A code page is a table that maps a set of characters to a corresponding set of values called code points. Characters are letters, digits, or symbols that the user sees on the keys of a keyboard, on a display, or printed on paper. Code points or character codes are what a computer system uses internally to represent characters when processing, reading, or writing character data.
A code-page table has a number identifier such as code page 437 or code page 850. A code-page table includes language characters, numbers, punctuation, control characters, and special characters. Code page 437 is predominant in the United States. Code page 850 is a multilingual code page; it includes English characters a well as most characters commonly used by many Western European languages.
Processing, displaying, or printing character data in the wrong code page can result in incorrectly presented characters. A word processing file written in Danish or Portuguese using code page 850 in Europe, sent to the United States, and printed using code page 437 might contain errors because code page 437 does not include all the characters and accents of all Western European languages. Code pages 437 and 850 are examples of SBCS code pages. Code pages 932, 934, and 938 are DBCS code pages.
When working with a file that was created in another code page, users can switch to that code page or to the multilingual code page. The multilingual code page (850) is recommended for use wherever possible because it supports many languages and is appropriate in many situations. For example, suppose a user creates a file using code page 850 and sends it to someone in another country. When that file is viewed or printed using code page 850, it is identical to the original. If, however, the file was not created using the multilingual code page, the receiver must switch to the code page that it was created with. Once code pages are defined on a computer system, the user can switch back and forth between the prepared code pages.
In the OS/2 operating system, a program or user can change the active code page. Code pages for the keyboard, display, and printer can be set independently; however, code-page switching can take place only in printers and displays that support code-page switching, including the following products:
If you use non-IBM computer equipment or IBM equipment not listed here, refer to the information that is shipped with your displays and printers to determine if they support code-page switching.