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How to Display the Euro in MS-DOS and Windows DOS


About this page | Why DOS doesn't display the euro | Who should use these methods | A utility to view the current code page | Full-screen DOS (MS-DOS and Windows 95 and 98) | Windows 95 and 98 DOS windows | Full-screen Windows NT, 2000, and XP DOS and command consolesWindows 2000 and XP command console windows (built-in support for Truetype fonts only) | Windows 2000 and XP command console windows (bitmap and TrueType fonts) | A custom WPDOS codepage file | The tools used to modify the font files | Home page


About this page

This page lists methods for displaying the euro in text screens in DOS and Windows. They are not required for WordPerfect for DOS; specific euro support for WPDOS is provided on a separate page. However, the methods shown here are fully compatible with WPDOS, and may be used together with the WPDOS-specific advice on a separate page. The methods used on this page should work with most DOS applications, and has been tested successfully with DOS-based accounting software from Solution 6.

Programmers and technically-expert users may also wish to consult this site's page on printing the euro from DOS applications (other than WPDOS). If you use the methods listed below to display the euro in DOS, and you have a recent HP-compatible printer, the methods listed on that page can help you make your printer output match your screen output, and allow you to print the euro from many DOS applications.

Troubleshooting note: If you implement any of these methods on computers that are connected to a network, be aware that any keyboard and codepage settings that you specify in the workstation's Config.sys, Autoexec.bat, or Windows configuration files may be changed without warning by a login script when the workstation connects to the server. If the solutions shown here seem to work well when the workstation first starts up, but stop working when it is connected to the network, check the login script for problems. (Many thanks to Martin Falconer for this advice.)

Please read all the general introductory sections on this page before implementing the solutions provided for specific operating systems!


Why you can't see the euro symbol in (most) DOS screens

The last Windows-free version of MS-DOS was version 6.22, released in 1994, almost five years before the introduction of the euro symbol. Microsoft has announced that it will provide no euro-enabling updates for any MS-DOS version, although Microsoft released euro updates for Windows 3.1 and 95 and Windows NT 3.51 and 4.0 that added euro support to Windows applications installed in those operating systems. (These are no longer available from Microsoft's web site.) Windows 98, 2000, and later versions have euro support built-in, but this support, with minor exceptions, does not extend to DOS windows, full-screen DOS, or even to the DOS-like "command window" in Windows NT, 2000, and XP.

The purpose of this page is to bring the euro to MS-DOS and all varieties of Windows DOS and Windows command prompts. Depending on the Windows version, you may or may not be able to use your keyboard's "euro key" to access the euro symbol in DOS screens, but you will be able to view the symbol and use it in WordPerfect for DOS in the same way you can use any other WPDOS character.

You do not need these methods if you use IBM PC DOS 2000 or IBM PC DOS 7.0 with the Year 2000 FixPak. These versions of IBM PC DOS have euro support built in. (Euro support is also built in to DR-DOS 7.02+ and later versions, and also in some other recent DOS clones such as NewDOS, but I have not tested any of these.)

To use these methods effectively with WordPerfect for DOS, you should install this site's custom WPDOS codepage file. This file allows the euro character to be associated with WP character 4,72, which is the euro symbol in WordPerfect for Windows and all of this site's euro-enabling solutions for WPDOS.


Who should use these methods

Every DOS and Windows computer uses a "codepage" setting that determines which 256 characters will display in full-screen DOS and command prompts. The codepage for systems installed in North America is usually 437; the codepage for systems installed in Western Europe is usually 850. You can determine which code page is in use on your system by going to a DOS prompt and entering the command chcp. Your computer will respond with the number of the active code page. If the number is 850, then you can use any of the methods on this page easily. If the number is anything else, these methods will require you to install codepage 850 on your system before using them, and the procedure is probably more trouble than it is worth.

If your system uses codepage 850, you probably use a "euro key" to display the euro symbol in Windows. The methods on this page will allow you (with some limitations) to use the euro key in DOS and DOS windows. If you are uncertain which key is used to access the euro symbol in your country, you may need to search the web to learn which key is the euro key. (The AltGr key is the right-hand Alt key; Ctrl-Alt can generally be used instead of AltGr.)

In Windows 95 and 98 systems, the methods on this page will work most effectively if, during the initial installation of Windows, you specified one of the countries of Europe as your local region. Also, in MS-DOS and in Windows 95 and 98 systems, your Config.sys file must already include lines that look somewhat like this:

country=044,,c:\windows\command\country.sys
device=c:\windows\command\display.sys con=(ega,,1)

And your Autoexec.bat file must already include lines that look something like this:

mode con cp prepare=((850)c:\windows\command\ega.cpi)
mode con cp select=850
nlsfunc c:\windows\command\country.sys
keyb uk,,c:\windows\command\keyboard.sys

The exact lines will differ depending on your country and other factors.

In Windows Me, these methods will work on if, during the initial installation of Windows Me, you specified one of the countries of Western Europe as your local region.

In Windows 2000 or XP, your initial installation should have specified the regional settings of one of the countries in Western Europe. However, under these versions of Windows, if you initially installed with your local region specified as a country outside Western Europe, you can change the default "system locale" and "system code page" by using the Control Panel's Regional and Language Options applet; under the Advanced tab, choose one of the languages of Western Europe, and reboot when prompted.


A utility to view the current codepage

A convenient utility for viewing the current codepage is CHRSET.EXE, by Kosta Kostis. Enter CHRSET at the DOS prompt, and a box containing the current character set will appear on screen. If the euro is in the current codepage, it will appear at position D5. CHRSET.EXE is part of Kosta Kostis' CPI120.ZIP package for editing full-screen MS-DOS codepages.


Display the euro symbol in full-screen MS-DOS (including Windows 95 or Windows 98 full-screen DOS)

Note: This method will almost certainly work in Windows Me, but I have not tested it there. To use the euro in full-screen DOS and command consoles in Windows NT, 2000, and XP, see a separate section of this page.

To display the euro symbol in full-screen MS-DOS, including the full-screen DOS included with Windows 95 and 98, you need two files from IBM PC DOS 2000, or from IBM PC DOS 7.0 with the Year 2000 FixPak. The two IBM files will be used to replace two files with the same name in your C:\Windows\Command directory.

The two files are ega.cpi, which contains fonts that are loaded into the memory of a VGA card in order to display characters not included in your video hardware, and keyboard.sys, which specifies the keyboard layouts associated with different countries. Make backup copies of the original files!

The two files you need are freely downloadable from the IBM FTP directory for the PC DOS 7.0 Year 2000 FixPak. Choose the DOS7xxY2.EXE file in which xx corresponds to your country code. Download the file, move it to a temporary directory, and run it to extract the files it contains. Then run the extracted DOSUPDAT.EXE file to extract still more files. Then copy the following two files into your C:\Windows\Command directory (and/or C:\Dos) after making backup copies of the originals:

ega.cpi
keyboard.sys

If your system uses egax.cpi, copy the IBM version of that file in addition to the other two files. (In MS-DOS and Windows 95 or 98, you may want to use the differently-drawn "ISO" fonts instead of the standard screen fonts; if so, copy the IBM iso.cpi file together with the other files. To install the ISO fonts, replace ega.cpi with iso.cpi in your Autoexec.bat file.)

Reboot your computer. In full-screen DOS, type the euro key for your country's keyboard layout. You should see the euro symbol.

Still in full-screen DOS, launch WPDOS with the command-line switch /cp=858 (make sure you have installed this site's custom codepage file for your WPDOS version). The euro will be WP character 4,72.

Note that the IBM files give you the option of using a new "US International" keyboard layout in DOS (keyboard code ux); the euro symbol in this layout is accessed with AltGr-5.

Warning: This method uses Microsoft's built-in Windows and MS-DOS version of KEYB.COM, which works well in my limited testing. However, you may get better results if you replace Microsoft's version with the KEYB.COM that comes with IBM PC DOS 7 and 2000; this file is not included in the freely downloadable update, but IBM generously lets you obtain a copy by downloading the IBM Drive Fitness Test (from this download site). Select the Windows version and download it; then simply drag the downloaded file into a Zip-file manager like Winzip, and extract KEYB.COM; or run the downloaded program to install the Drive Fitness Program on a diskette, and copy the file from the DOS directory on the disk.

Matthias Paul (in an e-mail to me) warns that the IBM PC DOS version of the keyboard driver uses some internal procedures that are not recognized by the Microsoft driver, so, if possible, you should use the IBM versions of both KEYB.COM and KEYBOARD.SYS instead of mixing Microsoft and IBM versions.

Technical note: The IBM *.cpi files contain what IBM calls "modified codepage 850," which is the same as codepage 858. The only difference between codepage 850 and codepage 858 is the character at D5h (213): in codepage 850, the character is the dotless-i; in codepage 858 and in IBM's "modified codepage 850," the character is the euro symbol. By modifying codepage 850, IBM avoided many potential problems with systems that do not recognize codepage 858, but that can already support codepage 850.

Acknolwedgment: The use of files from IBM PC DOS 2000 in a Windows 98 installation was suggested to me in May 2001 by the late Henk Bok. (Mark Janssens made a similar suggestion on an Internet newsgroup in 2000.) I added only the custom codepage file for WPDOS and the information that the necessary DOS files may be downloaded from IBM's web site.


Display the euro symbol in Windows 95 or 98 DOS windows

Note: This method will probably work in Windows Me, but I have not tested it there.

Windows 95 and 98 use three font files to display text in DOS windows. All installations, in Europe and elsewhere, use the Lucida Console TrueType font (lucon.ttf). European installations use two bitmap fonts, vga850.fon for the default 8x12 bitmap font, and app850.fon for all other bitmap font sizes. (In US systems, the corresponding bitmap fonts are dosapp.fon and vgaoem.fon.) All three files are stored in C:\Windows\Fonts, a special folder that is more easily managed from the DOS prompt than from Windows explorer.

Patched copies of all three files are contained in this self-exacting WINDOSEU.EXE file. (Warning: I am not entirely certain that it is legally permissible to modify these files.) These files have the euro symbol in place of the dotless-i, but are otherwise identical to the originals. Download the self-extracting file, move it into a temporary directory, and run it to extract these three files:

VGA850.FON
APP850.FON
LUCON.TTF

Now, because the next steps cannot easily be performed in a Windows DOS box, shut down Windows to MS-DOS mode or reboot to a DOS prompt.

Go to C:\Windows\fonts, and use the ATTRIB -H <filename> command to remove the hidden attribute from VGA850.FON and APP850.FON. Rename those two files with the extension .ORG (or something similar) so that you can restore them later. Also rename LUCON.TTF.

Then copy the three patched files into the C:\Windows\Fonts directory. Use the ATTRIB +H <filename> command to hide the new VGA850.FON and APP850.FON. Reboot your computer.

Open a DOS window. If you have already installed the Keyboard.sys file from IBM PC DOS described elsewhere on this page, you should be able to type the euro key and see the euro symbol appear in the DOS window.

Still in the DOS window, launch WPDOS with the command-line switch /cp=858 (make sure you have installed this site's custom codepage file for your WPDOS version). The euro will be WP character 4,72.

Uwe Sieber's NewDOS.FON with additional point sizes. A freeware set of bitmap fonts for DOS windows, with the euro symbol included in codepage 850, was designed by Uwe Sieber and may be downloaded from his web site. Look for the files New850.ZIP or New850.EXE. These fonts include point sizes different from those in the standard Windows bitmap fonts. Copy the fonts into the Windows Fonts folder to install them.

If the Windows 98 DOS window does not show the euro when the font size is set to 8x12 (bitmapped font), fix the problem with this method, discovered and reported by Ian Abbott: On your system, the Windows 98 DOS box may, by default, use VGAOEM.FON at the 8x12 font size, but this can be changed in the registry. Using Regedit, find the following registry value:

           HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG/Display/Settings/oemfonts.fon

Note the value in the right-hand column; if the existing value is "vgaoem.fon", change it to "vga850.fon" (without quotation marks!) and restart Windows.


Display the euro-symbol in full-screen DOS and command consoles in Windows NT, 2000, or XP

Like MS-DOS and Windows 9x and Me, Windows NT, 2000, and XP use a file named ega.cpi file to load fonts in your video hardware for use in full-screen DOS and full-screen command consoles. Windows NT, 2000, and XP have no built-in support for the euro in full-screen DOS and command consoles, but you can add screen support for the euro by substituting an ega.cpi file that has been patched to include the euro in the same way that the corresponding file for MS-DOS and Windows 9x was patched in IBM PC DOS 2000.

To install this file, download this self-extracting WIN2KCPI.EXE file, move it to a temporary directory, and run it to extract the patched ega.cpi file. (Warning: I am not entirely certain that it is legally permissible to modify this file.) Using Windows Explorer, find the original ega.cpi file, probably in your x:\WinNT\System32 or x:\Windows\System32 directory (where x: is your Windows NT, 2000, or XP drive), and rename it for safety. Keep a backup copy of the file for additional safety!

Now download version 1.3 of Microsoft's Inuse.exe program (later versions available from Microsoft's web site do not work correctly in this process). Copy the program to the same temporary directory where you copied the patched ega.cpi file. Open a command prompt, go the temporary directory and enter this command:

inuse c:\temp\ega.cpi c:\windows\system32\ega.cpi

(Replace c:\temp with the correct name of your temporary directory, and replace c:\windows with the correct name of your Windows directory.) You will be prompted to agree to replace the file; when you answer Yes, you will be told that the replacement will occur when you restart the system. Restart Windows.

When Windows restarts, open a command prompt. The euro symbol will appear when you type Alt-213 on the number pad.

To enable your country's euro key, you need to install support for codepage 858 in Windows. In Windows 2000, go to the Control Panel, open Regional Options, go the General Tab, click Advanced, and, under Code Page Conversion Tables, scroll down to 858 (OEM - Multilingual Latin I + Euro), and add a checkmark; click OK, and you will be prompted to insert the Windows 2000 CD. In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel, open Regional Options, go to the Advanced tab, and, under Code Page Conversion Tables, scroll down to 858 (OEM - Multilingual Latin I + Euro), and add a checkmark; click OK, and you will be prompted to insert the Windows XP CD; under Default User Account Settings, you probably should check the Apply all settings... option.

When you are done, open a full-screen window. At the DOS or command prompt enter

chcp 858

Press the euro key on your keyboard layout; the euro should appear. (Unfortunately, the euro key does not seem to work within DOS applications, so you will need to write a macro to use the euro easily in WPDOS.)

Still in the DOS window, launch WPDOS with the command-line switch /cp=858 (make sure you have installed this site's custom codepage file for your WPDOS version). The euro will be WP character 4,72.

Note: If, when launching WPDOS from the command-line, you see a message about insufficient memory for the /R command, find the Config.nt file typically found in C:\WinNT\System32 or C:\Windows\System32, and edit it to enable expanded memory, as explained in the file itself and elsewhere on this site. (Help! I can't find my Config.nt file!)


Display the euro symbol in DOS and command console windows in Windows 2000 and XP (built-in support for TrueType fonts)

Windows 2000 and Windows XP have limited built-in support for the euro symbol in command (console) windows; this support applies only to command windows that use TrueType fonts, not bitmap fonts. If you want to display the euro in Windows 2000 and XP command windows using bitmap fonts, you must replace some Windows files, using the method described on a different section of this page (follow the link in order to find it).

To install euro-symbol support in command windows that use TrueType fonts, you need to install support for codepage 858 in Windows. (You may have done this already by following the instructions in the section immediately above on this page.) In Windows 2000, go to the Control Panel, open Regional Options, go the General Tab, click Advanced, and, under Code Page Conversion Tables, scroll down to 858 (OEM - Multilingual Latin I + Euro), and add a checkmark; click OK, and you will be prompted to insert the Windows 2000 CD. In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel, open Regional Options, go to the Advanced tab, and, under Code Page Conversion Tables, scroll down to 858 (OEM - Multilingual Latin I + Euro), and add a checkmark; click OK, and you will be prompted to insert the Windows XP CD; under Default User Account Settings, you probably should check the Apply all settings... option.

When the 858 conversion table is installed, open a DOS window, right-click on the title bar, choose Properties, go to the Fonts tab, and select Lucida Console in a readable size. You may or may not choose to make this option apply to future DOS sessions. At the DOS prompt enter

chcp 858

Press the euro key on your keyboard layout; the euro should appear. (Unfortunately, the euro key does not seem to work within DOS applications, so you will need to write a macro to use the euro easily in WPDOS.)

Still in the DOS window, launch WPDOS with the command-line switch /cp=858 (make sure you have installed this site's custom codepage file for your WPDOS version). The euro will be WP character 4,72.

Note: If, when launching WPDOS from the command-line, you see a message about insufficient memory for the /R command, find the Config.nt file typically found in C:\WinNT\System32 or C:\Windows\System32, and edit it to enable expanded memory, as explained in the file itself and elsewhere on this site. (Help! I can't find my Config.nt file!)


Display the euro in DOS and command consoles in Windows 2000 and XP (bitmap and TrueType fonts)

Warning: this procedure replaces some Windows 2000 and XP system fonts. Windows 2000 and XP are designed to make this procedure difficult. Proceed only if you are comfortable with the steps you are required to take. A procedure similar to this one will probably work under Windows NT and XP, but I have not tested it.

Windows 2000 and XP use three font files to display text in DOS windows. All installations, in Europe and elsewhere, use the Lucida Console TrueType font (lucon.ttf). European installations use two bitmap fonts, vga850.fon for the default 8x12 bitmap font, and app850.fon for all other bitmap font sizes. (In US systems, the corresponding bitmap fonts are dosapp.fon and vgaoem.fon.) All three files are stored in C:\WinNT\Fonts or C:\Windows\Fonts, a special folder that is more easily managed from a command prompt than from Windows explorer.

Patched copies of all three files are contained in this self-exacting W2KOSEU.EXE file. (Warning: I am not entirely certain that it is legally permissible to modify these files.) These files have the euro symbol in place of the dotless-i, but are otherwise identical to the originals. Download the self-extracting file, move it into a temporary directory, and run it to extract these three files:

VGA850.FON
APP850.FON
LUCON.TTF

Windows 2000 and XP do not let you delete or replace VGA850.FON or APP850.FON when codepage 850 is the default codepage for command prompts. To make the font files accessible, you must temporarily change your regional setting to one that does not use these fonts. Go to Control Panel, Regional Settings, Set default... and, under Set System Locale, remember the current setting, and change it to English (US). Click OK, follow the prompts, and restart Windows.

Now, to install the new fonts, open a full-screen command prompt. Go to C:\WinNT\Fonts or C:\Windows\Fonts, and use the ATTRIB -H <filename> command to remove the hidden attribute from VGA850.FON and APP850.FON. Rename those two files with the extension .ORG (or something similar) so that you can restore them later. Also rename LUCON.TTF as LUCON.ORG (or something similar).

Then copy the three patched files into the C:\WinNT\Fonts or C:\Windows\Fonts directory. Use the ATTRIB +H <filename> command to hide the new VGA850.FON and APP850.FON. Close the command prompt.

Note: Under Windows 2000 or XP, if Windows refuses to let you replace the original files, you may be able to perform the replacement by booting into safe mode. If that does not succeed, download version 1.3 of Microsoft's Inuse.exe program (other versions will probably not work), and, for each file, replace the original file with the patched file by following a procedure similar to the one described in the section on Displaying the euro symbol in full-screen DOS and command consoles in Windows NT, 2000, and XP.

Return to Control Panel, Regional Settings, Set default... and, under Set System Locale, restore your original language setting. Click OK; when prompted, tell Windows to use existing files; do not let Windows copy files from the installation CD-ROM, because, if you do, the files that you have just installed will be overwritten. Restart Windows.

Open a command window. Type Alt-213 on the numeric keypad at the prompt. You should see the euro symbol.

Still in the command window, launch WPDOS with the command-line switch /cp=858 (make sure you have installed this site's custom codepage file for your WPDOS version). The euro will be WP character 4,72.

Uwe Sieber's NewDOS.FON with additional point sizes. A freeware set of bitmap fonts for DOS windows, with the euro symbol included in codepage 850, was designed by Uwe Sieber and may be downloaded from his web site. Look for the files New850.ZIP or New850.EXE. These fonts include point sizes different from those in the standard Windows bitmap fonts. Copy the fonts into the Windows Fonts folder to install them.

Note: If, when launching WPDOS from the command-line, you see a message about insufficient memory for the /R command, find the Config.nt file typically found in C:\WinNT\System32 or C:\Windows\System32, and edit it to enable expanded memory, as explained in the file itself and elsewhere on this site. (Help! I can't find my Config.nt file!)


A custom WPDOS codepage file for use with these methods

All of the methods on this page for displaying the euro in full-screen and windowed DOS will result in the euro taking the place of the dotless-i character in WordPerfect (WP character 1,24). This is because the standard euro-enabled DOS screen layout (referred to as "codepage 858") has the euro symbol in the place where the dotless-i was located in the standard international Latin screen layout ("codepage 850").

Because WordPerfect for Windows and all the printer drivers and other solutions on this site expect the euro to be WP character 4,72 (the circle-U character in pre-1999 WP versions), you will need to install a small file that instructs WPDOS to insert WP character 4,72 in the current document (instead of 1,24) when you type your keyboard layout's "euro key" or press Alt-213 (the character's location in the DOS screen layout.)

To make the "euro key" enter WP character 4,72, install this custom WPDOS codepage file (WP0858.WCP). A WPDOS 5.1 version is contained in this self-extracting WP5CP858.EXE file; a WPDOS 6.x version is contained in this self-extracting WP6CP858.EXE file. Download the file suitable to your WPDOS version, extract it in a temporary directory, and copy WP0858.WCP into your WPDOS directory. Then start WP with this command-line switch (which can be added to any other command-line switches):

    /cp=858

This switch can be added to a batch file that runs WPDOS, or to the environment settings that you use to specify WPDOS startup switches (for details of using environment settings, see the WP manual).


A note on the tools used for patching font files

A variety of tools were used to modify the font files available on this page. Having gone through the laborious procedures required to perform these modifications, I do not recommend that anyone else do the same work. But here is the information if you want it.

The FON files were modified in the shareware bitmap font editor Softy, by the late Dave Emmett (for help with this program, see various third-party user guides such as this one or that one or this extensive one that lacks its original illustrations); Windows, however, refused to use the resulting patched files as replacements for the original files. The solution was to modify the original files directly; I did so by using Hex Workshop, by BreakPoint Software, to take the few bytes that represent the euro character in the modified files and patch them over the bytes that represent the dotless-i in the original Windows files.

The Lucida Console TrueType font was modified with FontLab's FontLab.

The Windows 2000/XP EGA.CPI file was modified by using Matthias Paul's CPI program and BreakPoint Software's Hex Workshop. I used the CPI program to extract the codepage 850 data from IBM's euro-enabled EGA.CPI and from the Windows 2000 EGA.CPI file; I then used Hex Workshop to compare the data in the two files and to identify the bytes in the IBM files that generate the euro character on screen; I then used Hex Workshop to patch the original Windows 2000/XP EGA.CPI file by replacing the original bytes that represent the dotless-i with the IBM-written bytes that represent the euro.


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