixel character, the font
pattern scan advances horizontally by one dot.
Terminate each horizontal scan (except for the last horizontal scan of the
bit pattern) with a scan terminator / (2/15). Terminate the last horizontal
scan of the bit pattern with a bit pattern terminator ; (3/11).
The scan terminator character / (2/15) advances the font pattern scan to the
next lower row of six vertical dots. If the height of a loaded character (as
defined in Pcmh) is not a multiple of six, the device ignores the high-order
bits of the sixel values on the last row of the font_data_n pattern.
Any dots of a loaded character that are not specified are set to zero.
Example of font_data_n
The following illustration shows the mapping of sixels onto an 8x10 dot
character cell. The character represented is a backslash, extending from
the top left-hand portion of the cell to the lower right-hand corner. The
right-hand side of the illustration shows the hexadecimal representation of
the bitmap data before and after adjusting for the sixel protocol, as well as
the resulting ASCII representation.
The rows of numbers on the top and bottom relate to the order in which
sixel values are sent to the device.

7–32 Command Dictionary

DECDLD — Download Font

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
_________________________________
b0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
b1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
b2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
b3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
b4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
b5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2F
|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| /
b0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
b1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
b2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
b3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Bitmap data: +3F = Bytes to send:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
6 C 18 30 20 0 0 0
+3F +3F +3F +3F +3F +3F +3F +3F
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --45 4B 57 6F 5F 3F 3F 3F
E K W o _ ? ? ?
0 0 0 0 1 3 6 C
+3F +3F +3F +3F +3F +3F +3F +3F
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --3F 3F 3F 3F 40 42 45 4B
? ? ? ? @ B E K
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

DCS 1 ; 92 ; 0 ; 8 ; 0 ; 2 ; 10 ; 0 ; 10 { EKWo_???/????@BEK ; ST
Note
This example is for illustrative purposes only. Use the character matrix
size given in the Programming Supplement.

ST — String Terminator
The data string (D . . . D) is terminated by ST (9/12).

Error Handling
If Pfn or Pu is zero or is omitted, the device assumes a value of 1. If Psgr is
zero or is omitted, the device assumes a value of 10. If Pcss or Pe is omitted,
the device assumes a value of 0.
The following conditions cause the device to ignore the entire download
sequence:
•

Pfn (font number) greater than 3

•

Pe (erase) greater than 2

•

Pcn (first character in set) greater than 95

•

Pcmw (character matrix width) unrecognized (see the Programming
Supplement for recognized values)

•

Pcmh (character matrix height) unrecognized (see the Programming
Supplement for recognized values)

Command Dictionary 7–33

DECDLD — Download Font

•

Pcss (character set size) greater than 1

•

Pu (font usage) greater than 2

•

Psgr—Select Graphic Rendition (SGR) assignment greater than 0 and less
than 10

•

Psgr—Select Graphic Rendition (SGR) assignment greater than 19

•

Dscs—Select Character Set (SCS) designator = > (User Preference
designator)

Any change to Pcmw, Pu, Pcmh, Pcss, Psgr, or Dscs for a particular buffer since
the last DECDLD sequence for that buffer results in the erasure of the entire
set and causes a new font load to begin.
If the input buffer becomes full because of memory restrictions, the device
deletes the partially loaded font and discards the rest of the download
sequence.

7–34 Command Dictionary

DECFSR — Font Status Report

DECFSR — Font Status Report
Reports the status of the installed cartridge fonts. Response to Request Font
Status (DECRFS) command.
Source: Device

Destination: Symbiont

Format
ESC P
3 " {
D . . . D ESC \
1/11 5/0 3/3 2/2 7/11 * . . . * 1/11 5/12

Description
Ps = 3 indicates that D . . . D contains a brief status report of the cartridge
fonts. The device always sends one report with Ps = 3.
D . . . D is formatted as follows:
typestyle ( intended horiz. pitch ;
SGR parameter ) ;
CR LF . . .
****
2/8 ****
3/11 ****
2/9 3/11 0/13 0/10
This information is stored in the cartridge font file.

Example
ESC P 3 " { COURIER(12;17); CR LF
GOTHIC(12;18); CR LF
ORATOR(10;19)CR LF
ESC \
All cartridge fonts may be printed at any of the horizontal pitch selections.
Therefore, the intended pitch information within the font status report only
identifies the pitch that is recommended by the font designer.
If no cartridge is installed, the device returns a null report, as follows:
ESC P 3 " { ESC \
Software should ignore any data that the device sends between the right
parenthesis and the semicolon (;). This convention allows for future expansion
of the reporting mechanism.

Command Dictionary 7–35

DECHPWA — Set Page Width Alignment

DECHPWA — Set Page Width Alignment
Sets the origin and the width of the physical sheet beginning with the current
line. This command is intended to provide alignment of the physical sheet to
the device mechanism.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Level 2 Exception

Format
CSI Pn1 ;
Pn2 "
s
9/11 *** 3/11 *** 2/2 7/3

Description
The numeric parameters are as follows:
Pn

Meaning

Pn1

Position of the origin (left edge of paper) measured in 1/12 in.
increments from the leftmost printable position for the device.
Beginning with the current line, Pn1 changes the horizontal origin of
the entire coordinate system.
Width of paper in 1/12 in. increments. The device never allows
printing beyond this point.
This parameter is relative to Pn1. For example, if Pn1 = 12 and
Pn2 = 102, the device assumes the left edge of the paper is 1 in. in
from the left edge of the printable area, the paper is 8 ½ in. wide,
and the right edge of the paper is 9 ½ in. from the left edge of the
printable area.

Pn2

The maximum sheet size is the width of the printable area. The minimum
sheet size that can be specified by this command is ½ in. For any other
minimum sheet size value for a particular device, refer to the Programming
Supplement.

7–36 Command Dictionary

DECHPWA — Set Page Width Alignment

Side Effects
The device sets the left margin to the new origin described by Pn1, and sets
the right margin to the new right edge of the physical sheet, rounded down to
the next even multiple of the current Horizontal Advance Increment (HAI).
The device moves the active position so that its position relative to the left
reference does not change. If the new active position is greater than the new
right margin, the device sets the Right Margin Flag. See Section 3.3.2.

Error Handling
If Pn1 is omitted, Pn1 is set to 0. If Pn2 is omitted, Pn2 is set to the width of
the printable area.
If Pn1 is greater than printable area width minus ½ in., the device sets Pn1 to
the printable area width minus ½ in.
If Pn1 plus Pn2 are greater than the printable area width, the device sets Pn2
to the printable area width minus Pn1.
If Pn2 is less than ½ in., the device sets Pn2 to ½ in.

Notes to Software
DECHPWA should only be used on a new page, and the parameters should
match the size and location of the paper. This command is intended to align
the paper relative to the platen. It should not be used for arbitrary origin
placement. Send Set Left and Right Margins (DECSLRM) to position the
logical page image within the physical sheet size and location defined by
DECHPWA.

Command Dictionary 7–37

DECHTS — Horizontal Tab Set

DECHTS — Horizontal Tab Set
Executes Horizontal Tab Set (HTS).
Source: Application
(deprecated command)

Destination: Level 2

Format
ESC 1
1/11 3/1

Description
See HTS in Chapter 6.

Notes to Software
This command is included for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should not use this command.

7–38 Command Dictionary

DECIPEM — Enter IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode

DECIPEM — Enter IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode
Executes Select Other Coding System (SOCS), enabling IBM Proprinter
Emulation mode.
Source: Symbiont
(deprecated command)

Destination: Levels 2, 3 Exception

Format
CSI ?
5 8 h
9/11 3/15 3/5 3/8 6/8

Description
See SOCS with final character = (3/13).
Some devices do not support IBM Proprinter Emulation mode. See the
Programming Supplement for a list of protocols supported in a particular
device.

Notes to Software
This command is provided for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should use SOCS instead.

Command Dictionary 7–39

DECIPEM — Return from IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode

DECIPEM — Return from IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode
If received during IBM Proprinter Emulation mode, executes Return from
Other Coding System (ROCS), returning to DEC mode and disabling all IBM
Proprinter Emulation mode escape sequences.
Source: Symbiont
(deprecated command)

Destination: Levels 2, 3 Exception

Format
ESC [
?
5 8 l
1/11 5/11 3/15 3/5 3/8 6/12

Description
See ROCS. This command always executes ROCS when received during IBM
Proprinter Emulation mode, regardless of the command used to enter IBM
Proprinter Emulation mode.
This command must be coded exactly as delineated above.
Some devices do not support IBM Proprinter Emulation mode. See the
Programming Supplement for a list of protocols supported in a particular
device.
This command returns to DEC mode only if sent during IBM Proprinter
Emulation mode.

Notes to Software
This command is provided for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should use ROCS instead.

7–40 Command Dictionary

DECRFS — Request Font Status

DECRFS — Request Font Status
Requests a font cartridge report. Response is Font Status Report (DECFSR).
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Ps "
{
9/11 *** 2/2 7/11

Description
The selective parameters for DECRFS are as follows:
Ps

Meaning

0
3

Requests a default report (same as 3).
Requests a brief status report of all cartridge typestyles in the
device.

The host sends this command to request a status report of the cartridge fonts
available for printing.

Error Handling
If Ps is any value other than 0 or 3, the device ignores this command.

Command Dictionary 7–41

DECSBCA — Select Bar Code Attributes

DECSBCA — Select Bar Code Attributes
Selects the bar code encoding system (bar code style) size, pitch, and other
attributes for subsequent bar code characters, and selects or deselects
human-readable characters. Some devices do not support bar codes. See
the Programming Supplement.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2, 3 Exception

Format
CSI Ps1 ;
Pn2 ;
... ;
Ps9 ’
q
9/11 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 . . . 3/11 *** 2/7 7/1

Description
Ps1 selects the type of bar code encoding:
Ps1

Bar Code Encoding

0
2
n

Code 3 of 9 (default value).
Code 3 of 9.
Other encoding system (bar code style). For the list of bar code
styles and selective parameters for a particular device, refer to
the Programming Supplement.

Pn2 sets the width of the narrow bars and spaces in units of decipoints. Some
devices accept only specific values for Pn2. See the Programming Supplement
for supported values. If 0 is selected for Pn2, the default for the device is
selected. This value may vary among devices.
Pn3 sets the width of the quiet zone in decipoints. Some devices ignore
this parameter and use a fixed-width quiet zone. See the Programming
Supplement. However, you should always include Pn3 to ensure that your
software will be accepted on future devices.
Pn4 sets the width of the wide bars and wide spaces in decipoints. Most
devices accept only specific values for Pn4. See the Programming Supplement
for supported values. If 0 is selected for Pn4, the default for the device is
selected. This value may vary among devices.

7–42 Command Dictionary

DECSBCA — Select Bar Code Attributes

Pn5 sets the inter-character gap in decipoints. Most devices accept only specific
values for Pn5. See the Programming Supplement for supported values. If 0
is selected for Pn5, the default for the device is selected. This value may vary
among devices.
Pn6 sets the height of the bars in decipoints. Some devices ignore this
parameter and use a fixed-height bar. See the Programming Supplement.
However, you should always include Pn6 to ensure that your software will be
accepted on future devices.
Pn7 defines the control character encoding character. If the device does not
support control characters, Pn7 is ignored. See the Programming Supplement.
If you do not need control character support, send a zero (0) for Ps7.
Ps8 sets the orientation for the bar codes. In some devices, the printed bar
code cannot be rotated. See the Programming Supplement.
Ps8

Orientation

0
1
2

Default for the device.
Horizontal (portrait).
Vertical (landscape).

Ps9 sets the human-readable character option.
Ps9

Human Readable Characters

0, 1
2

None.
Current font.

Error Handling
Unsupported values for Ps1, Pn2, Pn4, and Pn5 cause the entire sequence to
be ignored.
Unsupported values for Pn3, Pn6, Pn7, and Ps8 are ignored. They cause no
change to the current value.
Unsupported values for Ps9 are treated as 1.

Command Dictionary 7–43

DECSCL — Select Conformance Level

DECSCL — Select Conformance Level
Performs a reset to protocol defaults and a conditional Sheet Feed. The name
‘‘Select Conformance Level’’ exists for historical reasons.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
CSI Ps "
p
9/11 *** 2/2 7/0

Description
The selective parameters for DECSCL are as follows:
Ps

Meaning

0
71
72

Treated as 72.
Reset to DEC PPL1 defaults.
Reset to DEC PPL2 defaults.

The device resets all variables listed in the Initial State Values table in the
Programming Supplement to the factory defaults. This is a different reset than
Soft Terminal Reset (DECSTR) or Reset to Initial State (RIS).
At present, all DEC defaults are the same, regardless of level. Therefore, all
recognized Ps values have the same effect. Future devices may implement
different default lists. Therefore, software should use the appropriate level of
reset.

Side Effects
The device performs a conditional Sheet Feed regardless of the value of Ps.

Error Handling
If Ps is an unsupported value, the device ignores the command, except for the
side effect mentioned above.

7–44 Command Dictionary

DECSHORP — Set Horizontal Pitch

DECSHORP — Set Horizontal Pitch
Selects character spacing for monospaced fonts.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
CSI Ps w
9/11 *** 7/7

Description
The DECSHORP command determines the number of characters/inch (pitch)
that the device uses. This establishes the Horizontal Advance Increment
(HAI).
The selective parameters for DECSHORP are as follows:
Ps

HAI

Pitch

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11

720 centipoints
720 centipoints
600 centipoints
545 centipoints
436 centipoints
1440 centipoints
1200 centipoints
1090 centipoints
872 centipoints
480 centipoints
420 centipoints

840 centipoints

13
14
15

400 centipoints
800 centipoints
720 centipoints

10 characters/inch
10 characters/inch
12 characters/inch
13.2 characters/inch
16.5 characters/inch
5 characters/inch
6 characters/inch
6.6 characters/inch
8.25 characters/inch
15 characters/inch
Approximately 17.1 characters/inch or, more
accurately, 14/240 in.
Approximately 8.55 characters/inch or, more
accurately, 28/240 in.
18 characters/inch
9 characters/inch
10 characters/inch

Command Dictionary 7–45

DECSHORP — Set Horizontal Pitch

There may be device limitations on pitch based on resolution restrictions. If
fallbacks are used, however, the resulting characters are the same size or
smaller than those requested. See the discussion of horizontal resolution in the
Programming Supplement for the actual supported pitches.

Side Effects
Execution of DECSHORP produces the following side effects:
•

Sets the Left and Right Margin Positions to the edges of the physical sheet.
See Section 3.4.

•

Clears the Right Margin Flag.

•

Adjusts horizontal tab stops (multiplies each tab location by the ratio of
the new Horizontal Advance Increment over the old HAI). For example,
if a horizontal tab stop is set at column 12 with a horizontal pitch of 12
characters/inch, the tab stop stored is 1 inch from the origin. But if a
DECSHORP command changes the pitch to 6 characters/inch, the tab stop
moves to 2 inches from the origin in order to retain 12 characters between
the origin and the tab stop.

•

If the active horizontal position is not a multiple of the new HAI, it is
adjusted rightward to the next multiple of HAI.

Error Handling
All other parameter values cause this command to be ignored except for
the bounds and Right Margin Flag resets described under Side Effects. A
parameter that is valid but unsupported in a particular device results in
a fallback. See the discussion of horizontal resolution in the Programming
Supplement for a list of supported pitches.

7–46 Command Dictionary

DECSHTS — Set Horizontal Tab Stops

DECSHTS — Set Horizontal Tab Stops
Adds one or more tab stops to the horizontal tab table.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2

Format
CSI Pn ;
... ;
Pn u
9/11 *** 3/11 . . . 3/11 *** 7/5

Description
Pn is the column number on which to set the tab stop.
Each Pn parameter is a selected horizontal tab stop. A maximum of 16 tab
stops can be selected in one command. The device can receive Pn values in any
order; it sorts them and places them into the tab table.
The device sets tab stops relative to the origin and not to the left margin.
Changing the left margin does not change the position of tab stops. Changing
the pitch with the Set Horizontal Pitch (DECSHORP) command modifies tab
positions to keep the number of columns between tab stops constant.
The device allows at least one tab per eight columns along the widest paper
supported at the smallest built-in monospaced pitch. See the Programming
Supplement for the exact number.
Tab stops can be set outside the current margins; however, the device does not
use tabs outside the margins.

Error Handling
If the device receives more than 16 tab stops in one sequence, it sets the first
16 and ignores the rest. If the same tab stop is sent more than once, the device
sets the tab stop once. The device ignores a sequence sent without tab stop
parameters.
When the number of new tab settings exceeds the maximum, the device
discards the tab stops with the highest values.

Command Dictionary 7–47

DECSLPP — Set Lines per Physical Page

DECSLPP — Set Lines per Physical Page
Defines the logical page length. See Section 3.4 for more information.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2

Format
CSI Pn t
9/11 *** 7/4

Description
This command sets the page length to the physical distance that corresponds to
Pn units (lines at the current vertical pitch). Once page length is set, changing
the size of the units does not change the page length.
If Pn = 0, the device enters no forms mode. This mode emulates the use
of roll paper (paper with no perforations). In no forms mode there is no top
margin. The device is therefore required to change the processing of certain
commands and activities that are normally based on the top margin.
No forms mode has the following effects:
•

Form Feed (FF), Vertical Position Absolute (VPA), and Vertical Tab (VT)
commands are processed as Line Feed (LF) characters.

•

Vertical Position Relative (VPR) is processed up to 255 lines.

•

Top and bottom margins are ignored.

•

The FF button on the front panel (if any) is processed as a Line Feed (if
fanfold paper is in use) or as an Eject (if single sheets are in use).

•

No vertical active position adjustment occurs on the receipt of Select
Vertical Pitch (DECVERP).

Table 7–5 lists the parameter values for a small selection of page lengths as a
function of vertical pitch.

7–48 Command Dictionary

DECSLPP — Set Lines per Physical Page

Table 7–5 Page Length Parameters
Lines per Inch
Length in
Inches

Lines per Page
11.0/3

N/A

8.5/2

N/A

8.5

N/A

102

11.0

132

14.0

112

168

21.0

126

168

252

Where N/A is indicated, the length is not selectable while the indicated vertical
pitch is in effect. If it is selected using another vertical pitch and a subsequent
pitch change occurs, page lengths of a nonintegral number of lines may result.
Page wrap occurs after the last whole line.
The page length limits the range of possible settings for the Set Top and
Bottom Margins (DECSTBM) command.

Side Effects
The device resets the top margin to 1 and the bottom margin to the page
length.
See also the discussion of no forms mode, above.

Error Handling
If the Pn parameter is greater than the physical sheet length, the device sets
the logical page length to the physical sheet length. See also Section 3.4.

Notes to Software
Use DECSLPP only at the top of a new page.

Command Dictionary 7–49

DECSLRM — Set Left and Right Margins

DECSLRM — Set Left and Right Margins
Sets the horizontal margins.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Pn1 ;
Pn2 s
9/11 *** 3/11 *** 7/3

Description
Pn1 is a decimal value that specifies the left margin position.
Pn1

Meaning

0
n

Leave margin unchanged.
Set left margin to n columns.

Pn2 is a decimal value that specifies the right margin position.
Pn2

Meaning

0
n

Leave margin unchanged.
Set right margin to n columns.

The left margin is an imaginary line running down the left-hand side of
the leftmost column. The right margin is an imaginary line running down
the right-hand side of the rightmost column. Since the active position is an
imaginary line running down the left of the character cell, it is possible to set
the left margin and the right margin on the same column. The result is one
column per line.
The device sets the margins relative to the page origin, as set by Horizontal
Page Width Alignment (DECHPWA). Changing the page origin causes the
margins to be reset.
Changing right and left margins does not affect horizontal tab stops. The
active position is affected only if it is outside the new margins. See Error
Handling.

7–50 Command Dictionary

DECSLRM — Set Left and Right Margins

Select Horizontal Pitch (DECSHORP) affects margin settings. See
DECSHORP. DECHPWA affects the positions of the left and right margins
in relation to the paper edge. See DECHPWA.

Error Handling
If the active position is less than the new left margin, the device sets the active
position to the new left margin.
If the active position is greater than the new right margin, the device sets the
Right Margin Flag. See Section 3.3.2.
If Pn2 is to the right of the right edge of the physical sheet, the device sets Pn2
to the right edge of the physical sheet. See also Section 3.4.
If Pn1 is greater than Pn2, or Pn1 is to the right of the right edge of the
physical sheet, the device ignores the command.
For any additional information on any minimum distance between vertical
margins for a particular device, refer to the Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing
Protocol Level 2 Programming Supplement.

Notes to Software
Margins can be changed or reset as a side effect of other actions.
DECSLRM should be used only on a new page.

Command Dictionary 7–51

DECSTBM — Set Top and Bottom Margins

DECSTBM — Set Top and Bottom Margins
Sets the vertical margins.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Pn1 ;
Pn2 r
9/11 *** 3/11 *** 7/2

Description
Pn1 is a decimal value that specifies the top margin position.
Pn1

Meaning

0
n

Leave margin unchanged.
Set top margin to n lines.

Pn2 is a decimal value that specifies the bottom margin position.
Pn2

Meaning

0
n

Leave margin unchanged.
Set bottom margin to n lines.

The device images only within the top and bottom margins, with the following
exceptions:
•

Partial Line Down (PLD) may print part of a character below the bottom
margin.

•

Partial Line Up (PLU) may print part of a character above the top margin.

•

If the margins are less than one character height apart, text may exceed
the bottom margin.

Changing the top and bottom margins does not affect vertical tab stops. The
active position is affected only if it is outside the new margins. See Error
Handling.
Set Lines per Physical Page (DECSLPP) affects margin settings.

7–52 Command Dictionary

DECSTBM — Set Top and Bottom Margins

After the top and bottom margins are set, if the vertical pitch is changed
(Set Vertical Pitch—DECVERP), the physical positions of the top and bottom
margins are not cleared but may change by a small amount so that they are
still on grid. See DECVERP.
See Section 3.5 for a description of the interactions between PLU and PLD and
the top and bottom margins.

Error Handling
If the active position is above the new top margin, the device sets the active
position to the new top margin.
If the active position is below the new bottom margin, the device performs a
Form Feed (FF).
If Pn2 is greater than the logical page length, the device sets the bottom
margin to the bottom of the logical page.
If Pn1 is greater than Pn2, or Pn1 is greater than the logical page length, the
device ignores the command.
For additional information on any minimum distance between vertical margins
for a particular device, refer to the Programming Supplement.

Notes to Software
Margins can be changed or reset as a side effect of other actions.
DECSTBM should be used only on a new page.

Command Dictionary 7–53

DECSTR — Soft Terminal Reset

DECSTR — Soft Terminal Reset
Resets the device to the initial state values. Also returns to DEC PPL2
regardless of the power-up protocol selected.
Source: Application, Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
CSI ! p
9/11 2/1 7/0

Description
The device sets all the initial state values listed in the Programming
Supplement to the conditions in the ‘‘DECSTR’’ column of the Initial State
Values table.
The device does not run self-test, change the current communication settings,
or clear the input buffer.

Side Effects
The device performs a conditional Form Feed. See Section 3.8.
See Select Other Coding System (SOCS) when an alternate protocol is in use.

7–54 Command Dictionary

DECSVTS — Set Vertical Tab Stops

DECSVTS — Set Vertical Tab Stops
Adds one or more tab stops to the vertical tab table.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2

Format
CSI Pn ;
... ;
Pn v
9/11 *** 3/11 . . . 3/11 *** 7/6

Description
Pn is the line number on which to set the tab stop. Each Pn parameter is a
selected vertical tab stop. A maximum of 16 tab stops can be selected in one
command. The device can receive Pn parameters in any order; it sorts them
and places them into the tab table.
The device sets tab stops relative to the page origin, not to the top margin.
Changing the top margin does not change the position of tab stops. Changing
the pitch with Set Vertical Pitch (DECVERP) modifies tab positions to keep the
number of lines between tab stops constant.
The device allows at least one tab per line along the longest paper supported
at the smallest line spacing. See the Programming Supplement for maximum
values.
Tab stops can be set outside the current margins; however, the device does not
use tab stops beyond the bottom margin.

Error Handling
If the device receives more than 16 tab stops, it sets the first 16 and ignores
the rest. If the same tab stop is sent more than once, the device sets the tab
stop once. The device ignores a command sent without tab stop parameters.

Command Dictionary 7–55

DECTC1 — Truncate C1 Control Characters

DECTC1 — Truncate C1 Control Characters
Instructs the device to truncate the high-order bit of 8-bit C1 control
characters.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Level 2, 3

Format
ESC SP 6
1/11 2/0 3/6

Description
For all subsequent characters, the device processes received 2-character
sequences as shown in the ‘‘7-Bit Equivalent Sequence’’ column of Table 2–1. If
8-bit C1 control characters are received, it drops the eighth bit and processes
the character as a C0 character.
This sequence is processed in sequence with all other data. Therefore, it is
recommended that software send this sequence before all other commands to
prevent confusion.
See also Accept C1 Control Characters (DECAC1) in this chapter.

7–56 Command Dictionary

DECUPM — Unidirectional Print Mode

DECUPM — Unidirectional Print Mode
Designates the direction of printhead motion.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2

Format
CSI ?
4 1 h
9/11 3/15 3/4 3/1 6/8
CSI ?
4 1 l
9/11 3/15 3/4 3/1 6/12

Set: selects unidirectional printing.
Reset: selects bidirectional printing.

Description
Either unidirectional printing or bidirectional printing can be selected.
With DECUPM set, printing occurs only when the printhead is moving from
left to right. This provides more accurate horizontal positioning on some
devices. With DECUPM reset, the device prints from right to left as well as
from left to right. This optimizes printing speed.
The device always prints sixel graphics and some text attributes in
unidirectional print mode, regardless of the setting of DECUPM.
See Section 2.5.2.3 for details about parsing this command with multiple
parameters.

Command Dictionary 7–57

DECVERP — Set Vertical Pitch

DECVERP — Set Vertical Pitch
Selects line spacing.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 21

1 Metric line spacing parameters are an extension to the protocol.

Format
CSI Ps z
9/11 *** 7/10

Description
The DECVERP command determines the number of lines/inch (pitch) that the
device uses. This establishes the Vertical Advance Increment (VAI). Changing
the vertical pitch changes the white space between lines, not the size of the
character. If the number of lines/inch is increased, the amount of white space
between the lines is decreased.
The selective parameter values for DECVERP are as follows:
Ps

VAI

Pitch

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
10
11
12

1200 centipoints
1200 centipoints
900 centipoints
600 centipoints
3600 centipoints
2400 centipoints
1800 centipoints
Same as Ps = 1
Same as Ps = 1
Same as Ps = 2

6 lines/inch
6 lines/inch
8 lines/inch
12 lines/inch
2 lines/inch
3 lines/inch
4 lines/inch

7–58 Command Dictionary

DECVERP — Set Vertical Pitch

VAI

13
14
15
16
211
221
231
311
321
331

Same as Ps = 3
Same as Ps = 4
Same as Ps = 5
Same as Ps = 6

Pitch

4 lines/centimeter
2 lines/centimeter
1 line/centimeter
Same as Ps = 21
Same as Ps = 22
Same as Ps = 23

1 Metric line spacing parameters are an extension to the protocol and may not be supported in all

devices. See the Programming Supplement.

There may be device limitations on pitch based on resolution restrictions.
These usually affect only the metric line spacing parameters. See the
discussion of resolution in the Programming Supplement for supported pitches.
The exact vertical pitch produced for parameters 11–16 is device dependent.
The result is defined as lines/page on the printable area defined for portrait
printing on A-sized paper for that device. Although this is always defined as a
given vertical pitch on level 2 devices, it can vary on certain level 3 devices.

Side Effects
DECVERP does not change the active position. However, before processing the
next vertical motion command, the active line advances a minimum amount to
be on the new line grid.
Unlike the action of Set Horizontal Pitch (DECSHORP) on the horizontal
margins, top and bottom margins are not cleared, but are advanced to be on
grid using the same algorithm described for the active position.
Note
Application software should not depend on this functionality.
Application software should always select new top and bottom margins
after changing the vertical pitch.

Command Dictionary 7–59

DECVERP — Set Vertical Pitch

Vertical tab stops are adjusted in order to retain a constant number of lines
between vertical tabs. For example, if a vertical tab stop is set at 12 lines with
a vertical pitch of 6 lines/inch, the tab stop stored is 2 inches from the origin.
But if a DECVERP command changes the pitch to 12 lines/inch, the tab stop
moves to 1 inch from the origin in order to retain 12 lines between the origin
and the tab stop.
The DECVERP command does not change the page length.

Error Handling
If the vertical pitch is set greater than the page length, the device images one
line/page. See Section 3.3.4.
If Ps is invalid, the command is ignored.

7–60 Command Dictionary

DECVTS — Vertical Tab Set

DECVTS — Vertical Tab Set
Executes Vertical Tab Set (VTS).
Source: Application
(deprecated command)

Destination: Level 2

Format
ESC 3
1/11 3/3

Description
See VTS in Chapter 6.

Notes to Software
This command is included for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should not use this command.

Command Dictionary 7–61

DSR — Device Status Request

DSR — Device Status Request
Requests error status.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
CSI Ps n
9/11 *** 6/14

Description
In response to a DSR command, the device sends a single brief or extended
status report. If you enable unsolicited reports, the device sends additional
reports whenever any reportable status condition changes state or an error
event occurs.
The device processes the DSR request immediately upon receipt, asynchronously to the rest of the data stream. This allows the device to respond to
the request when an error has halted the printing process and the input buffer
is full.
The selective parameters for the Device Status Request command are as
follows:
Ps

Selection

0 or 5
?1
?2

Sends an extended status report.
Disables all unsolicited status reports.
Enables brief unsolicited status reports, sends extended status
report.
Enables extended unsolicited status reports, sends extended
status report.

The host sends the Device Status Request command to request a status report
of detected errors. There are two types of reports: extended and brief. The
brief report sends a simple ‘‘error’’ or ‘‘no error’’ indication. The extended report
sends this indication as well as a list of more specific error codes.
The number of DSR requests the device can process is limited only by the
transmission time of each report.

7–62 Command Dictionary

DSR — Device Status Request

Error Handling
If Ps has a value other than those shown, the device ignores the entire
command. is not necessary to parse multiple parameters. If multiple
parameters are received, it is acceptable for the device not to recognize
the command.

Notes to Software
Do not use multiple parameters when sending DSR.

Command Dictionary 7–63

DSR — Device Status Report

DSR — Device Status Report
Reports error status. The device sends this report:
•

In response to certain error conditions (if unsolicited reports are enabled)

•

In response to a Device Status Request (DSR) with Ps = 0, 5, ?2, or ?3

Source: Device

Destination: Symbiont

Brief Report Format
ESC [
Ps n
1/11 5/11 *** 6/14

Extended Report Format
Brief report followed by:

ESC [
Pn1 ;
Pn2 ;
... ;
Pnn n
1/11 5/11 *** 3/11 *** 3/11 . . . 3/11 *** 6/14

Brief Report Description
The brief report parameters are as follows:
Ps

Meaning

0
3

No errors.
Error.

Extended Report Description
Each Pn value is an error code of up to three digits. The error codes are listed
in the Programming Supplement.
Each error code is classified as a state (the error is cleared internally when
the error condition is corrected) or an event (the error is cleared internally
when the error condition is reported). These classifications are listed in the
Programming Supplement.

7–64 Command Dictionary

DSR — Device Status Report

Notes
If unsolicited reports are enabled, errors are reported as they occur.
If no errors occurred, the device returns a generic ‘‘no error’’ code. The
extended ‘‘no error’’ indication varies depending on the configuration, for
example, the presence or absence of a sheet feeder.
If an event error occurs when unsolicited reports are disabled, the event is
stored, then is reported and cleared on the next request. If a state error
occurs when unsolicited reports are disabled, an error report is generated on
the next request only if the error condition still exists — for example, the cover
is open or the device is off line.
If unsolicited reports are enabled and an event occurs that normally causes the
device to go off line, the device transmits a report before going off line.
The device sends parameters in ascending order, except for the ‘‘First Report
Since Initialization’’ parameter (if any), which is always sent first. However,
software should accept the parameters in any order.

Command Dictionary 7–65

HPA — Horizontal Position Absolute

HPA — Horizontal Position Absolute
Moves to a new active horizontal position. Motion occurs either to the right or
to the left.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Pn `
9/11 *** 6/0

Description
Select Pn as follows:
Pn

Meaning

0
n

Interpreted as 1.
Position to move to.

The device sets the active horizontal position to column Pn.
See Section 3.3 for interactions with the coordinate system bounds.
When lining attributes are invoked by Select Graphic Rendition (SGR), HPA
underlines, double underlines, overlines, or strikes through from the current
position to the target position.

Side Effects
The device clears the Right Margin Flag if the HPA command causes the active
position to move to the left of the right margin.

Error Handling
If Pn is to the left of the Left Margin Position, the device sets the horizontal
position to the Left Margin Position.
If Pn is to the right of the Right Margin Position, the device sets the horizontal
position equal to the Right Margin Position and sets the Right Margin Flag.
See Section 3.3.2 for more information.

7–66 Command Dictionary

HPR — Horizontal Position Relative

HPR — Horizontal Position Relative
Moves the active position to the right a specified number of columns.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Pn a
9/11 *** 6/1

Description
Select Pn as follows:
Pn

Meaning

0
n

Interpreted as 1.
Number of characters.

When lining attributes are invoked by Select Graphic Rendition (SGR), HPR
underlines, double underlines, overlines, or strikes through text from the
current position to the target position.

Error Handling
If the resulting position would be to the right of the Right Margin Position, the
device sets the horizontal position equal to the Right Margin Position and sets
the Right Margin Flag. See Section 3.3.2 for more information.
When the Right Margin Flag is set, the command is ignored.

Command Dictionary 7–67

LNM — Line Feed/New Line Mode

LNM — Line Feed/New Line Mode
Instructs the device whether to perform a Carriage Return (CR) upon receipt of
a Line Feed (LF).
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 2, 3

CSI 2 0 h
9/11 3/2 3/0 6/8
CSI 2 0 l
9/11 3/2 3/0 6/12

Set — LF acts as New Line.

Format

Reset — LF acts as Line Feed.

Description
If LNM is set and a Line Feed is received, the active position advances to the
left margin of the next line. If LNM is reset and a Line Feed is received, the
active position advances to the same horizontal position on the next line.
See Section 2.5.2.3 for details about parsing this command with multiple
parameters.

7–68 Command Dictionary

LS*/LS*R/SS* — Locking and Single Shifts

LS*/LS*R/SS* — Locking and Single Shifts
These sequences invoke the G0–G3 character sets into GL or GR.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
The locking shift and single shift sequences are as follows:
Name

Mnemonic

Sequence

Function

Single Shift 2

SS2

Single Shift 3

SS3

Shift Out

Temporarily invokes character set
G2 into GL to print one character.
Temporarily invokes character set
G3 into GL to print one character.
See Locking Shift 1.

Shift In

Locking Shift
0
Locking Shift
1
Locking Shift
2
Locking Shift
3
Locking Shift
1 Right
Locking Shift
2 Right
Locking Shift
3 Right

LS0

ESC N
1/11 4/14
ESC O
1/11 4/15
SO
0/14
SI
0/15
SI
0/15
SO
0/14
ESC n
1/11 6/14
ESC o
1/11 6/15
ESC ~
1/11 7/14
ESC }
1/11 7/13
ESC |
1/11 7/12

LS1
LS2
LS3
LS1R
LS2R
LS3R

See Locking Shift 0.
G0 becomes the active GL character
set.
G1 becomes the active GL character
set.
G2 becomes the active GL character
set.
G3 becomes the active GL character
set.
G1 becomes the active GR
character set.
G2 becomes the active GR
character set.
G3 becomes the active GR
character set.

There is no LS0R.

Command Dictionary 7–69

LS*/LS*R/SS* — Locking and Single Shifts

Description
See Section 2.2.1 for more information on designating and invoking character
sets.
The effect of a single shift (SS2 or SS3) continues only for the first printable
GL character that follows the single shift sequence. See Section 2.5.4 for
special processing of intervening characters.
The effect of a locking shift (LS0, LS1, LS2, LS3, LS1R, LS2R, or LS3R)
continues indefinitely; that is, until another locking shift changes the effect, or
until reset or power down.

7–70 Command Dictionary

RIS — Reset to Initial State

RIS — Reset to Initial State
Executes Soft Terminal Reset (DECSTR).
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
ESC c
1/11 6/3

Description
See DECSTR.

Notes to Software
This command is included for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should not use this command.
ESC c is reserved for other uses in some emulation modes.

Command Dictionary 7–71

ROCS — Return from Other Coding System

ROCS — Return from Other Coding System
Returns to DEC PPL2 from an alternate protocol emulation mode.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 2, 3 Exception

Format
ESC %
@
1/11 2/5 4/0

Description
This command causes the device to return to DEC PPL2. If switching
protocols, the device also returns to power-up defaults. See the Initial State
Values table in the Programming Supplement. Defaults are not applied if this
command is received while already in DEC PPL2.

Restrictions
If received during an emulation binary transmission mode, the command is
processed as binary data and does not return the device to DEC PPL2.
Immediately after receiving the exit command, the device may still be in an
emulation mode processing buffered data. Asynchronous processing (such as
Device Status Report—DSR) may not function properly. In order to compensate
for this restriction, send a Device Attributes (DA) request command after
sending the ROCS command. The reply to the DA indicates that the device has
entered DEC mode and is ready to accept DEC PPL2 commands.
While in an emulation mode, ROCS must be coded exactly as delineated above.
Some devices do not support emulation modes. See the Programming
Supplement for a list of supported protocols.

Notes to Software
Since ROCS does not reset the device unless received in an emulation protocol,
symbionts wishing to return the device to a known state between jobs should
follow ROCS with Select Conformance Level (DECSCL).

7–72 Command Dictionary

SCS — Select Character Set

SCS — Select Character Set
Designates a graphic character set into G0, G1, G2, or G3.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 3

Format
ESC I1 I2 . . . In F
1/11 (See Description)

Description
I1 is an intermediate character selected from Table 7–6.
Table 7–6 SCS Intermediate Characters
I1 Character

94-Character Sets
(
Left parenthesis
)
Right parenthesis
*
Asterisk
+
Plus sign
96-Character Sets
Minus sign
.
Period
/
Slash

Code

Invoke into Gset

2/8
2/9
2/10
2/11

G0
G1
G2
G3

2/13
2/14
2/15

G1
G2
G3

Table 7–7 lists the character set designating characters. See Appendix A for a
description of the character sets. These character sets are selected using the
identifier as F or I2 F in the SCS sequence. If the font file is a downline loaded
font or cartridge font, use the designator provided with the font file.

Command Dictionary 7–73

SCS — Select Character Set

Table 7–7 SCS Intermediate (I2 ) and Final Characters
Character Set

I2 F Designator
Characters

Code

94-Character Sets
British
ASCII
DEC Dutch
DEC Finnish
French
DEC French-Canadian
German
DEC Hebrew Supplemental
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew
ISO Italian
Legal
JIS Katakana
JIS Roman
DEC Norwegian/Danish
ISO Spanish
DEC Swedish
DEC Swiss
Norwegian/Danish
DEC Supplemental
DEC Technical
DEC Special Graphics
DEC Portuguese
DEC 7-Bit Turkish
DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental
DEC Greek Supplemental
User Preference Supplemental

A
B
4
5
R
9
K
"4
%=
Y
%4
I
J
6
Z
7
=
`
%5
>
0
%6
%2
%0
"?
<1

4/1
4/2
3/4
3/5
5/2
3/9
4/11
2/2, 3/4
2/5, 3/13
5/9
2/5, 3/4
4/9
4/10
3/6
5/10
3/7
3/13
6/0
2/5, 3/5
3/14
3/0
2/5, 3/6
2/5, 3/2
2/5, 3/0
2/2, 3/15
3/12

1 For compatibility with older devices, set the User Preference Supplemental character set to the
DEC Supplemental character set. This is a 94-character set.

(continued on next page)

7–74 Command Dictionary

SCS — Select Character Set

Table 7–7 (Cont.) SCS Intermediate (I2 ) and Final Characters
Character Set

Downloaded character set
96-Character Sets
ISO Latin-1 Supplemental
ISO Latin-2 Supplemental
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental
ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental
ISO Latin-5 Supplemental
User Preference Supplemental
Downloaded character set

I2 F Designator
Characters

Code

SP @2

2/0, 4/0

A
B
F
H
L
M
<1
SP @2

4/1
4/2
4/6
4/8
4/12
4/13
3/12
2/0, 4/0

1 For compatibility with older devices, set the User Preference Supplemental character set to the
DEC Supplemental character set. This is a 94-character set.
2 This designator is recommended for use with downloaded character sets that are not described by
any of the above designators, or by any international standard. Whether you use this or any other
designator to select a downloaded font, it must match the designator assigned to the downloaded
font file by the Select Character Set (Dscs) parameter of the Download Font (DECDLD) control
string. See DECDLD.

The SCS sequences in Table 7–8 select Digital character sets as fallbacks, if
the requested set is not present. Since Digital reserves the right to redefine
these sequences in the future to conform to ISO standards, it is recommended
that conforming software not use these sequences but instead use the Digital
escape sequences in Table 7–7 to select these sets.
Table 7–8 SCS Final Characters for Fallback Character Sets
Character Set

F Designator
Character

Code

Fall back to DEC Finnish
Fall back to DEC French Canadian
Fall back to DEC Norwegian/Danish
Fall back to DEC Swedish

C
Q
E
H

4/3
8/1
4/5
4/8

Command Dictionary 7–75

SCS — Select Character Set

Error Handling
Do not invoke a 96-character set into GL. This is considered an error condition.
A 94-character downloaded character set can only be selected using 94character set selection sequences. If a 96-character set selection sequence is
used, it selects the corresponding 96-character set. If no 96-character set with
that designator is available, a character set fault results. The converse is also
true. See Section 4.4.3 for more information.

7–76 Command Dictionary

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes
Selects printing attributes, including lining functions, superscript and subscript
functions, and emphasis functions. Also selects text color.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2, 31

1 Color parameters are an extension to the protocol.

Format
CSI Ps ;
... ;
Ps m
9/11 *** 3/11 . . . 3/11 *** 6/13

Selects standard attributes.

Description
Select an attribute using standard SGR parameters as follows:
Ps

Action

0
1
3
4
9
21
22
23
24
29
301
311
321
331
341

Turn off all attributes, standard and private.
Turn on bold.
Turn on slant.
Turn on underline, turn off double underline.
Turn on strike-through.
Turn on double underline, turn off underline.
Turn off bold.
Turn off slant.
Turn off underline and double underline.
Turn off strike-through.
Print text in black.
Print text in red.
Print text in green.
Print text in yellow.
Print text in blue.

1 Color text parameters are an extension to the protocol and may not be supported in all devices.

See the Programming Supplement.

Command Dictionary 7–77

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes

Action

351
361
371
391
53
55

Print text in magenta.
Print text in cyan.
Print text in ‘‘white’’ (transparent, no printing).
Print text in default color (black).
Turn on overline.
Turn off overline.

1 Color text parameters are an extension to the protocol and may not be supported in all devices.

See the Programming Supplement.

Select an attribute using Digital private SGR parameters as follows:
Ps

Action

?0
?4
?5
?6
?24
?26

Turn off all private attributes (deprecated parameter).
Turn on superscript, turn off subscript.
Turn on subscript, turn off superscript.
Turn on overline (deprecated parameter).
Turn off superscript and subscript.
Turn off overline (deprecated parameter).

Notes to Software
The parameter ?0 is provided for backwards compatibility with older devices.
Conforming software should not use this parameter. Use parameter 0 instead.
The parameters ?6 and ?26 are provided for backwards compatibility with
older devices. Conforming software should not use these parameters. Use
parameters 53 and 55 instead.

Using SGR to Select Character Attributes
You can send more than one parameter at a time, separated with semicolons.
Do not mix standard and private parameters in one command. See
Section 2.5.2.2 for more information.
The device uses the selected attribute across line and page boundaries.

7–78 Command Dictionary

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes

Lining Attributes
Underline, double underline, overline, and strike-through attributes affect all
printable characters in the data stream, as well as:
•

Space (SP)

•

Horizontal Position Relative (HPR)

•

Horizontal Position Absolute (HPA)

Tabs are not affected.
Legal documents often use the strike-through attribute to indicate words
deleted from a previous version of the document. The device draws a line
through the marked characters, in the same manner as underline.
All lining attributes are contiguous relative to the baseline of the entire
line, even when used on superscript or subscript text. This applies to SGR
superscript and subscript only, not to Partial Line Up (PLU) or Partial Line
Down (PLD). Do not use lining attributes with PLU and PLD. The result may
differ depending on the device.
Some devices do not perform lining attributes on full cell characters. A full
cell character is one that is too large to be printed in one pass of the printhead.

Superscript and Subscript Attributes
If superscript or subscript is requested, the device generates half-height
characters algorithmically. The device aligns the top of the superscript
character with the top of the normal character cell and the bottom of the
subscript character with the bottom of the normal (not full) character cell.
Line feed distance and active position are not affected by superscript or
subscript.
Superscripts and subscripts cannot be nested.

Emphasis Attributes
If bold printing is selected, the device uses an algorithm to produce darker
characters. Lining attributes that are selected in conjunction with bold are
printed at the normal weight — only the characters are emphasized.
When slant printing is selected, the characters are algorithmically slanted. See
the Programming Supplement for more information about built-in algorithmic
transformations and the slant algorithm.

Command Dictionary 7–79

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Attributes

Wrapping algorithms apply to the unmodified character. Characters that have
only the modified part extending outside the margins do not wrap.
Some devices do not slant full cell characters.

7–80 Command Dictionary

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Fonts

SGR — Select Graphic Rendition - Selecting Fonts
Selects a typestyle for printing.
Source: Application

Destination: Level 2, 3

Format
CSI Ps m
9/11 *** 6/13

Description
Select a typestyle using SGR parameters as follows:
Ps

Selection

10–19

Select typestyle as predefined, using precedence order given in
Section 4.4.1.

Each cartridge typestyle and downloaded font file has a preassigned SGR
number. See the Programming Supplement for the initial state values of SGR
parameters.
The select font command can be used anywhere in the data stream. The
selected typestyle remains in effect until either of the following occurs:
•

The device receives another select font command (SGR 10–19).

•

The device is reset or powered down.

A change in character set may result in a temporary change in font. See
Section 4.4.3 for more information on character set faults.

Command Dictionary 7–81

SOCS — Select Other Coding System

SOCS — Select Other Coding System
Selects an alternate protocol.
Source: Symbiont

Destination: Levels 2, 3 Exception

Format
ESC %
1/11 2/5

=
3/13

Select IBM Proprinter Emulation mode.

Description
Subsequent data is coded according to the selected protocol.
When in an alternate coding system, the device ignores all DEC PPL2
sequences except the following:
Coding

Sequence

ESC % @
ESC [ ! p
ESC [ ? 5 8 l

Return from Other Coding System (ROCS)
Soft Terminal Reset (DECSTR)
IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode (DECIPEM) reset
only if in IBM Proprinter Emulation mode (deprecated
function)

These commands must be coded exactly as delineated above. DEC PPL2 rules
regarding extra parameters may not apply. Do not use the 8-bit form of Control
Sequence Introducer (CSI) in place of ESC [.
This command causes a reset of the selected emulation mode to its initial
conditions. See the emulation mode specification for a list of the initial
conditions.
When in emulation mode, the device does not save DSR events for later
reporting after returning to DEC mode.
Some devices do not support any emulation modes. See the Programming
Supplement for a list of supported protocols.

7–82 Command Dictionary

TBC — Tab Clear

TBC — Tab Clear
Clears one or all horizontal or vertical tab stops.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 1, 2

Format
CSI Ps ;
... ;
Ps g
9/11 *** 3/11 . . . 3/11 *** 6/7

Description
Select Ps as follows:
Ps

Action

0
1
2
3
4

Clears one horizontal tab at active column.
Clears one vertical tab at active line.
Clears all horizontal tabs.
Clears all horizontal tabs.
Clears all vertical tabs.

See also Horizontal Tab (HT) and Vertical Tab (VT) in Chapter 6.

Error Handling
Unrecognized parameters are ignored.
If the absolute position is not on an even line grid, this command with a
parameter of 1 clears a tab stop on the next even line grid in the forward
direction.

Command Dictionary 7–83

VPA — Vertical Position Absolute

VPA — Vertical Position Absolute
Moves to a new active vertical position. The horizontal position is unchanged.
The new position must be below the current position.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Pn d
9/11 *** 6/4

Description
Select Pn as follows:
Pn

Meaning

0
n

Interpreted as 1.
Position to move to.

Set the active vertical position to line Pn.
In no forms mode, VPA acts like a Line Feed, regardless of the value of Pn.
See Set Lines per Physical Page (DECSLPP).

Side Effects
VPA resets the PLU/PLD flag.

Error Handling
See Section 3.3 for interactions with the coordinate system bounds.

7–84 Command Dictionary

VPR — Vertical Position Relative

VPR — Vertical Position Relative
Moves the active vertical position down by the specified number of lines. The
horizontal position does not change.
Source: Application

Destination: Levels 2, 3

Format
CSI Pn e
9/11 *** 6/5

Description
Select the VPR parameter as follows:
Pn

Meaning

0
n

Interpreted as 1.
Number of lines.

Side Effects
In no forms mode, VPR is limited to 255 lines. See Set Lines per Physical Page
(DECSLPP).
VPR resets the PLU/PLD count.

Error Handling
See Section 3.3 for interactions with the coordinate system bounds.

Command Dictionary 7–85

Command Summary

Command Summary
This section contains commands grouped alphabetically by their final
characters.
•

Table 7–9 lists ESC sequences.

•

Table 7–10 lists control sequences.

•

Table 7–11 lists DCS strings.

Table 7–9 ESC Sequences Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

ESC I1 A

SCS

Select British or ISO Latin-1 Supplemental character set

ESC I1 B

SCS

Select ASCII character set

ESC I1 B

SCS

Select ISO Latin-2 Supplemental character set

ESC c

RIS

Reset to Initial State

ESC I1 C

SCS

Fall back to DEC Finnish character set

ESC I1 E

SCS

Fall back to DEC Norwegian/Danish character set

ESC I1 F

SCS

Select ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental character set

ESC SP F

S7C1T

Transmit C1 characters as ESC Fe
This sequence is ignored in all digital printers, and is not
documented in this manual.

ESC SP G

S8C1T

Transmit C1 characters as C1
This sequence is ignored in all digital printers, and is not
documented in this manual.

ESC I1 H

SCS

Select ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental or fall back to DEC
Swedish character set

ESC I1 I

SCS

Select JIS Katakana character set

ESC I1 J

SCS

Select JIS Roman character set

ESC I1 K

SCS

Select German character set

ESC I1 L

SCS

Select ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental character set

ESC SP L

ASCEF

Announce ISO 4873 level 1 Subset of Code Extension Facilities

ESC I1 M

SCS

Select ISO Latin-5 Supplemental character set

ESC SP M

ASCEF

Announce ISO 4873 level 2 Subset of Code Extension Facilities

(continued on next page)

7–86 Command Dictionary

Command Summary

Table 7–9 (Cont.) ESC Sequences Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

ESC n

LS2
(Listed under LS*
/LS*R/SS*)

Locking Shift 2

ESC SP N

ASCEF

Announce ISO 4873 level 3 Subset of Code Extension Facilities

ESC o

LS3
(Listed under LS*
/LS*R/SS*)

Locking Shift 3

ESC O

SS3
(Listed under LS*
/LS*R/SS*)

Single Shift 3

ESC I1 Q

SCS

Fall back to DEC French-Canadian character set

ESC I1 R

SCS

Select French character set

ESC I1 Y

SCS

Select ISO Italian character set

ESC I1 Z

SCS

Select ISO Spanish character set

ESC I1 0

SCS

Select DEC Special Graphics character set

ESC I1 % 0

SCS

Select DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental character set

ESC % SP 0

DECBAR

Start Bar Codes

ESC 1

DECHTS

Horizontal Tab Set

ESC 2

DECCAHT

Clear All Horizontal Tabs

ESC I1 % 2

SCS

Select DEC 7-Bit Turkish character set

ESC 3

DECVTS

Vertical Tab Set

ESC 4

DECCAVT

Clear All Vertical Tabs

ESC I1 4

SCS

Select DEC Dutch character set

ESC I1 " 4

SCS

Select DEC Hebrew Supplemental character set

ESC I1 % 4

SCS

Select Legal character set

ESC I1 5

SCS

Select DEC Finnish character set

ESC I1 % 5

SCS

Select DEC Supplemental character set

ESC SP 6

DECTC1

Process C1 as C0

ESC I1 6

SCS

Select DEC Norwegian/Danish character set

ESC I1 % 6

SCS

Select DEC Portuguese character set

ESC SP 7

DECAC1

Process C1 as C1

(continued on next page)

Command Dictionary 7–87

Command Summary

Table 7–9 (Cont.) ESC Sequences Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

ESC I1 7

SCS

Select DEC Swedish character set

ESC I1 9

SCS

Select DEC French-Canadian character set

ESC I1 <

SCS

Select User Preference Supplemental character set

ESC % =

SOCS

Select IBM Proprinter Emulation mode.

ESC I1 =

SCS

Select DEC Swiss character set

ESC I1 % =

SCS

Select DEC 7-Bit Hebrew character set

ESC I1 >

SCS

Select DEC Technical character set

ESC I1 " ?

SCS

Select DEC Greek Supplemental character set

ESC % @

ROCS

Return from Other Coding System

ESC % @

DECBAR

Stop Bar Codes

ESC I1 `

SCS

Select Norwegian/Danish character set

ESC |

LS3R
(Listed under LS*
/LS*R/SS*)

Locking Shift 3 Right

ESC }

LS2R
(Listed under LS*
/LS*R/SS*)

Locking Shift 2 Right

ESC ~

LS1R
(Listed under LS*
/LS*R/SS*)

Locking Shift 1 Right

Table 7–10 Control Sequences Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

CSI Ps c

Device Attributes

ESC [ ? Ps1 ; Ps2 ; . . . ; Psn c

DAR

Device Attributes Report

CSI > Ps c

DA2

Secondary Device Attributes

ESC [ > Ps1 ; Ps2 c

DA2R

Secondary Device Attributes Report

CSI Pn d

VPA

Vertical Position Absolute

CSI Pn e

VPR

Vertical Position Relative

CSI Ps ; . . . ; Ps g

TBC

Tab Clear

(continued on next page)

7–88 Command Dictionary

Command Summary

Table 7–10 (Cont.) Control Sequences Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

CSI 3 h

CRM

Control Representation Mode (set)

CSI 20 h

LNM

Line Feed/New Line Mode (set)

CSI ? 7 h

DECAWM

Autowrap Mode (set)

CSI ? 40 h

DECCRNLM

Carriage Return/New Line Mode (set)

CSI ? 41 h

DECUPM

Unidirectional Print Mode (set)

CSI ? 58 h

DECIPEM

IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode (set)

CSI 3 l

CRM

Control Representation Mode (reset)

CSI 20 l

LNM

Line Feed/New Line Mode (reset)

CSI ? 7 l

DECAWM

Autowrap mode (reset)

CSI ? 40 l

DECCRNLM

Carriage Return /New Line Mode (reset)

CSI ? 41 l

DECUPM

Unidirectional Print Mode (reset)

ESC [ ? 58 l

DECIPEM

IBM Proprinter Emulation Mode (reset)

CSI Ps ; . . . ; Ps m

SGR

Select Graphic Rendition

CSI Ps n

DSR

Device Status Request

ESC [ Ps n

DSR

Device Status Report

CSI Ps1 " p

DECSCL

Select Conformance Level

CSI Pn ! p

DECSTR

Soft Terminal Reset

CSI Ps1 ; Pn2 ; . . . ; Ps9 ’ q

DECSBCA

Select Bar Code Attributes

CSI Pn1 ; Pn2 r

DECSTBM

Set Top and Bottom Margins

CSI Pn1 ; Pn2 " s

DECHPWA

Set Page Width Alignment

CSI Pn1 ; Pn2 s

DECSLRM

Set Left and Right Margins

CSI Pn t

DECSLPP

Set Lines per Physical Page

CSI Pn ; . . . ; Pn u

DECSHTS

Set Horizontal Tab Stops

CSI Pn ; . . . ; Pn v

DECSVTS

Set Vertical Tab Stops

CSI Ps ! v

DECASFC

Automatic Sheet Feeder Control

CSI Ps w

DECSHORP

Set Horizontal Pitch

CSI Ps " z

DECDEN

Density Selection

CSI Ps z

DECVERP

Set Vertical Pitch

CSI Pn `

HPA

Horizontal Position Absolute

(continued on next page)

Command Dictionary 7–89

Table 7–10 (Cont.) Control Sequences Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

CSI Ps " {

DECRFS

Request Font Status

Table 7–11 DCS Strings Sorted by Final Character
Coding

Mnemonic

Name

DCS Ps ! u D . . . D ST

DECAUPSS

Assign User Preference
Supplemental set

DCS Pfn ; Pcn ; Pe ; Pcmw ; Pss ; Pu ; Pcmh
; Pcss ; Psgr { D . . . D ST

DECDLD

Download font

ESC P 3 " { D . . . D ST

DECFSR

Cartridge Font Status Report

7–90 Command Dictionary

A
Character Sets
This appendix contains the code tables of the following character sets:
•

ASCII Character Set, Figure A–1

•

DEC Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–2

•

DEC Special Graphics Character Set, Figure A–3

•

DEC Technical Character Set, Figure A–4

•

ISO Latin Alphabet No. 1 Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–5

•

National Replacement Character (NRC) sets:
British Character Set, Figure A–6
DEC Finnish Character Set, Figure A–7
French Character Set, Figure A–8
DEC French-Canadian Character Set, Figure A–9
German Character Set, Figure A–10
ISO Italian Character Set, Figure A–11
JIS Roman Character Set, Figure A–12
DEC Norwegian/Danish Character Set, Figure A–13
ISO Spanish Character Set, Figure A–14
DEC Swedish Character Set, Figure A–15
Norwegian/Danish Character Set, Figure A–16
DEC Dutch Character Set, Figure A–17
DEC Swiss Character Set, Figure A–18
DEC Portuguese Character Set, Figure A–19

•

Legal Character Set, Figure A–20

Character Sets A–1

•

Hebrew Character Sets:
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew Character Set, Figure A–21
DEC Hebrew Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–22
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–23

•

Greek Character Sets:
DEC Greek Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–24
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–25

•

Turkish Character Sets:
DEC 7-Bit Turkish Character Set, Figure A–26
DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–27
ISO Latin Alphabet No. 5 Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–28

•

Eastern European Character Sets:
ISO Latin Alphabet No. 2 Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–29
ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–30

•

JIS Katakana Character Set, Figure A–31

A.1 ASCII Character Set
The ASCII character set is specified by ANSI X3.4-1986. Figure A–1 illustrates
the ASCII character set.

A.2 DEC Supplemental Character Set
The DEC Supplemental character set, shown in Figure A–2, consists of
alphabetic characters and symbols not included in the ASCII character set.
There are 81 characters defined in this set. The remaining character positions
are considered ‘‘reserved for future use.’’ These positions are indicated by
shaded boxes in the figure. The error character is printed when one of these
reserved characters is received by the device.

A–2 Character Sets

Figure A–1 ASCII Character Set

ASCII Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

41 241
33 161
21 A1
42 242
34 162
22 A2
43 243
35 163
23 A3
44 244
36 164
24 A4
45 245
37 165
25 A5
46 246
38 166
26 A6
47 247
39 167
27 A7
50 250
40 168
28 A8
51 251
41 169
29 A9
52 252
42 170
2A AA
53 253
43 171
2B AB
54 254
44 172
2C AC
55 255
45 173
2D AD
56 256
46 174
2E AE
57 257
47 175
2F AF

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

60 260
48 176
30 B0
61 261
49 177
31 B1
62 262
50 178
32 B2
63 263
51 179
33 B3
64 264
52 180
34 B4
65 265
53 181
35 B5
66 266
54 182
36 B6
67 267
55 183
37 B7
70 270
56 184
38 B8
71 271
57 185
39 B9
72 272
58 186
3A BA
73 273
59 187
3B BB
74 274
60 188
3C BC
75 275
61 189
3D BD
76 276
62 190
3E BE
77 277
63 191
3F BF

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

100 300
64 192
40 C0
101 301
65 193
41 C1
102 302
66 194
42 C2
103 303
67 195
43 C3
104 304
68 196
44 C4
105 305
69 197
45 C5
106 306
70 198
46 C6
107 307
71 199
47 C7
110 310
72 200
48 C8
111 311
73 201
49 C9
112 312
74 202
4A CA
113 313
75 203
4B CB
114 314
76 204
4C CC
115 315
77 205
4D CD
116 316
78 206
4E CE
117 317
79 207
4F CF

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

120 320
80 208
50 D0
121 321
81 209
51 D1
122 322
82 210
52 D2
123 323
83 211
53 D3
124 324
84 212
54 D4
125 325
85 213
55 D5
126 326
86 214
56 D6
127 327
87 215
57 D7
130 330
88 216
58 D8
131 331
89 217
59 D9
132 332
90 218
5A DA
133 333
91 219
5B DB
134 334
92 220
5C DC
135 335
93 221
5D DD
136 336
94 222
5E DE
137 337
95 223
5F DF

140 340
96 224
60 E0
141 341
97 225
61 E1
142 342
98 226
62 E2
143 343
99 227
63 E3
144 344
100 228
64 E4
145 345
101 229
65 E5
146 346
102 230
66 E6
147 347
103 231
67 E7
150 350
104 232
68 E8
151 351
105 233
69 E9
152 352
106 234
6A EA
153 353
107 235
6B EB
154 354
108 236
6C EC
155 355
109 237
6D ED
156 356
110 238
6E EE
157 357
111 239
6F EF

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
{

}
~

160 360 Row
112 240 0
70 F0
161 361
113 241 1
71 F1
162 362
114 242 2
72 F2
163 363
115 243 3
73 F3
164 364
116 244 4
74 F4
165 365
117 245 5
75 F5
166 366
118 246 6
76 F6
167 367
119 247 7
77 F7
170 370
120 248 8
78 F8
171 371
121 249 9
79 F9
172 372
122 250 10
7A FA
173 373
123 251 11
7B FB
174 374
124 252 12
7C FC
175 375
125 253 13
7D FD
176 376
126 254 14
7E FE
15

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003975

Character Sets A–3

Figure A–2 DEC Supplemental Character Set

DEC Supplemental Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

Row
0

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

2
3

1
o

A
A
A
~
A
..
A
A

C
E
E
E
..
E
I
I
I
..
I

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

~
N
O
O
O
~
O
..
O
OE
O
U
U
U
..
U
..
Y

a
a
a
~
a
..
a
a
ae
c
e
e
e
..
e
i
i
i
..
i

GL GR
6 14

GL GR
7 15

~
n
o
o
o
~
o
..
o
oe
o
u
u
u
..
u
..
y

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003980

A.3 DEC Special Graphics Character Set
The DEC Special Graphics character set contains 62 characters from the ASCII
character set and 32 special graphics symbols.
These characters also connect with similar characters in the DEC Technical
character set.

A–4 Character Sets

Figure A–3 illustrates the DEC Special Graphics character set.
Figure A–3 DEC Special Graphics Character Set

DEC Special Graphics Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0
1

0
!

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

H
T
F
F
C
R
L
F

N
L
V
T

SCAN 1

GL GR
7 15
SCAN 3

SCAN 5

SCAN 7

SCAN 9

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003984

Character Sets A–5

A.4 DEC Technical Character Set
The DEC Technical character set, shown in Figure A–4, contains 85 characters
including Greek letters, mathematical symbols, and logical symbols. The
remaining character positions are considered ‘‘reserved for future use.’’ These
positions are indicated by shaded boxes in the figure. The error character is
printed when one of these reserved characters is received by the device.
The DEC Technical character set also contains component characters used
for constructing larger mathematical symbols, such as large integral and
summation signs on character cell devices.
The characters listed in Table A–1 are designed to span an appropriate
distance horizontally and vertically so that these characters connect when
printed at any supported horizontal pitch, and at 6 lines/inch vertical pitch
to form large characters that may occupy several vertically adjacent or
horizontally adjacent character positions. Diagonal characters may not connect
well at horizontal pitches other than 1/10 in.

A–6 Character Sets

Figure A–4 DEC Technical Character Set

DEC Technical Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

Row
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

Φ
Γ

Θ
Λ

Π
Ψ
Σ

Ω
Ξ

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

α
β
χ
δ
ε
φ
γ
η
ι
θ
κ
λ
ν

GL GR
7 15

π
ψ
ρ
σ
τ

ω
ξ
υ
ζ

GL GR
4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003985

Character Sets A–7

Table A–1 DEC Technical Character Set Component Characters
Code

Radical
Sign

Integral
Sign

Square
Brackets

Curly
Braces

Parentheses

Summation
Sign

2/1
2/2
2/3
2/4
2/5
2/6
2/7
2/8
2/9
2/10
2/11
2/12
2/13
2/14
2/15
3/0
3/1
3/2
3/3
3/4
3/5
3/6
3/7

A.5 ISO Latin Alphabet No. 1 Supplemental Character Set
The majority of the characters used in the ISO Latin Alphabet No. 1
Supplemental character set are the same as in the DEC Supplemental
character set. This character set is specified by ISO 8859-1. The ISO Latin-1
Supplemental character set is a 96-character graphic character set. Figure A–5
illustrates the ISO Latin-1 Supplemental character set.

A–8 Character Sets

Figure A–5 ISO Latin Alphabet No. 1 Supplemental Character Set

ISO Latin-1 Supplemental Character Set
GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

240
160
A0
241
161
A1
242
162
A2
243
163
A3
244
164
A4
245
165
A5
246
166
A6
247
167
A7
250
168
A8
251
169
A9
252
170
AA
253
171
AB
254
172
AC
255
173
AD
256
174
AE
257
175
AF

260
176
B0
261
177
B1
262
178
B2
263
179
B3
264
180
B4
265
181
B5
266
182
B6
267
183
B7
270
184
B8
271
185
B9
272
186
BA
273
187
BB
274
188
BC
275
189
BD
276
190
BE
277
191
BF

Row
0 NBSP

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

9
10

11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

2
3

1
o

Column

A
A
A
~
A
..
A
A

C
E
E
E
..
E
I
I
I
..
I

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

300
192
C0
301
193
C1
302
194
C2
303
195
C3
304
196
C4
305
197
C5
306
198
C6
307
199
C7
310
200
C8
311
201
C9
312
202
CA
313
203
CB
314
204
CC
315
205
CD
316
206
CE
317
207
CF

320
208
D0
321
209
D1
322
210
D2
323
211
D3
324
212
D4
325
213
D5
326
214
D6
327
215
D7
330
216
D8
331
217
D9
332
218
DA
333
219
DB
334
220
DC
335
221
DD
336
222
DE
337
223
DF

~
N
O
O
O
~
O
..
O

O
U
U
U
..
U
Y

GL GR
6 14
a
a
a
~
a
..
a
a
ae
c
e
e
e
..
e
i
i
i
..
i

340
224
E0
341
225
E1
342
226
E2
343
227
E3
344
228
E4
345
229
E5
346
230
E6
347
231
E7
350
232
E8
351
233
E9
352
234
EA
353
235
EB
354
236
EC
355
237
ED
356
238
EE
357
239
EF

GL GR
7 15

~
n
o
o
o
~
o
..
o

o
u
u
u
..
u
y

..
y

360 Row
240 0
F0
361
241 1
F1
362
242 2
F2
363
243 3
F3
364
244 4
F4
365
245 5
F5
366
246 6
F6
367
247 7
F7
370
248 8
F8
371
249 9
F9
372
250 10
FA
373
251 11
FB
374
252 12
FC
375
253 13
FD
376
254 14
FE
377
255 15
FF

GR
A

12/1
301
193
C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-004000

A.6 National Replacement Character (NRC) Sets
Each National Replacement Character (NRC) set contains 94 characters.
Characters in the NRC sets differ from the ASCII set in up to 12 locations,
as specified in ISO 646. Different characters are selected in each NRC set
to satisfy local language requirements in 7-bit environments. This section
contains the code tables for the following NRCs:
Character Sets A–9

•

British Character Set, Figure A–6

•

DEC Finnish Character Set, Figure A–7

•

French Character Set, Figure A–8

•

DEC French-Canadian Character Set, Figure A–9

•

German Character Set, Figure A–10

•

ISO Italian Character Set, Figure A–11

•

JIS Roman Character Set, Figure A–12

•

DEC Norwegian/Danish Character Set, Figure A–13

•

ISO Spanish Character Set, Figure A–14

•

DEC Swedish Character Set, Figure A–15

•

Norwegian/Danish Character Set, Figure A–16

•

DEC Dutch Character Set, Figure A–17

•

DEC Swiss Character Set, Figure A–18

•

DEC Portuguese Character Set, Figure A–19

NRC sets are often constructed by the device using ASCII and either ISO
Latin-1 Supplemental or DEC Supplemental, as described in Section 4.3.3.
If both are available, the device uses ISO Latin-1. The process of combining
compatible fonts to create a third font is called pairing.
Since ISO Latin-1 Supplemental and DEC Supplemental differ in a few
positions, the exact supplemental character positions used for NRC character
sets sometimes differ, depending on which supplemental set is used to do the
pairing. A few characters are not available in DEC Supplemental.
Table A–2 contains pairing information for all NRC pairing instances in which
the output differs depending on the supplemental set used. All other instances
produce identical output, whether the DEC Supplemental or the ISO Latin-1
Supplemental character set is used.
Positions from 2/1–7/14 are from the ASCII character set. Positions from
10/0–15/15 are from the supplemental character set.

A–10 Character Sets

Table A–2 National Replacement Character Set Pairing Fallbacks
Character Set

DEC Dutch, French

NRC Pairing Fallback

Character

Dieresis ( ¨ )

DEC Dutch

Acute accent ( ´ )

DEC Dutch

Fraction three-quarters

3
4

DEC Supp.

ISO Latin-1
Supp.

02/02 (")

10/08 ( ¨ )

02/07 ( ’ )

11/04 ( ´ )

11/03 ( ³ )

11/14

3
4

DEC Dutch

Small ij ligature (ij)

15/13 ( ÿ )

15/15 ( ÿ )

JIS Roman

Macron

7/14 ( ~ )

10/15

Character Sets A–11

Figure A–6 British Character Set
British NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

3
4

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
{

}
~

GL GR
A

A–12 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003986

Figure A–7 DEC Finnish Character Set
DEC Finnish NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
..
A
..
O
A
..
U

GL GR
6 14
e
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
..
a
..
o
a
..
u

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003987

Character Sets A–13

Figure A–8 French Character Set

French NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

3
4

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
a
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
e
u
e
..

GL GR
A

A–14 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003988

Figure A–9 DEC French-Canadian Character Set

DEC French-Canadian NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
a
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
a
c
e
i

GL GR
6 14
o
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
e
u
e
u

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003989

Character Sets A–15

Figure A–10 German Character Set

German NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

11
12

+
,

13
14

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
..
A
..
O
..
U
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
..
a
..
o
..
u
B

GL GR
A

A–16 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003990

Figure A–11 ISO Italian Character Set

ISO Italian NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

3
4

7
8

(

)

13
14

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

c
e
^

GL GR
6 14
u
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
a
o
e
i

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003991

Character Sets A–17

Figure A–12 JIS Roman Character Set

JIS Roman NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
{

}

GL GR
A

A–18 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003992

Figure A–13 DEC Norwegian/Danish Character Set

DEC Norwegian/Danish NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
..
A
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

O
A
..
U

GL GR
6 14
..
a
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
ae
o
a
..
u

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003993

Character Sets A–19

Figure A–14 ISO Spanish Character Set

ISO Spanish NRCS

Row
0

3
4

7
8

(

)

13
14

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

~
N
?

GL GR
2 10

Column

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z

~
n
c
~

GL GR
A

A–20 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003994

Figure A–15 DEC Swedish Character Set
DEC Swedish NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
E
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
..
A
..
O
A
..
U

GL GR
6 14
e
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
..
a
..
o
a
..
u

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003995

Character Sets A–21

Figure A–16 Norwegian/Danish Character Set

Norwegian/Danish NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

O
A
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
ae
o
a
~

GL GR
A

A–22 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003996

Figure A–17 DEC Dutch Character Set
DEC Dutch NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

3
4

7
8

(

)

11
12

+
,

13
14

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
3

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ij
1

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
..

GL GR
A

NOTE:

GL GR
3 11

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

The following table indicates the approximations that are used to represent the Dutch characters that are
The character position in the chart is listed by
not available in the DEC MCS or ISO Latin-1 character sets.
Column/Row.
Column/Row

Character Set Name (Symbol)

5/11
7/12

Lowercase ij Ligature (ij)
Florin Sign ( )

Approximation Name (Symbol)
..
Lowercase y with Diaeresis ( y )
Lowercase f ( f )

MLO-003997

Character Sets A–23

Figure A–18 DEC Swiss Character Set
DEC Swiss NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
a
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
e
c
e
i
e

GL GR
6 14
o
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
..
a
..
o
..
u
u

GL GR
A

NOTE:

GL GR
3 11

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

At Column/Row 5/15 lowercase e with grave accent replaces underline ( _ ),
which is used in ASCII and all other NRC sets.

A–24 Character Sets

MLO-003998

Figure A–19 DEC Portuguese Character Set

DEC Portuguese NRCS

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
~
A
C
~
O
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
~
a
c
~
o
~

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003999

Character Sets A–25

A.7 Legal Character Set
The Legal character set contains 88 characters from the ASCII character set
and 6 special graphic symbols often found in legal documents.
Figure A–20 illustrates the Legal character set.

A–26 Character Sets

Figure A–20 Legal Character Set

Legal

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003982

Character Sets A–27

A.8 Hebrew Character Sets
Three Hebrew character sets are supported:
•

DEC 7-Bit Hebrew Character Set, Figure A–21

•

DEC Hebrew Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–22

•

ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–23

In the DEC Hebrew Supplemental and ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental
character sets, some character positions are considered ‘‘reserved for future
use.’’ These positions are indicated by shaded boxes in the figure. The error
character is printed when one of these reserved characters is received by the
device.
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew and DEC Hebrew Supplemental are 94-character graphic
character sets and ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental is a 96-character graphic
character set. The ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental character set is specified
by ISO 8859-8.

A–28 Character Sets

Figure A–21 DEC 7-Bit Hebrew Character Set

DEC 7-Bit Hebrew Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
@
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
[

]
^

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

GL GR
7 15

{

}
~

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-004001

Character Sets A–29

Figure A–22 DEC Hebrew Supplemental Character Set

DEC Hebrew Supplemental Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

GL GR
7 15

Row
0

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

2
3

1
o

GL GR
4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

A–30 Character Sets

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-004002

Figure A–23 ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental Character Set

ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental Character Set

Column
Row
0 NBSP
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

9
10
11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

240
160
A0
241
161
A1
242
162
A2
243
163
A3
244
164
A4
245
165
A5
246
166
A6
247
167
A7
250
168
A8
251
169
A9
252
170
AA
253
171
AB
254
172
AC
255
173
AD
256
174
AE
257
175
AF

260
176
B0
261
177
B1
262
178
B2
263
179
B3
264
180
B4
265
181
B5
266
182
B6
267
183
B7
270
184
B8
271
185
B9
272
186
BA
273
187
BB
274
188
BC
275
189
BD
276
190
BE
277
191
BF

300
192
C0
301
193
C1
302
194
C2
303
195
C3
304
196
C4
305
197
C5
306
198
C6
307
199
C7
310
200
C8
311
201
C9
312
202
CA
313
203
CB
314
204
CC
315
205
CD
316
206
CE
317
207
CF

320
208
D0
321
209
D1
322
210
D2
323
211
D3
324
212
D4
325
213
D5
326
214
D6
327
215
D7
330
216
D8
331
217
D9
332
218
DA
333
219
DB
334
220
DC
335
221
DD
336
222
DE
337
223
DF

340
224
E0
341
225
E1
342
226
E2
343
227
E3
344
228
E4
345
229
E5
346
230
E6
347
231
E7
350
232
E8
351
233
E9
352
234
EA
353
235
EB
354
236
EC
355
237
ED
356
238
EE
357
239
EF

2
3

GL GR
7 15
360 Row
240 0
F0
361
241 1
F1
362
242 2
F2
363
243 3
F3
364
244 4
F4
365
245 5
F5
366
246 6
F6
367
247 7
F7
370
248 8
F8
371
249 9
F9
372
250 10
FA
373
251 11
FB
374
252 12
FC
375
253 13
FD
376
254 14
FE
377
255 15
FF

GR
12/1
301
193
C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-004003

Character Sets A–31

A.9 Greek Character Sets
Two Greek character sets are supported:
•

DEC Greek Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–24

•

ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–25

In the DEC Greek Supplemental and ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental character
sets, some character positions are considered ‘‘reserved for future use.’’ These
positions are indicated by shaded boxes in the figure. The error character is
printed when one of these reserved characters is received by the device.
DEC Greek Supplemental is a 94-character graphic character set. ISO
Latin-Greek Supplemental is a 96-character graphic character set. The ISO
Latin-Greek Supplemental character set is specified by ISO 8859-7.

A–32 Character Sets

Figure A–24 DEC Greek Supplemental Character Set

DEC Greek Supplemental Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

Row
0

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

2
3

1
o

..
ι
Α
Β
Γ
∆
Ε
Ζ
Η
Θ
Ι
Κ
Λ
Μ
Ν
Ξ
Ο

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

Π
Ρ
Σ
Τ
Υ
Φ
Χ
Ψ
Ω
α
ε
η
ι

..
υ
α
β
γ
δ
ε
ζ
η
θ
ι
κ
λ
µ
ν
ξ
ο

GL GR
6 14

GL GR
7 15

π
ρ
σ
τ
υ
φ
χ
ψ
ω
ς
υ
ω

GL GR
Α

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006607

Character Sets A–33

Figure A–25 ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental Character Set

ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental Character Set
GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

40 240
Row
0 NBSP 32 160
20 A0
41 241
1
33 161
21 A1
42 242
2
34 162
22 A2
43 243
35 163
3
23 A3
44 244
36 164
4
24 A4
45 245
37 165
5
25 A5
46 246
38 166
6
26 A6
47 247
39 167
7
27 A7
50 250
40 168
8
28 A8
51 251
41 169
9
29 A9
52 252
42 170
10
2A AA
53 253
43 171
11
2B AB
54 254
12
44 172
¬
2C AC
55 255
45 173
13
2D AD
56 256
14
46 174
2E AE
57 257
15
47 175
— 2F
AF

Column

LEGEND

2
3

..
Α

Ε
Η
Ι

Ο
1

Ω

GL GR
4 12
..
ι
Α
Β
Γ
∆
Ε
Ζ
Η
Θ
Ι
Κ
Λ
Μ
Ν
Ξ
Ο

GL GR
5 13
Π
Ρ

Σ
Τ
Υ
Φ
Χ
Ψ
Ω
..
Ι
..
α
ε
η
ι

GL GR
6 14
..
υ
α
β
γ
δ
ε
ζ
η
θ
ι
κ
λ
µ
ν
ξ
ο

GL GR
7 15
π
ρ
ς
σ
τ
υ
φ
χ
ψ
ω
..
ι
..
υ
ο
υ
ω

GL GR
Α

A–34 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006610

A.10 Turkish Character Sets
Three Turkish character sets are supported:
•

DEC 7-Bit Turkish Character Set, Figure A–26

•

DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–27

•

ISO Latin Alphabet No. 5 Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–28

DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental and DEC 7-Bit Turkish are 94-character
graphic character sets. ISO Latin-5 Supplemental is a 96-character graphic
character set. The ISO Latin-5 Supplemental character set is specified by ISO
8859-9.

Character Sets A–35

Figure A–26 DEC 7-Bit Turkish Character Set

DEC 7-Bit Turkish Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

Row
0

7
8

(

)

13
14

GL GR
3 11

LEGEND

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
:
;
<
=
>
?

GL GR
4 12
I
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O

GL GR
5 13
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
S
..
O
C
..
U

GL GR
6 14
G
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o

GL GR
7 15
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
s
..
o
c
..
u

GL GR
A

A–36 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006605

Figure A–27 DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental Character Set

DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

Row
0

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

11
12
13
14

LEGEND

2
3

1
o

i
?

GL GR
4 12
A
A
A
~
A
..
A
A

C
E
E
E
..
E
I
I
I
..
I

GL GR
5 13
G
~
N
O
O
O
~
O
..
O
OE
O
U
U
U
..
U
..
Y
S

GL GR
6 14
a
a
a
a~
..
a
a
ae
c
e
e
e
..
e
i
i
i
..
i

GL GR
7 15
g
n~
o
o
o
o~
..
o
oe
o
u
u
u
..
u
..
y
s

GL GR
A

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006606

Character Sets A–37

Figure A–28 ISO Latin-5 Supplemental Character Set

ISO Latin-5 Supplemental Character Set
GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

40 240
Row
0 NBSP 32 160
20 A0
41 241
33 161
1
21 A1
42 242
2
34 162
22 A2
43 243
3
35 163
23 A3
44 244
4
36 164
24 A4
45 245
5
37 165
25 A5
46 246
6
38 166
26 A6
47 247
7
39 167
27 A7
50 250
..
8
40 168
28 A8
51 251
9
41 169
29 A9
52 252
a
10
42 170
2A AA
53 253
11
43 171
2B AB
54 254
12
44 172
2C AC
55 255
13
45 173
2D AD
56 256
14
46 174
2E AE
57 257
15
47 175
2F AF

Column

1
o

LEGEND

GL GR
4 12
A
A
A
~
A
..
A
A

C
E
E
E
..
E
I
I
I
..
I

GL GR
5 13
G
~
N
O
O
O
~
O
..
O

O
U
U
U
..
U
.
I
S

GL GR
6 14
a
a
a
a~
..
a
a
ae
c
e
e
e
..
e
i
i
i
..
i

GL GR
7 15
g
n~
o
o
o
o~
..
o

o
u
u
u
..
u
i
s
..
y

GR
A

A–38 Character Sets

12/1
301
193
C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006611

A.11 Eastern European Character Sets
Two Eastern European character sets are supported:
•

ISO Latin Alphabet No. 2 Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–29

•

ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental Character Set, Figure A–30

Both character sets are 96-character graphic character sets. ISO Latin-2
Supplemental is specified by ISO 8859-2. ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental is
specified by ISO 8859-5.

Character Sets A–39

Figure A–29 ISO Latin-2 Supplemental Character Set

ISO Latin-2 Supplemental Character Set
GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

40 240
Row
0 NBSP 32 160
20 A0
41 241
1
33 161
21 A1
42 242
2
34 162
22 A2
43 243
3
35 163
23 A3
44 244
36 164
4
24 A4
45 245
37 165
5
L
25 A5
46 246
166
38
6
S
26 A6
47 247
39 167
7
27 A7
50 250
40 168
8
28 A8
51 251
41 169
9
S
29 A9
52 252
42 170
10
S
2A AA
53 253
43 171
11
T
2B AB
54 254
12
44 172
Z
2C AC
55 255
13
45 173
2D AD
56 256
14
46 174
Z
2E AE
57 257
15
47 175
Z
2F AF

Column

LEGEND

l
s

s
s
t
z

z
z

R
A
A
A
..
A
L
C
C
C
E
E
..
E
E
I
I
D

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

N
N
O
O
O
..
O

R
U
U
U
..
U
Y
T

r
a
a
a
..
a
l
c
c
c
e
e
..
e
e
i
i
d

GL GR
6 14

GL GR
7 15

n
n
o
o
o
..
o

r
u
u
u
..
u
y
t

GL GR
A

A–40 Character Sets

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006608

Figure A–30 ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental Character Set

ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

40 240
Row
0 NBSP 32 160
20 A0
41 241
..
1
33 161
E
21 A1
42 242
2
34 162
22 A2
43 243
35 163
3
Γ
23 A3
44 244
36 164
4
24 A4
45 245
37 165
5
S
25 A5
46 246
38
166
6
Ι
26 A6
47 247
..
39 167
7
I
27 A7
50 250
40 168
8
J
28 A8
51 251
41 169
9
29 A9
52 252
42 170
10
2A AA
53 253
43 171
11
2B AB
54 254
12
44 172
Κ
2C AC
55 255
45 173
13
2D AD
56 256
14
46 174
2E AE
Π
57 257
15
47 175
2F AF

∋

LEGEND

GL GR
3 11
Α

Β
Γ
L
E

Ι
Μ
Η
Ο
Π

GL GR
4 12
Ρ
C
Τ

y
Φ
Χ
Π

ΠΠ
ΠΠ

P
P

∋

GL GR
5 13

a
δ
Β
Γ
L

κ
Ι
Μ
Η

ο
Π

GL GR
6 14
ρ

c
Τ

x
Π

ΠΠ
ΠΠ

P
P

∋

GL GR
7 15
Ν
..
e

t
Γ

∋

s
i
..
i

y
Π

GL GR
C

4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-006609

Character Sets A–41

A.12 JIS Katakana Character Set
This graphic character set consists of the Katakana characters, which are
Japanese phonetic characters. This character set is specified by JIS X
0201-1976.
There are 63 characters defined in this character set. The remaining character
positions are considered ‘‘reserved for future use.’’ These positions are
indicated by shaded boxes in figure Figure A–31. The error character is
printed when one of these reserved characters is received by the device.
Figure A–31 illustrates the JIS Katakana character set.

A–42 Character Sets

Figure A–31 JIS Katakana Character Set

JIS Katakana Character Set

Column

GL GR
2 10

GL GR
3 11

GL GR
4 12

GL GR
5 13

GL GR
6 14

GL GR
7 15

Row
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

LEGEND

GL GR
4/1 12/1
101 301
65 193
41 C1

Column/Row
Octal
Decimal
Hex

MLO-003983

Character Sets A–43

Index
A
Absolute positioning, 3–3
Accept C1 Control Characters (DECAC1)
command, 7–15
ACK (Acknowledge) control character, 6–1
Active horizontal position
changing, 7–66, 7–67
Sixel Graphics mode, 5–10
Active position, 3–3
Active vertical position
changing, 7–84, 7–85
Sixel Graphics mode, 5–10
Advance increments, 3–3
Alignment, paper, 3–8, 7–36
Announce Subset of Code Extension
Facilities (ASCEF) command, 7–6
APC (Application Program Command)
control character, 6–5
Application commands, 1–2
ASCEF (Announce Subset of Code Extension
Facilities) command, 7–6
ASCII character set, A–2
Aspect ratio, Sixel Graphics mode, 5–24
Assign User Preference Supplemental Set
(DECAUPSS) command, 7–17
Attributes, 7–77
Automatic Sheet Feeder Control (DECASFC)
command, 7–16
Autowrap Mode (DECAWM) command, 7–19

B
Bar codes
selecting attributes, 7–42
start or stop, 7–20
BEL (Bell) control character, 6–2
Bitmap data, graphics, 5–1
Bold attribute, 7–79
Bottom Margin Line, 3–5, 3–8
See also Margins
Bounds, 3–5
See also Margins
BPH (Break Permitted Here) control
character, 6–5
British character set, A–12
BS (Backspace) control character, 6–2
Buffering, 2–7
Built-in fonts, 4–2, 4–4

C
C0 control characters, 6–1 to 6–5
C1 control characters, 6–5 to 6–8
C1 truncate and accept commands, 7–15,
7–56
CAN (Cancel) control character, 6–2
Carriage Return/New Line Mode
(DECCRNLM) command, 7–24
CCH (Cancel Character) control character,
6–5
Character box, 3–2
downloaded fonts, 7–29

Index–1

Character cell, 3–2
Character cell model, 3–2, 3–4
Character processing, 2–1
Sixel Graphics mode, 5–6
Characters
categories, 2–2
column/row notation, xiii
control, 2–8
graphic, 2–6
printable, 2–6
special, 2–9 to 2–10
Character set
relationship to fonts, 4–1
selecting, 2–6 to 2–7, 7–6, 7–17, 7–69,
7–73
selecting downloaded, 7–26, 7–31
Standard 8-Bit Code Table, 2–3
Character set fault, 4–5
Character sets, A–1 to A–43
ASCII, A–2
British, A–12
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew, A–29
DEC Dutch, A–23
DEC Finnish, A–13
DEC French-Canadian, A–15
DEC Greek Supplemental, A–33
DEC Hebrew Supplemental, A–30
DEC Norwegian/Danish, A–19
DEC Portuguese, A–25
DEC Special Graphics, A–4
DEC Supplemental, A–2
DEC Swedish, A–21
DEC Swiss, A–24
DEC Technical, A–6
Eastern European, A–39
font selection faults, 4–5
French, A–14
German, A–16
Greek, A–32
Hebrew, A–28
ISO Italian, A–17
ISO Latin-1 Supplemental, A–8
ISO Latin-2 Supplemental, A–40
ISO Latin-5 Supplemental, A–38
ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental, A–41

Index–2

Character sets (cont’d)
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental, A–34
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental, A–31
ISO Spanish, A–20
JIS Katakana, A–42
JIS Roman, A–18
Legal, A–26
National Replacement Character (NRC)
sets, 4–3, A–9
Norwegian/Danish, A–22
Turkish, A–35, A–36, A–37
Clear All Horizontal Tabs (DECCAHT)
command, 7–22
Clear All Vertical Tabs (DECCAVT)
command, 7–23
Coded characters, 2–2
Code tables
character sets, A–2 to A–43
Standard 8-Bit, 2–3 to 2–5
Coding Sixel Graphics, 5–3
Color, graphics, 5–13
Color, text, 7–77
Column/row notation, xiii
Columns, definition of, 1–2, 3–4
Commands, 7–1 to 7–90
See also Control sequences; Control
strings; Escape sequences
definition, 2–10
summary by final character, 7–86
summary by function, 7–2
Conditional Form Feed, 3–11
Conditional Sheet Feed, 3–11
Control characters, 2–8, 6–1 to 6–8
Acknowledge (ACK), 6–1
Application Program Command (APC),
6–5
Backspace (BS), 6–2
Bell (BEL), 6–2
7-bit C1 equivalence, 2–8
Break Permitted Here (BPH), 6–5
C0, 6–1 to 6–5
C1, 6–5 to 6–8
Cancel (CAN), 6–2
Cancel Character (CCH), 6–5
Carriage Return (CR), 6–2

Control characters (cont’d)
Control Sequence Introducer (CSI), 6–5
Data Link Escape (DLE), 6–2
Device Control 1 (DC1), 6–2
Device Control 2 (DC2), 6–2
Device Control 3 (DC3), 6–2
Device Control 4 (DC4), 6–2
Device Control String (DCS), 6–5
End of Medium (EM), 6–2
End of Protected Area (EPA), 6–5
End of Selected Area (ESA), 6–5
End of Text (ETX), 6–3
End of Transmission (EOT), 6–3
End of Transmission Block (ETB), 6–3
Enquiry (ENQ), 6–3
Escape (ESC), 6–3
File Separator (FS), 6–3
Form Feed (FF), 6–3
Group Separator (GS), 6–3
Horizontal Tab (HT), 6–3
Horizontal Tab Set (HTS), 6–6
Horizontal Tab with Justification (HTJ),
6–5
Index (IND), 6–6
Line Feed (LF), 6–3
Message Waiting (MW), 6–6
Negative Acknowledge (NAK), 6–4
Next Line (NEL), 6–6
No Break Here (NBH), 6–6
Null (NUL), 6–4
Operating System Command (OSC), 6–6
Partial Line Down (PLD), 6–6
Partial Line Up (PLU), 6–6
Privacy Message (PM), 6–6
Private Use 1 (PU1), 6–7
Private Use 2 (PU2), 6–7
Record Separator (RS), 6–4
reserved, 6–8
Reverse Index (RI), 6–7
Set Transmit State (STS), 6–7
Shift In (SI), 6–4
Shift Out (SO), 6–4
Single Character Introducer (SCI), 6–7
Single Shift 2 (SS2), 6–7
Single Shift 3 (SS3), 6–7

Control characters (cont’d)
Start of Heading (SOH), 6–4
Start of Protected Area (SPA), 6–7
Start of Selected Area (SSA), 6–7
Start of String (SOS), 6–7
Start of Text (STX), 6–4
String Terminator (ST), 6–7
Substitute (SUB), 6–4
Synchronous Idle (SYN), 6–4
Unit Separator (US), 6–4
Vertical Tab (VT), 6–4
Vertical Tab Set (VTS), 6–8
Control functions, 2–10 to 2–18, 6–1 to 6–8,
7–1 to 7–90
See also Control characters; Control
sequences; Control strings; Escape
sequences
special parsing, 2–16
Control Representation Mode (CRM)
command, 7–7
Control sequences, 2–10
format, 2–11 to 2–12
parameter values, 2–12 to 2–14
private parameters, 2–13
Control string introducer, 2–14
Control strings, 2–10, 2–14 to 2–15
device control strings, 2–15
format, 2–14
protocol selector, 2–14
Conventions, documentation, xiii
CR (Carriage Return) control character, 6–2
CRM (Control Representation Mode)
command, 7–7
CSI (Control Sequence Introducer) control
character, 6–5
Current Font Definition, 4–4

D
DA (Device Attributes) command, 7–9
DA2 (Secondary Device Attributes)
command, 7–13

Index–3

DA2R (Secondary Device Attributes Report)
command, 7–14
DAR (Device Attributes Report) command,
7–10, 7–12
DC1 (Device Control 1) control character,
6–2
DC2 (Device Control 2) control character,
6–2
DC3 (Device Control 3) control character,
6–2
DC4 (Device Control 4) control character,
6–2
DCS (Device Control String) control
character, 6–5
Debugging, software
hexadecimal control representation, 7–7
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew character set, A–29
DEC 7-Bit Turkish character set, A–36
DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental character
set, A–37
DECAC1 (Accept C1 Control Characters)
command, 7–15
DECASFC (Automatic Sheet Feeder Control)
command, 7–16
DECAUPSS (Assign User Preference
Supplemental Set) command, 2–6, 7–17
DECAWM (Autowrap Mode) command, 7–19
DECBAR (Start or Stop Bar Codes), 7–20
DECCAHT (Clear All Horizontal Tabs)
command, 7–22
DECCAVT (Clear All Vertical Tabs)
command, 7–23
DECCRNLM (Carriage Return/New Line
Mode) command, 7–24
DECDEN (Density Selection) command,
7–25
DECDLD (Download Font) command, 7–26
character font data, 7–31
parameters controlling, 7–27
string data format, 7–31
DEC Dutch character set, A–23
DEC Finnish character set, A–13
DEC French-Canadian character set, A–15

Index–4

DECFSR (Font Status Report) command,
7–35, 7–41
DECGCI (Graphics Color Introducer)
command, 5–13
DECGCR (Graphics Carriage Return)
command, 5–22
DECGNL (Graphics Next Line) command,
5–23
DECGRA (Set Raster Attributes) command,
5–24
DEC Greek Supplemental character set,
A–33
DECGRI (Graphics Repeat Introducer)
command, 5–26
DEC Hebrew Supplemental character set,
A–30
DECHPWA (Set Page Width Alignment)
command, 7–36
DECHTS (Horizontal Tab Set) command,
7–38
DECIPEM (IBM Proprinter Emulation mode)
command, 7–39, 7–40, 7–72, 7–82
DEC Norwegian/Danish character set, A–19
DEC Portuguese character set, A–25
DEC PPLn, protocol levels, 1–1
DECRFS (Request Font Status) command,
7–41
DECSBCA (Select Bar Code Attributes)
command, 7–42
DECSCL (Select Conformance Level)
command, 7–44
DECSHORP (Set Horizontal Pitch)
command, 7–45
DECSHTS (Set Horizontal Tab Stops)
command, 7–47
DECSLPP (Set Lines per Physical Page)
command, 7–48
DECSLRM (Set Left and Right Margins)
command, 7–50
DEC Special Graphics character set, A–4
DECSTBM (Set Top and Bottom Margins)
command, 7–52

DECSTR (Soft Terminal Reset) command,
7–54
DEC Supplemental character set, A–2
DECSVTS (Set Vertical Tab Stops) command,
7–55
DEC Swedish character set, A–21
DEC Swiss character set, A–24
DECTC1 (Truncate C1 Control Characters)
command, 7–56
DEC Technical character set, A–6
DECUPM (Unidirectional Print Mode)
command, 7–57
DECVERP (Set Vertical Pitch) command,
7–58
DECVTS (Vertical Tab Set) command, 7–61
Density, font attribute, 4–5
Density Selection (DECDEN) command,
7–25
Device Attributes (DA) command, 7–9
Device Attributes Report (DAR) command,
7–10, 7–12
Device control strings, format, 2–15
Device Status Report (DSR), 7–64
Device Status Request (DSR) command,
7–62
Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol
exceptions to, 1–2
extensions to, 1–2
levels of, 1–1
DLE (Data Link Escape) control character,
6–2
Dot
downloaded fonts, 7–27
graphics, 5–2
Double underline attribute, 7–79
Download Font (DECDLD) command, 7–26
to 7–34
Dscs — downloading fonts, 7–31
DSR (Device Status Report), 7–64
DSR (Device Status Request) command,
7–62

E
Eastern European character sets, A–39
ISO Latin-2 Supplemental, A–40
ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental, A–41
EM (End of Medium) control character, 6–2
Emulation modes, 7–39, 7–40, 7–72, 7–82
ENQ (Enquiry) control character, 6–3
EOT (End of Transmission) control character,
6–3
EPA (End of Protected Area) control
character, 6–5
Error character, 4–5, A–2, A–6, A–28, A–32,
A–42
Error reporting, 7–62, 7–64
ESA (End of Selected Area) control character,
6–5
ESC (Escape) control character, 6–3
Escape sequences, 2–10
format, 2–10 to 2–11
ETB (End of Transmission Block) control
character, 6–3
ETX (End of Text) control character, 6–3
Exception, protocol, 1–2
Extension, protocol, 1–2

F
FF (Form Feed) control character, 6–3
Font
cartridges, 4–2
Current Font Definition, 4–4
definition, 4–1
density attribute, 4–5
dictionary, 4–4
downloading, 7–26 to 7–34
See also DECDLD
error character, 4–5
fallbacks, 4–5
files, 4–2
relationship to character sets, 4–1
repertory, 4–2
reporting, 7–35, 7–41
selection, 4–4, 4–5, 7–81

Index–5

Font (cont’d)
supported character sets, 4–3
typestyle attribute, 4–4
Font cartridge, 4–2
Font dictionary, 4–4
Font file, 4–2
Font selection, 4–4, 4–5, 7–81
Font Status Report (DECFSR) command,
7–35, 7–41
Form Feed
actions at the Bottom Margin Line, 3–8
actions at the Top Margin Line, 3–7
conditional, 3–11
French character set, A–14
Front Panel, 7–2
FS (File Separator) control character, 6–3
Full cell character, 7–79, 7–80

G
German character set, A–16
Glyph, 4–2
Graphic characters, 2–6
Graphic character set, definition, 4–1
Graphic left (GL) and graphic right (GR)
sets, 2–6
Graphics
See Sixel Graphics
Graphics Carriage Return (DECGCR)
command, 5–22
Graphics Color Introducer (DECGCI)
command, 5–13
Graphics Next Line (DECGNL) command,
5–23
Graphics Repeat Introducer (DECGRI)
command, 5–26
Greek character sets, A–32
DEC Greek Supplemental, A–33
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental, A–34
Grid
character cell, 3–2
graphics, 5–2
GS (Group Separator) control character, 6–3

Index–6

H
HAI (Horizontal Advance Increment), 3–3
Hebrew character sets, A–28
DEC 7-Bit Hebrew, A–29
DEC Hebrew Supplemental, A–30
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental, A–31
Highlighting characters
bold printing, 7–79
double underline, 7–79
overline, 7–79
slant printing, 7–79
strike-through printing, 7–79
underline, 7–79
Horizontal Advance Increment (HAI), 3–3
Horizontal grid size — Sixel Graphics mode,
5–5
Horizontal Position Absolute (HPA)
command, 7–66
Horizontal Position Relative (HPR)
command, 7–67
Horizontal Tab Set (DECHTS) command,
7–38
HPA (Horizontal Position Absolute)
command, 7–66
HPR (Horizontal Position Relative)
command, 7–67
HT (Horizontal Tab) control character, 6–3
HTJ (Horizontal Tab with Justification)
control character, 6–5
HTS (Horizontal Tab Set) control character,
6–6

I
IBM Proprinter Emulation mode, 7–39,
7–40, 7–72, 7–82
IND (Index) control character, 6–6
ISO Italian character set, A–17
ISO Latin-1 Supplemental character set,
A–8

ISO Latin-2 Supplemental character set,
A–40
ISO Latin-5 Supplemental character set,
A–38
ISO Latin-Cyrillic Supplemental character
set, A–41
ISO Latin-Greek Supplemental character set,
A–34
ISO Latin-Hebrew Supplemental character
set, A–31
ISO Spanish character set, A–20
Italic attribute, 7–79

J
JIS Katakana character set, A–42
JIS Roman character set, A–18

K
Katakana character set, A–42

L
Left Margin Position, 3–5, 3–6
See also Margins
Legal character set, A–26
Levels, protocol, 1–1
LF (Line Feed) control character, 6–3
Limit bounds, 3–5
See also Margins
Line Feed/New Line Mode (LNM) command,
7–68
Lines, definition of, 3–4
Line terminators, 2–7
Lining, text attributes, 7–79
LNM (Line Feed/New Line Mode) command,
7–68
Locking shift (LS) control functions, 6–4,
7–69
Logical page, 3–1, 3–8
alignment of, 3–9
LS0 (Locking Shift 0) command, 7–69

LS1 (Locking Shift 1) command, 7–69
LS1R (Locking Shift 1 GR) command, 7–69
LS2 (Locking Shift 2) command, 7–69
LS2R (Locking Shift 2 GR) command, 7–69
LS3 (Locking Shift 3) command, 7–69
LS3R (Locking Shift 3 GR) command, 7–69

M
Macro parameter — Sixel Graphics mode,
5–5
Margins
conditions affecting, 7–36, 7–46, 7–49,
7–59
setting left and right, 7–50
setting top and bottom, 7–52
MW (Message Waiting) control character,
6–6

N
NAK (Negative Acknowledge) control
character, 6–4
National Replacement Character (NRC) sets,
4–3
British, A–12
DEC Dutch, A–23
DEC Finnish, A–13
DEC French-Canadian, A–15
DEC Norwegian/Danish, A–19
DEC Portuguese, A–25
DEC Swedish, A–21
DEC Swiss, A–24
French, A–14
German, A–16
ISO Italian, A–17
ISO Spanish, A–20
JIS Roman, A–18
Norwegian/Danish, A–22
National Replacement Character (NRC) Sets,
A–9
NBH (No Break Here) control character,
6–6

Index–7

NEL (Next Line) control character, 6–6
Norwegian/Danish character set, A–22
NUL (Null) control character, 6–4

O
Origin, 3–2
OSC (Operating System Command) control
character, 6–6
Overline attribute, 7–79

P
Page coordinate system, 3–1 to 3–11
alignment, 3–8
bounds, 3–5
definition of, 3–1
positioning on, 3–3, 3–9, 3–10
Page size
with the DECHPWA command, 7–36
with the DECSLPP command, 7–48
Pairing, 4–3, A–9
Paper
origin placement on, 3–2
physical vs. logical alignment, 3–8
Paper tray, selection of, 7–16
Partial Line Motion (PLU and PLD), 3–9,
6–6
Pcmh — downloading fonts, 7–29
Pcmw — downloading fonts, 7–28
Pcn — downloading fonts, 7–27
Pcss — downloading fonts, 7–29
Pe — downloading fonts, 7–27
Pfn — downloading fonts, 7–27
Physical sheet, 3–1, 3–8
alignment of, 3–9
Picture data, graphics, 5–2
Picture data — Sixel Graphics, 5–6
Pitch
horizontal, with DECSHORP command,
7–45
vertical, with DECVERP command, 7–58
Pixel, graphics, 5–1

Index–8

Pixel-spot, graphics, 5–2
PLD (Partial Line Down) control character,
3–9, 6–6
PLU (Partial Line Up) control character,
3–9, 6–6
PM (Privacy Message) control character, 6–6
Point model, 3–2
Positioning commands
absolute, 3–3
relative, 3–3
PPLn, protocol levels, 1–1
Printable characters, 2–6
Printing environment, 1–2, 3–1
active position, 3–3
Programming Supplement, xii
Protocol levels, 1–1
Protocol selector, 2–14
Pss — downloading fonts, 7–28
PU1 (Private Use 1) control character, 6–7
PU2 (Private Use 2) control character, 6–7
Pu — downloading fonts, 7–28

R
Raster, graphics, 5–1
Relative positioning, 3–3
Reports
device attributes, 7–9, 7–10, 7–12, 7–13,
7–14
device status, 7–62, 7–64
font status, 7–35, 7–41
restrictions on, 7–72, 7–82
Request Font Status (DECRFS) command,
7–41
Resets, device
with the DECSCL command, 7–44
with the DECSTR command, 7–54
with the RIS command, 7–71
Reset to Initial State (RIS) command, 7–71
Return from Other Coding System (ROCS),
7–72
and bar codes, 7–21
RI (Reverse Index) control character, 6–7

Right Margin Flag (RMF), 3–6, 3–10
Right Margin Position, 3–5, 3–6
See also Margins
RIS (Reset to Initial State) command, 7–71
RMF—Right Margin Flag, 3–6, 3–10
ROCS (Return from Other Coding System)
command, 7–72
and bar codes, 7–21
RS (Record Separator) control character,
6–4

S
SCI (Single Character Introducer) control
character, 6–7
SCS (Select Character Set) command, 7–73
Secondary Device Attributes (DA2)
command, 7–13
Secondary Device Attributes Report (DA2R)
command, 7–14
Select Bar Code Attributes (DECSBCA)
command, 7–42
Select Character Set (SCS) command, 7–73
Select Conformance Level (DECSCL)
command, 7–44
Select Graphic Rendition (SGR) command
highlighting characters with, 7–77 to
7–80
selecting a font with, 7–81
Select Other Coding System (SOCS)
command, 7–82
and bar codes, 7–21
Set Horizontal Pitch (DECSHORP)
command, 7–45
Set Horizontal Tab Stops (DECSHTS)
command, 7–47
Set Left and Right Margins (DECSLRM)
command, 7–50
Set Lines per Physical Page (DECSLPP)
command, 7–48
Set Page Width Alignment (DECHPWA)
command, 7–36

Set Raster Attributes (DECGRA) command,
5–24
Set Top and Bottom Margins (DECSTBM)
command, 7–52
Setup feature, 7–2
Set Vertical Pitch (DECVERP) command,
7–58
Set Vertical Tab Stops (DECSVTS) command,
7–55
SGR (Select Graphic Rendition) command,
7–77, 7–81
Sheet Feed, conditional, 3–11
Sheet feeder, 7–16
SI (Shift In) control character, 6–4, 7–69
Single shift (SS) control functions, 7–69
Single-shift (SS) control functions, 6–7
Sixel, definition of, 5–1
Sixel control codes
graphics carriage return (DECGCR),
5–22
graphics color introducer (DECGCI), 5–13
graphics next line (DECGNL), 5–23
graphics repeat introducer (DECGRI),
5–26
set raster attributes (DECGRA), 5–24
Sixel Graphics, 5–1
active position, 5–2
character processing, 5–6
coding, hexadecimal representation, 5–3
compatibility and quality, 5–10 to 5–12
concepts, 5–1 to 5–3
control codes, 5–8 to 5–9, 5–12 to 5–26
dot patterns, 5–7
encoding, 5–6 to 5–8
entering, 5–10
exiting, 5–9, 5–10
horizontal grid size, 5–5
interaction with text, 5–10
left margin, 5–2
macro parameter, 5–5
margins, 5–10
numeric parameters, 5–9
parameter separator, 5–9
picture data, 5–6

Index–9

Sixel Graphics (cont’d)
programming considerations, 5–10 to
5–12
selecting, 5–3
software layering, 5–4
String Terminator, 5–6
terminology, 5–1 to 5–3
translation and printing, 5–2
Sixel Graphics DCS (Device Control String),
5–3
macro parameter, 5–5
picture data, 5–6
protocol selector, 5–4
Slant attribute
See Italic attribute
SO (Shift Out) control character, 6–4, 7–69
SOCS (Select Other Coding System)
command, 7–82
and bar codes, 7–21
Soft Terminal Reset (DECSTR) command,
7–54
SOH (Start of Heading) control character,
6–4
SOS (Start of String) control character, 6–7
SPA (Start of Protected Area) control
character, 6–7
Special characters, 2–9 to 2–10
SS2 (Single Shift 2) control character, 6–7,
7–69
SS3 (Single Shift 3) control character, 6–7,
7–69
SSA (Start of Selected Area) control
character, 6–7
ST (String Terminator) control character,
6–7
Start or Stop Bar Codes (DECBAR), 7–20
STS (Set Transmit State) control character,
6–7
STX (Start of Text) control character, 6–4
SUB (Substitute) control character, 6–4
Subscript, 7–79
Superscript, 7–79
Symbiont commands, 1–2

Index–10

SYN (Synchronous Idle) control character,
6–4

T
Tab Clear (TBC) command, 7–83
Tabs, 3–10
clearing, 7–22, 7–23, 7–83
horizontal, 7–47
vertical, 7–55, 7–61
TBC (Tab Clear) command, 7–83
Terminal management
IBM Proprinter Emulation mode, 7–39,
7–40
Return from other coding system, 7–72
Select other coding system, 7–82
Top Margin Line, 3–5, 3–7
See also Margins
Tray selection, 7–16
Truncate C1 Control Characters (DECTC1)
command, 7–56
Turkish character sets, A–35
DEC 7-Bit Turkish, A–36
DEC 8-Bit Turkish Supplemental, A–37
ISO Latin-5 Supplemental, A–38
Typestyle
font attribute, 4–4
selecting downloaded, 7–26

U
Underline attribute, 7–79
Unidirectional Print Mode (DECUPM)
command, 7–57
US (Unit Separator) control character, 6–4
User Preference Supplemental character set,
2–6, 7–17, 7–73

V
VAI (Vertical Advance Increment), 3–3
Vertical Advance Increment (VAI), 3–3

Vertical Position Absolute (VPA) command,
7–84
Vertical Position Relative (VPR) command,
7–85
Vertical Tab Set (DECVTS) command, 7–61

VPA (Vertical Position Absolute) command,
7–84
VPR (Vertical Position Relative) command,
7–85
VT (Vertical Tab) control character, 6–4
VTS (Vertical Tab Set) control character,
6–8

Index–11