HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
V7FF8CNV and Alternate Character Sets
Hewlett-Packard block mode terminals, which have the capability of
handling all or part of ROMAN8, can be divided into two groups. The
group differentiation is based on how they handle alternate character
sets when configured for 8-bit operation.
Group 1 - HP 2392A, 2625A, 2627A, 2628A, 2700, and 150
Use shift-out and shift-in characters to switch back and forth between an
8-bit base character set and an 8-bit alternate character set. This is
standard for new Hewlett-Packard terminals and printers.
Group 2 - HP 2622A, 2623A, 2626A, and 2382A
(Do not use an HP 2624A or HP 2624B, as they are unable to handle 8-bit
characters properly.) Group 2 terminals use the eighth bit to switch
back and forth between a 7-bit base character set and a 7-bit alternate
character set. It is not possible to get true 8-bit operation (ROMAN8)
and use an alternate character set (for example, Line Draw) at the same
time because the base character set is not really 8-bit, but 7-bit with
the additional characters defined in the alternate character set. Using
both 8-bit ROMAN8 characters and Line Draw in the same file is not
recommended since the user must continually redefine the alternate
character set, switching back and forth between Roman Extension and the
line drawing character set. Shift-out and shift-in are ignored by the
terminal and return to the alternate character set when the high-order
bit is on.
Files using alternate character sets on one group of terminals do not
display correctly on the terminals of the other group, even when
terminals from both groups are configured for 8-bit operation.
The use of characters from an alternate set affects the conversion
procedure. If the forms file does contain characters from an alternate
character set, choose one of the following alternatives:
* Eliminate the use of alternate character sets (either with FORMSPEC
or while running V7FF8CNV).
* Define alternate character sets to appear correctly on Group 1
terminals. This happens automatically when V7FF8CNV is run from a
Group 1 terminal. Characters from these alternate sets appear as
USASCII characters on a Group 2 terminal.