The command: "GRAFTABL" is on Windows 12, 11, 10, .. , MS Server 2025, 2022, 2019, .. not available
Yes, the
`GRAFTABL` command in MS-DOS and older versions of Windows was used to change the current code page in graphics mode, which allowed certain special characters to be represented.
Here is a brief explanation of the parameters:
-
`GRAFTABL`: This is the main command. When used without parameters, it displays the current code page.
-
`xxx`: Specifies a specific code page to use in graphics mode. Code pages are special character sets used to represent various characters and symbols.
-
`/STATUS`: Displays the current code page used by
`GRAFTABL`. When this parameter is used, no changes are made to the code page.
Of course, here is the revised version with additional comments:
Example 1: Change code page to 437:
GRAFTABL 437
Description: This command changes the code page to 437. Code page 437 is the default character set table for many English-language MS-DOS applications. This change allows certain special characters and symbols to be displayed.
Example 2: Change code page to 850:
GRAFTABL 850
Description: This command changes the code page to 850. Code page 850 represents an extended character set table commonly used for many European languages. This change allows specific characters to be displayed correctly.
Example 3: Show current code page:
GRAFTABL /STATUS
Description: This command displays the currently used code page without making any changes. This is particularly useful for checking previous modifications and ensuring that the correct character set table is being used.
It is important to note that
`GRAFTABL` is no longer used in modern versions of Windows these days. These features have been replaced by Unicode and extended character sets, which are automatically supported by most applications and operating systems. The use of
`GRAFTABL` is limited to older systems.
On modern Windows operating systems, alternative commands and mechanisms for character encoding and international support exist. Here are some of them:
Example 1: `chcp` - Changing the code page:
The
`chcp` (Change Code Page) command is used to change the current code page on the Windows command line. For the
chcp 1252
Here the code page is changed to 1252, which stands for the Western European character set.
Example 2: PowerShell cmdlets:
PowerShell provides several cmdlets for working with character encodings and international characters. For the
$OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
This sets the output in PowerShell to UTF-8 encoding.
Example 3: `intlcfg` - Internationalization configuration:
The
`intlcfg` command allows configuring internationalization settings. For the
intlcfg set --codepage:
This command can be used to change the current code page.
Example 4: Settings in System Settings:
You can adjust language and region settings that can affect character encoding under Settings > Time & Language > Region & Language in Windows System Preferences.
Example 5: `Set-ItemProperty` for registry changes:
Registry settings can also be used to customize character encoding. For the
Set-ItemProperty -Path 'Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nls\CodePage' -Name 'OEMCP' -Value 1252
Here the OEM code page is set to 1252.
It is important to note that on modern versions of Windows, the need to work directly with code pages has been greatly reduced by using Unicode (UTF-8, UTF-16). Unicode provides extensive support for international characters and is the standard for character encoding today. In most cases, these alternative commands and settings are only relevant when there are specific needs or problems.