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Article #282

Re: alt 255 ; question

#282
From: Keith Rice
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 00:22
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In <9zsnn8l.mbk@netcom.com> mbk@netcom.com (Miles Kehoe) writes:

>Jon Freivald <jaf@jaflrn.UUCP> writes:

>>garrem@aix.rpi.edu (Matthew Olsen Garretson) writes:

>>> Is this ALT-255 thing a function of DOS or is it built into the keyboard BIOS

>I believe the Alt-255 trick is a keyboard BIOS thing. When the original
>PC came out, you could press Alt and enter any decimal number on the numeric
>keypad and generate the BYTE with that value. If you want a space,
>you enter Alt-032; uppse case A is Alt-065. (BTW, the values had 
>to be 3 digit, I believe)

The values can be entered with one digit.  I just checked.

>Anyway.. Alt-255 is just a special case of using the capability
>of the kb BIOS to enter character codes arbitrarily.

--
D. Keith Rice -- University of North Texas -- drice@ponder.csci.unt.edu
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From: drice@ponder.csci.unt.edu (Keith Rice)
Newsgroups: alt.msdos.programmer
Subject: Re: alt 255 ; question
Message-ID: <drice.716084546@ponder>
Date: 10 Sep 92 00:22:26 GMT
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