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Phil_Jermyn

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MS DOS codepage selection in Windows XP

Hi. I have an MSDOS program that I use a lot, which automatically runs in full-screen mode. Under MSDOS (or windows 95/98) it requires codepage selection to display text properly on some PCs. Codepages 437 or 850 both work, and need to be installed using lines in Config.sys and Autoexec.bat.

I have just started using Windows XP, and I cannot select the right codepage. The computer defaults to a codepage which gives garbled text in my program (a familiar symptom of incorrect codepage), and no attempts at selecting the right codepage make any difference. I have tried this using lines in Autoexec.NT and Config.NT, and in the command prompt window without success. What codepage does XP default to for DOS programs? How can I change this? I understand that font files such as DOSAPP and APP850 in windows/fonts are used by DOS, but how can I choose which one? Please help, this is driving me nuts.
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Sicos


Hi,

Is youre program running in a dosbox?
If so right click with youre mouse on the title bar of the dosbox and select properties and select font tab in the window that is shown.

Here you can change font settings.

Greetings,
Sicos
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Avatar of Phil_Jermyn

ASKER

The program cannot run in a DOS window, it defaults to full-screen automatically, regardless of the settings in the program's properties.

Hi,

What you also can do is make a shortcut on the desktop to the program.
Right click on the new shortcut and set the properties overthere.

Greetings,
Sicos
Hi sicos,

The shortcut properties don't allow the program to run in a window either. Codepage changes work for windowed DOS programs, but noy for full-screen ones, it seems.

Regards,

Phil
I have finally figured out the answer to the problem, it turns out that full-screen DOS programs get their codepage information from hardware (within the video card). My program failed to work properly because the 8x14 font has been left out of my video card, as is common now. I found a little program on the internet which supplies the missing information, and this did the trick.

Thank you for your comments everyone.

Phil.
How do I close the question??!!  :-)
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modulo

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