We use the less than "<" and greater than ">" symbols as delimiters for the hardware control codes.

 

If your equipment documentation suggests sending "Escape, @, Escape, Exclamation Point,  1" as a control code then just type in <ESC>@<ESC>!<1>.

 

While this may seem a bit cryptic at first, it is much easier than translating the string to into hexadecimal or binary.  ;)

 

Except where noted, the example codes in this document are for Epson hardware. Most hardware can be configured to run an Epson emulation. See the documentation that came with your hardware for specific control codes and emulation settings.

 

Tutorial:

 

ASCII characters 0-31 are not printable or type-able, so we needed a way to represent them.

 

We chose a delimited notation using the "<" and ">" symbols. When Acme encounters a delimited value, it substitutes the ASCII value. "<27>" becomes one character. "<ESC>" and "<27>" are exactly the same ASCII character, but it is easier to read "<ESC>" and you do not have to remember "<27>".

 

Commands sometimes require arguments:

"<ESC>a" is the select justification command, but it requires an argument to specify the type of justification: "<0>" left; "<1>" center; "<2>" right. So the command with argument to center the text is <ESC>a<1>.

 

There are two special delimited values, "<xxx>" and "<nnn>". These are for bar codes and only work with the bar code command string. "<xxx>" becomes the physical bar code text within the command.

"<nnn>" becomes the decimal length of the bar code text; viz. for bar code text "0123456789", "<nnn>" becomes the character 10.

 

Acme understands hexadecimal notation as well, viz. "<ESC>", "<27>" and "<0x1b>" are all exactly the same to Acme.

 

One last note: if you need a physical "<" in the command, then place "<<" in the command string.