Using the Code Page Editor

Code Page Editor

Use the Code Page Editor to customize the conversion of data between EBCDIC and Unicode A superset of the ASCII character set that uses two bytes for each character rather than one. Able to handle 65,536 character combinations rather than just 256., as well as between, ASCII and Unicode. The following links show you how to use the Code Page Editor.

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Opening a code page

Complete the following steps to open a code page.

  1. Open the Code Page Editor. (Open Windows Explorer. Navigate to the directory where the Barr software is installed, open the Spooler folder, and then open the Exe folder. Double-click Code Page Editor.exe. The default directory is \\Program Files\Barr\Spooler\Exe, unless an alternate path was specified during installation.)

  2. In the Translation type box, select the type of code page you want to open, Code Page In or Code Page Out. You can also select View | Translation Type on the menu bar, click the Toggle button on the toolbar, or click the desired portion of screen.

  3. On the menu bar, select File | Open, or click the Open button on the toolbar.

  4. From the ASCII or EBCDIC tab, select the code page you want to open, and then click OK. The code page displays in the selected section of the screen.

Remember the name of the code page you selected. This number may be needed later when applying your code page.

Creating a code page

Complete the following steps to create a code page.

  1. Open the Code Page Editor. (Open Windows Explorer. Navigate to the directory where the Barr software is installed, open the Spooler folder, and then open the Exe folder. Double-click Code Page Editor.exe. The default directory is \\Program Files\Barr\Spooler\Exe, unless an alternate path was specified during installation.)

  2. In the Translation type box, select the type of code page you want to open, Code Page In or Code Page Out. You can also select View | Translation Type on the menu bar, click the Toggle button on the toolbar, or click the desired portion of screen.

  3. On the menu bar, select File | New, or click the New button on the toolbar.

  4. From the ASCII or EBCDIC tab, select the code page you want to create, and then click OK. The code page displays in the selected section of the screen with the Barr defaults.

  5. Modify the translation table as necessary.

  6. Save the code page.

Remember the name of the code page you selected. This number may be needed later when applying your code page.

Modifying the translation table

The Code Page Editor displays two translations tables, Code Page In and Code Page Out. The Code Page In table displays the current EBCDIC or ASCII symbol in the left column, the hexadecimal representation for that symbol in the middle column, and the Unicode translation character in the right column. The Code Page Out table displays the Unicode character in the left column and the current EBCDIC or ASCII hexadecimal representation for that character in the right column. You can modify the characters in the right columns. By displaying two translation tables, you are able to see the complete translation of characters from EBCDIC or ASCII to Unicode, then from Unicode to EBCDIC or ASCII.

When converting from ASCII to EBCDIC, you must convert ASCII to Unicode then Unicode to EBCDIC. It is sometimes helpful to think of Unicode as double byte ASCII. In most cases, the Unicode value is simply the ASCII value preceded by two zeros. For example, x'23' appears as x'0023' in Unicode. To change that value from its normal EBCDIC equivalence of x'7B', change the x'7B' to what you want x'23' to translate to in EBCDIC. Refer to the example for a sample conversion.

Complete the following steps to edit the translation tables. Typically, you do not need to modify the translation tables. Table changes are required only for special printing needs or programs. For example, if your printer cannot print lowercase letters, you can change the translation tables to convert from lowercase to uppercase.

  1. If you have not already done so, open the desired code page.

  2. Use the scroll bars to move up and down the translation table column.

  3. In the right column, place the pointer on the entry and type over the translation. An asterisk displays next to all entries modified from the Barr default. You can use the Restore Defaults command to restore the translation table to the default configuration. All previous changes will be lost. If the BARR SpoolCore service is running while you edit the translation tables, you must restart the service for the changes to take effect.

Saving a code page

Complete the following steps to save a code page.

  1. Open an existing code page.

  2. Modify the translation table.

  3. On the menu bar, select File | Save to save changes to the open code page or select Save As to save the changes to a different code page. Selecting Save As requires you to select the code page to which you want to save the changes. You might be prompted to create a new code page. The original code page that was opened is now closed and the new code page you saved displays.

Deleting a code page

Complete the following steps to delete a code page.

  1. Open the Code Page Editor. (Open Windows Explorer. Navigate to the directory where the Barr software is installed, open the Spooler folder, and then open the Exe folder. Double-click Code Page Editor.exe. The default directory is \\Program Files\Barr\Spooler\Exe, unless an alternate path was specified during installation.)

  2. On the menu bar, select File | Delete.

  3. From the ASCII or EBCDIC tab, select the code page you want to delete.

  4. Click OK.

  5. A dialog displays asking you to confirm the deletion. Click Yes to delete or No to cancel the deletion.

Importing a code page

When you import a file, the code page number will be extracted. If another code page exists with the same number, a dialog will display giving you the option of replacing the existing file. If you do not want to replace the file, select No, then save the existing file using a different code page number. You are then able to import the file and replace the existing file without losing any data. Complete the following steps to import a code page.

  1. Open the Code Page Editor. (Open Windows Explorer. Navigate to the directory where the Barr software is installed, open the Spooler folder, and then open the Exe folder. Double-click Code Page Editor.exe. The default directory is \\Program Files\Barr\Spooler\Exe, unless an alternate path was specified during installation.)

  2. In the Translation type box, select the type of code page you want to open, Code Page In or Code Page Out. You can also select View | Translation Type on the menu bar, click the Toggle button on the toolbar, or click the desired portion of screen.

  3. On the menu bar, select File | Import.

  4. Navigate to the folder that contains the code page you want to import.

  5. Click Open.

Exporting a code page

Complete the following steps to export To move information from one system or program to another. a code page.

  1. Open an existing code page.

  2. Modify the translation table, if necessary.

  3. On the menu bar, select File | Export.

  4. Navigate to the folder where you want to export the file.

  5. Click Open.

Once a code page is exported, the system will display the code page on the current system and NOT the exported one.