Code Pages in Visual FoxPro

Data stored in Visual FoxPro is often tagged with a code page, which is a table of characters and corresponding numbers in memory that Windows uses to display data properly. For example, if you enter the letter C in a table (.dbf) file, the letter is stored on your hard disk as the number 67. When you open the file, Visual FoxPro determines its code page, inspects the code page to find the character corresponding to the number 67, and then displays the character (C) on your monitor.

Code pages correspond roughly to different alphabets. For example, Windows supplies code pages for English, German, Scandinavian languages, and so on. By using different code pages, applications can properly display characters from these different alphabets.

In This Section

• Understanding Code Pages in Visual FoxPro
  Describes how Visual FoxPro makes use of code pages to display data. Code pages provide a set of characters specific to a language or hardware platform.

• Code Pages Supported by Visual FoxPro
  Provides a list of code pages that are supported by Visual FoxPro.

• How to: Specify the Code Page of a .dbf File
  Explains how to add, remove, and change code page marks for a .dbf file.

• How to: Specify the Code Page of a Text File
  Explains how to specify a code page for use with a text file.

• How to: Determine the Code Page of a Project File
  Describes how to determine what code page a file in a project uses.

• Specification of Code Pages for Variables
  Explains how to use data stored with one code page and translate it to another code page.

• How to: Prevent Translation of Data in Character or Memo Fields
  Describes how to stop automatic code page translation. Stopping automatic translation is ideal when you may not want data to be translated into another code page, because doing so would alter the data.

Related Sections

• Developing International Applications
  Describes how to develop and plan Visual FoxPro applications that are compatible and effective in international markets.

• Creating International Applications
  Describes how to create Visual FoxPro applications that are compatible and effective in international markets.