View source for ATASCII

{{Short description|Character encoding used by the Atari 8-bit home computers}}
[[File:Atascii-character-set-00toFF-2x.gif|frame|The entire visible ATASCII character set, both normal and inverse glyphs, upscaled to 2x to better show details]]

The '''ATASCII''' character set, from '''''ATA'''RI '''S'''tandard '''C'''ode for '''I'''nformation '''I'''nterchange'', alternatively '''''AT'''ARI '''ASCII''''', is a [[character encoding]] used in the [[Atari 8-bit computers]]. ATASCII is based on [[ASCII]], but is not fully compatible with it. It was first used in the Atari 400 and 800 in 1979 and was kept in all subsequent models until the line was discontinued in 1992. The [[Atari ST]] family of computers use the different [[Atari ST character set]].

Like most other variants of ASCII, ATASCII has its own distinct characters (arrows, blocks, [[box-drawing character]]s, [[playing card]] suits, etc.) in place of the C0 control codes in ASCII (characters 0–31), as well as replacing a few other ASCII code points.

==Implementation==
Atari 8-bit systems have three distinct sets of codes: interchange codes (ATASCII), internal codes (also called screen codes), and keyboard codes.<ref name="Reading the Keyboard Codes"/><ref name="INSIGHT: Atari"/>

Keyboard codes represent the codes sent by the keyboard. Pressing one of the two modifier keys ([[Shift key|Shift]] and [[Control key|Control]]) modifies the value input by pressing other keys. Due to there being two modifier keys, there are four distinct keyboard codes that can be sent by each character; however, several keys (the exact keys depend on the model) do not send a control code if they are pressed while holding both Shift and Control.<ref name="Reading the Keyboard Codes"/> When entering text, the Atari keyboard handler converts these signals into ATASCII.<ref name="Mapping the Atari"/>

ATASCII and internal codes contain the same character set, but indexed differently. ATASCII codes are used by [[Atari BASIC]], while internal codes are used to look up how to render the character on-screen.<ref name="Reading the Keyboard Codes"/>

Atari 8-bit systems have several distinct graphics modes; these modes can be classified as pure text modes, pure graphics modes, or mixed modes. Modes 0, 1 and 2 represent pure text modes, while Modes 3 and above represent mixed or pure graphics modes (the exact number of distinct modes depending on the model).<ref name="Basics of Atari Graphics"/> Mode 0 displays characters at the default size, Mode 1 displays them twice as wide (but the same height), and Mode 2 displays them twice as wide and twice the height.<ref name="Basics of Atari Graphics"/> Mode 0 is the default graphics mode and supports 128 unique characters in one of two colors (regular or [[inverse video]], depending on the upper bit); Modes 1 and 2 only support 64 unique characters, but support four different colors (as they use the upper two bits as color information instead).<ref name="INSIGHT: Atari"/> The 64 characters available in Modes 1 and 2 are the first 64 characters in the internal code, which correspond to ATASCII codes 32 to 95 (0x20 to 0x5F).<ref name="Mapping the Atari"/> This includes all uppercase letters and punctuation, but excludes lowercase letters and graphics characters.

The Atari screen editor implements the text cursor by simply inverting the character at the cursor position (by [[Exclusive or|XOR]] with 0x80). It does not flash.

===Inverse video===
ATASCII only has 128 unique graphic characters, with the upper 128 graphic characters (index 128 to 255) being [[inverse video]] variants of the lower 128 graphic characters (index 0 to 127). If the high-order bit is set on a character (i.e., if the byte value of the character is between 128 and 255), the character is generally rendered as the inverse video variant of its counterpart between 0 and 127, using a bitwise negation of the character's glyph. This is done by the [[ANTIC]] chip.

Due to this behavior, there is asymmetry in the selection of block-drawing characters. In normal video, there are lower triangles but no upper triangles, a left half block but no right half block, and a lower half block but no upper half block; these ostensibly missing characters can be displayed by using inverse video.

===Alternate character sets===
[[File:Atascii-international.png|thumb|x80px|The international character set included in the XL and XE models]]
Atari 8-bit computers, via the [[ANTIC]] coprocessor, supported indirection of the character set graphics, allowing a program to redefine the graphical glyphs that appear for each ATASCII character.<ref name="INSIGHT: Atari"/> This can be used as a new [[font]] for text, to support an additional character set, or for [[Tile-based video game|tile graphics]] in a video game or other application. Cycling between multiple redefined character sets can be used to provide simple animation at very little CPU cost (in exchange for memory used to store the character set data). Altering a character set in RAM can also be used for animation.

In the XL and [[Atari XE|XE]] lines, the Atari OS ROM includes an "international character set" that replaces 29 of the graphical glyphs with Latin alphabetical characters containing [[diacritic]]s, such as [[e-acute]] (é). The OS built into the [[Atari 1200XL]], the only Atari 8-bit model with [[function key]]s, allowed users to switch between the standard and alternate character sets by pressing {{keypress|CTRL|F4}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Atari 1200XL Home Computer Owner's Guide |date=1982 |publisher=Atari |url=https://archive.org/details/atari-1200xl-guide/mode/2up}}</ref> Later XL and XE models required the user to update a register in RAM (e.g., via a [[PEEK and POKE|POKE]] command in [[BASIC]]).<ref name="INSIGHT: Atari"/>

In some regions, a different character set was included instead of the default international character set, in order to better accommodate the target market, including Polish, Arabic, and Hebrew. Atari 192XT and 256XT systems distributed in [[Eastern Europe]] by P.Z.Karen had a Polish character set in place of the international character set.<ref name="atariki">{{cite web |title=ATASCII |url=http://atariki.krap.pl/index.php/ATASCII |website=Atariki |language=pl |date=5 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="mcurrent">{{cite web |last1=Current |first1=Michael |title=Atari 8-Bit Computers Frequently Asked Questions List |url=https://mcurrent.name/atari-8-bit/faq.txt |publisher=comp.sys.atari.8bit newsgroup |access-date=29 November 2023 |date=29 May 2023}}</ref> The Atari 65XE Najm, which was distributed in the Middle East, has an Arabic character encoding as its default encoding and displays text [[Right-to-left script|right-to-left]], while the international character set was replaced by the standard ATASCII encoding.<ref name="mcurrent"/><ref>{{cite web |author1=Nosty |title=Atari Allacha |url=https://atarionline.pl/v01/index.php?id=1184283958&ct=wynalazki |website=Atari Online.pl |language=pl |date=2007-07-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Parent |first1=Eric |title=ATASCII Character Sets |url=http://joyfulcoder.net/atari/atascii/ |website=Joyful Coder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316000320/http://joyfulcoder.net/atari/atascii/ |archive-date=16 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Savetz |first1=Kevin |title=Exploring the "Star" Arabic Atari 65 XE |url=https://www.savetz.com/vintagecomputers/arabic65xe/ |publisher=Atari 8-Bit Computer WebRing |access-date=29 November 2023 |date=19 November 2003}}</ref> Hebrew versions of the Atari 600XL and 800XL were distributed in Israel, which had a Hebrew character set in place of the international character set. The Hebrew character set had Hebrew letters instead of lowercase Latin letters, but preserved the uppercase Latin letters. When typing in Hebrew mode, typing Latin letters advances the cursor to the right, while typing Hebrew letters advances the cursor to the left.<ref name="mcurrent"/><ref>{{cite web |author1=The Modern Atari 8bit computer |title=Hebrew ATARI XL Computer |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xYnU0KEFsk |website=YouTube |access-date=29 November 2023 |language=en |date=11 October 2017}}</ref>

==Character set==
{{Contains special characters|Uncommon Unicode}}
===Default graphic characters===
The following table shows the default ATASCII character set. [[Control character]]s with a graphic representation are displayed using that representation. Each character is shown with a [[Unicode]] equivalent.

{|{{chset-table-header1|ATASCII<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bettencourt |first1=Rebecca G. |title=ATASCII to Unicode Mapping |url=https://www.kreativekorp.com/charset/map/atascii/ |website=Kreative Korp}}</ref><ref name="ATARI8IG">{{Citation |last1=Bettencourt |first1=Rebecca |title=L2/19-025: Proposal to add characters from legacy computers and teletext to the UCS |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19025-terminals-prop.pdf |chapter=ATARI8IG.TXT |chapter-url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19025-aux-mappings.zip |date=2018-04-20}}</ref>}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|0x}}
|{{chset-cell1|0 - U+2665 BLACK HEART SUIT|[[Heart (symbol)|♥]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|1 - U+251C BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND RIGHT|[[├]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|2 - U+1FB87 RIGHT ONE QUARTER BLOCK|[[🮇]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|3 - U+2518 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND LEFT|[[┘]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|4 - U+2524 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND LEFT|[[┤]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|5 - U+2510 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND LEFT|[[┐]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|6 - U+2571 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DIAGONAL UPPER RIGHT TO LOWER LEFT|[[╱]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|7 - U+2572 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DIAGONAL UPPER LEFT TO LOWER RIGHT|[[╲]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|8 - U+25E2 BLACK LOWER RIGHT TRIANGLE|[[◢]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|9 - U+2597 QUADRANT LOWER RIGHT|[[▗]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|10 - U+25E3 BLACK LOWER LEFT TRIANGLE|[[◣]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|11 - U+259D QUADRANT UPPER RIGHT|[[▝]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|12 - U+2598 QUADRANT UPPER LEFT|[[▘]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|13 - U+1FB82 UPPER ONE QUARTER BLOCK|[[🮂]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|14 - U+2582 LOWER ONE QUARTER BLOCK|[[▂]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|15 - U+2596 QUADRANT LOWER LEFT|[[▖]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|1x}}
|{{chset-cell1|16 - U+2663 BLACK CLUB SUIT|[[Clubs (suit)|♣]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|17 - U+250C BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND RIGHT|[[┌]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|18 - U+2500 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT HORIZONTAL|[[─]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|19 - U+253C BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL|[[┼]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|20 - U+2022 BULLET|[[•]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|21 - U+2584 LOWER HALF BLOCK|[[▄]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|22 - U+258E LEFT ONE QUARTER BLOCK|[[▎]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|23 - U+252C BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND HORIZONTAL|[[┬]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|24 - U+2534 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND HORIZONTAL|[[┴]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|25 - U+258C LEFT HALF BLOCK|[[▌]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|26 - U+2514 BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND RIGHT|[[└]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|27 - U+241B SYMBOL FOR ESCAPE|[[Escape character|␛]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|28 - U+2191 UPWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|↑]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|29 - U+2193 DOWNWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|↓]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|30 - U+2190 LEFTWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|←]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|31 - U+2192 RIGHTWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|→]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|2x}}
|{{chset-ctrl1|32 - U+0020|&nbsp;[[space character|SP]]&nbsp;}}
|{{chset-cell1|33 - U+0021 EXCLAMATION MARK|[[Exclamation mark|!]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|34 - U+0022 QUOTATION MARK|[[Quotation mark|"]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|35 - U+0023 NUMBER SIGN|[[Number sign|#]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|36 - U+0024 DOLLAR SIGN|[[Dollar sign|$]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|37 - U+0025 PERCENT SIGN|[[Percent sign|%]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|38 - U+0026 AMPERSAND|[[Ampersand|&amp;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|39 - U+0027 APOSTROPHE|[[Apostrophe|']]}}
|{{chset-cell1|40 - U+0028 LEFT PARENTHESIS|[[Bracket|(]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|41 - U+0029 RIGHT PARENTHESIS|[[Bracket|)]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|42 - U+002A ASTERISK|[[Asterisk|*]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|43 - U+002B PLUS SIGN|[[Plus and minus signs|+]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|44 - U+002C COMMA|[[Comma (punctuation)|,]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|45 - U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS|[[Plus and minus signs|-]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|46 - U+002E FULL STOP|[[Full stop|.]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|47 - U+002F SOLIDUS|[[Slash (punctuation)|/]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|3x}}
|{{chset-cell1|48 - U+0030 DIGIT ZERO|[[0 (number)|0]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|49 - U+0031 DIGIT ONE|[[1 (number)|1]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|50 - U+0032 DIGIT TWO|[[2 (number)|2]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|51 - U+0033 DIGIT THREE|[[3 (number)|3]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|52 - U+0034 DIGIT FOUR|[[4 (number)|4]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|53 - U+0035 DIGIT FIVE|[[5 (number)|5]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|54 - U+0036 DIGIT SIX|[[6 (number)|6]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|55 - U+0037 DIGIT SEVEN|[[7 (number)|7]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|56 - U+0038 DIGIT EIGHT|[[8 (number)|8]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|57 - U+0039 DIGIT NINE|[[9 (number)|9]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|58 - U+003A COLON|[[colon (punctuation)|:]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|59 - U+003B SEMICOLON|[[semicolon|;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|60 - U+003C LESS-THAN SIGN|[[angle bracket|&lt;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|61 - U+003D EQUALS SIGN|[[equal sign|=]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|62 - U+003E GREATER-THAN SIGN|[[angle bracket|&gt;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|63 - U+003F QUESTION MARK|[[question mark|?]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|4x}}
|{{chset-cell1|64 - U+0040 COMMERCIAL AT|[[@]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|65 - U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A|[[A]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|66 - U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B|[[B]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|67 - U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C|[[C]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|68 - U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D|[[D]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|69 - U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E|[[E]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|70 - U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F|[[F]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|71 - U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G|[[G]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|72 - U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H|[[H]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|73 - U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I|[[I]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|74 - U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J|[[J]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|75 - U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K|[[K]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|76 - U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L|[[L]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|77 - U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M|[[M]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|78 - U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N|[[N]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|79 - U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O|[[O]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|5x}}
|{{chset-cell1|80 - U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P|[[P]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|81 - U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q|[[Q]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|82 - U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R|[[R]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|83 - U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S|[[S]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|84 - U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T|[[T]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|85 - U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U|[[U]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|86 - U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V|[[V]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|87 - U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W|[[W]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|88 - U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X|[[X]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|89 - U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y|[[Y]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|90 - U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z|[[Z]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|91 - U+005B LEFT SQUARE BRACKET|[[Square brackets|&#91;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|92 - U+005C REVERSE SOLIDUS|[[Backslash|\]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|93 - U+005D RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET|[[Square brackets|&#93;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|94 - U+005E CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT|[[Circumflex|^]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|95 - U+005F LOW LINE|[[Underscore|_]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|6x}}
|{{chset-cell1|96 - U+2666 BLACK DIAMOND SUIT|[[Diamonds (suit)|♦]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|97 - U+0061 LATIN SMALL LETTER A|[[a]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|98 - U+0062 LATIN SMALL LETTER B|[[b]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|99 - U+0063 LATIN SMALL LETTER C|[[c]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|100 - U+0064 LATIN SMALL LETTER D|[[d]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|101 - U+0065 LATIN SMALL LETTER E|[[e]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|102 - U+0066 LATIN SMALL LETTER F|[[f]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|103 - U+0067 LATIN SMALL LETTER G|[[g]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|104 - U+0068 LATIN SMALL LETTER H|[[h]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|105 - U+0069 LATIN SMALL LETTER I|[[i]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|106 - U+006A LATIN SMALL LETTER J|[[j]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|107 - U+006B LATIN SMALL LETTER K|[[k]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|108 - U+006C LATIN SMALL LETTER L|[[l]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|109 - U+006D LATIN SMALL LETTER M|[[m]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|110 - U+006E LATIN SMALL LETTER N|[[n]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|111 - U+006F LATIN SMALL LETTER O|[[o]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|7x}}
|{{chset-cell1|112 - U+0070 LATIN SMALL LETTER P|[[p]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|113 - U+0071 LATIN SMALL LETTER Q|[[q]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|114 - U+0072 LATIN SMALL LETTER R|[[r]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|115 - U+0073 LATIN SMALL LETTER S|[[s]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|116 - U+0074 LATIN SMALL LETTER T|[[t]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|117 - U+0075 LATIN SMALL LETTER U|[[u]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|118 - U+0076 LATIN SMALL LETTER V|[[v]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|119 - U+0077 LATIN SMALL LETTER W|[[w]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|120 - U+0078 LATIN SMALL LETTER X|[[x]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|121 - U+0079 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y|[[y]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|122 - U+007A LATIN SMALL LETTER Z|[[z]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|123 - U+2660 BLACK SPADE SUIT|[[Spades (suit)|♠]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|124 - U+007C VERTICAL LINE|[[Vertical bar|{{pipe}}]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|125 - U+1F8B0 ARROW POINTING UPWARDS THEN NORTH WEST|[[🢰]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|126 - U+25C0 BLACK LEFT-POINTING TRIANGLE|[[◀]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|127 - U+25B6 BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE|[[▶]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|8x}}
|{{chset-cell1|128|♥|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|129|├|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|130 - U+258A LEFT THREE QUARTERS BLOCK|[[▊]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|131|┘|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|132|┤|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|133|┐|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|134|╱|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|135|╲|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|136 - U+25E4 BLACK UPPER LEFT TRIANGLE|[[◤]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|137 - U+259B QUADRANT UPPER LEFT AND UPPER RIGHT AND LOWER LEFT|[[▛]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|138 - U+25E5 BLACK UPPER RIGHT TRIANGLE|[[◥]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|139 - U+2599 QUADRANT UPPER LEFT AND LOWER LEFT AND LOWER RIGHT|[[▙]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|140 - U+259F QUADRANT UPPER RIGHT AND LOWER LEFT AND LOWER RIGHT|[[▟]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|141 - U+2586 LOWER THREE QUARTERS BLOCK|[[▆]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|142 - U+1FB85 UPPER THREE QUARTERS BLOCK|[[🮅]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|143 - U+259C QUADRANT UPPER LEFT AND UPPER RIGHT AND LOWER RIGHT|[[▜]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|9x}}
|{{chset-cell1|144|♣|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|145|┌|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|146|─|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|147|┼|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|148 - U+25D8 INVERSE BULLET|[[◘]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|149 - U+2580 UPPER HALF BLOCK|[[▀]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|150 - U+1FB8A RIGHT THREE QUARTERS BLOCK|[[🮊]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|151|┬|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|152|┴|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|153 - U+2590 RIGHT HALF BLOCK|[[▐]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|154|└|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-ctrl1|155 - U+000A LINE FEED|[[Newline|EOL]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|156|↑|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|157|↓|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|158|←|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|159|→|style=background:black;color:white}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|Ax}}
|{{chset-cell1|160 - U+2588 FULL BLOCK|[[█]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|161|!|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|162|"|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|163|#|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|164|$|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|165|%|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|166|&amp;|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|167|'|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|168|(|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|169|)|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|170|*|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|171|+|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|172|,|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|173|-|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|174|.|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|175|/|style=background:black;color:white}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|Bx}}
|{{chset-cell1|176|0|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|177|1|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|178|2|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|179|3|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|180|4|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|181|5|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|182|6|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|183|7|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|184|8|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|185|9|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|186|:|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|187|;|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|188|&lt;|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|189|{{=}}|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|190|&gt;|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|191 - U+1FBC4 NEGATIVE SQUARED QUESTION MARK|[[🯄]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|Cx}}
|{{chset-cell1|192|@|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|193|A|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|194|B|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|195|C|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|196|D|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|197|E|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|198|F|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|199|G|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|200|H|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|201|I|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|202|J|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|203|K|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|204|L|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|205|M|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|206|N|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|207|O|style=background:black;color:white}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|Dx}}
|{{chset-cell1|208|P|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|209|Q|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|210|R|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|211|S|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|212|T|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|213|U|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|214|V|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|215|W|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|216|X|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|217|Y|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|218|Z|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|219|&#91;|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|220|\|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|221|&#93;|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|222|^|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|223|_|style=background:black;color:white}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|Ex}}
|{{chset-cell1|224|♦|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|225|a|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|226|b|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|227|c|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|228|d|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|229|e|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|230|f|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|231|g|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|232|h|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|233|i|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|234|j|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|235|k|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|236|l|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|237|m|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|238|n|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|239|o|style=background:black;color:white}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|Fx}}
|{{chset-cell1|240|p|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|241|q|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|242|r|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|243|s|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|244|t|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|245|u|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|246|v|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|247|w|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|248|x|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|249|y|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|250|z|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|251|♠|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|252|-|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|253|🢰|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|254|◀|style=background:black;color:white}}
|{{chset-cell1|255|▶|style=background:black;color:white}}
|}

The box-drawing characters are arranged relative to their corresponding letter keys on the Atari keyboard, appearing 64 code points earlier than the corresponding uppercase letter. For example, ┌, ┬, and ┐ are the graphics characters found on the top left Q, W, and E keys, and appear 64 code points before those uppercase letters in ATASCII.

===International character set===
The following table shows the lower half of ATASCII international character set. The upper half are inverse video variants of the lower half, in exactly the same way as the standard ATASCII character set.

{|{{chset-table-header1|ATASCII international character set<ref name="ATARI8II">{{Citation |last1=Bettencourt |first1=Rebecca |title=L2/19-025: Proposal to add characters from legacy computers and teletext to the UCS |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19025-terminals-prop.pdf |chapter=ATARI8II.TXT |chapter-url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2019/19025-aux-mappings.zip |date=2018-04-20}}</ref>}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|0x}}
|{{chset-cell1|0 - U+00E1 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE|á|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|1 - U+00F9 LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE|ù|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|2 - U+00D1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE|Ñ|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|3 - U+00C9 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE|É|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|4 - U+00E7 LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA|ç|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|5 - U+00F4 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX|ô|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|6 - U+00F2 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE|ò|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|7 - U+00EC LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE|ì|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|8 - U+00A3 POUND SIGN|£|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|9 - U+00EF LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS|ï|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|10 - U+00FC LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS|ü|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|11 - U+00E4 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS|ä|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|12 - U+00D6 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS|Ö|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|13 - U+00FA LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE|ú|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|14 - U+00F3 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE|ó|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|15 - U+00F6 LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS|ö|style=background:#EFF}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|1x}}
|{{chset-cell1|16 - U+00DC LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS|Ü|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|17 - U+00E2 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX|â|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|18 - U+00FB LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX|û|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|19 - U+00EE LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX|î|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|20 - U+00E9 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE|é|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|21 - U+00E8 LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE|è|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|22 - U+00F1 LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE|ñ|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|23 - U+00EA LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX|ê|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|24 - U+00E5 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE|å|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|25 - U+00E0 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE|à|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|26 - U+00C5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE|Å|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|27 - U+241B SYMBOL FOR ESCAPE|[[Escape character|␛]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|28 - U+2191 UPWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|↑]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|29 - U+2193 DOWNWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|↓]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|30 - U+2190 LEFTWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|←]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|31 - U+2192 RIGHTWARDS ARROW|[[Arrow (symbol)|→]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|2x}}
|{{chset-ctrl1|32 - U+0020|&nbsp;[[space character|SP]]&nbsp;}}
|{{chset-cell1|33 - U+0021 EXCLAMATION MARK|[[Exclamation mark|!]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|34 - U+0022 QUOTATION MARK|[[Quotation mark|"]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|35 - U+0023 NUMBER SIGN|[[Number sign|#]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|36 - U+0024 DOLLAR SIGN|[[Dollar sign|$]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|37 - U+0025 PERCENT SIGN|[[Percent sign|%]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|38 - U+0026 AMPERSAND|[[Ampersand|&amp;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|39 - U+0027 APOSTROPHE|[[Apostrophe|']]}}
|{{chset-cell1|40 - U+0028 LEFT PARENTHESIS|[[Bracket|(]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|41 - U+0029 RIGHT PARENTHESIS|[[Bracket|)]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|42 - U+002A ASTERISK|[[Asterisk|*]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|43 - U+002B PLUS SIGN|[[Plus and minus signs|+]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|44 - U+002C COMMA|[[Comma (punctuation)|,]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|45 - U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS|[[Plus and minus signs|-]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|46 - U+002E FULL STOP|[[Full stop|.]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|47 - U+002F SOLIDUS|[[Slash (punctuation)|/]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|3x}}
|{{chset-cell1|48 - U+0030 DIGIT ZERO|[[0 (number)|0]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|49 - U+0031 DIGIT ONE|[[1 (number)|1]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|50 - U+0032 DIGIT TWO|[[2 (number)|2]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|51 - U+0033 DIGIT THREE|[[3 (number)|3]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|52 - U+0034 DIGIT FOUR|[[4 (number)|4]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|53 - U+0035 DIGIT FIVE|[[5 (number)|5]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|54 - U+0036 DIGIT SIX|[[6 (number)|6]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|55 - U+0037 DIGIT SEVEN|[[7 (number)|7]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|56 - U+0038 DIGIT EIGHT|[[8 (number)|8]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|57 - U+0039 DIGIT NINE|[[9 (number)|9]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|58 - U+003A COLON|[[colon (punctuation)|:]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|59 - U+003B SEMICOLON|[[semicolon|;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|60 - U+003C LESS-THAN SIGN|[[angle bracket|&lt;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|61 - U+003D EQUALS SIGN|[[equal sign|=]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|62 - U+003E GREATER-THAN SIGN|[[angle bracket|&gt;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|63 - U+003F QUESTION MARK|[[question mark|?]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|4x}}
|{{chset-cell1|64 - U+0040 COMMERCIAL AT|[[@]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|65 - U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A|[[A]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|66 - U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B|[[B]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|67 - U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C|[[C]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|68 - U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D|[[D]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|69 - U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E|[[E]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|70 - U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F|[[F]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|71 - U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G|[[G]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|72 - U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H|[[H]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|73 - U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I|[[I]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|74 - U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J|[[J]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|75 - U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K|[[K]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|76 - U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L|[[L]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|77 - U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M|[[M]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|78 - U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N|[[N]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|79 - U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O|[[O]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|5x}}
|{{chset-cell1|80 - U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P|[[P]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|81 - U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q|[[Q]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|82 - U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R|[[R]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|83 - U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S|[[S]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|84 - U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T|[[T]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|85 - U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U|[[U]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|86 - U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V|[[V]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|87 - U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W|[[W]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|88 - U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X|[[X]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|89 - U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y|[[Y]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|90 - U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z|[[Z]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|91 - U+005B LEFT SQUARE BRACKET|[[Square brackets|&#91;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|92 - U+005C REVERSE SOLIDUS|[[Backslash|\]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|93 - U+005D RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET|[[Square brackets|&#93;]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|94 - U+005E CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT|[[Circumflex|^]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|95 - U+005F LOW LINE|[[Underscore|_]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|6x}}
|{{chset-cell1|96 - U+00A1 INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK|¡|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|97 - U+0061 LATIN SMALL LETTER A|[[a]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|98 - U+0062 LATIN SMALL LETTER B|[[b]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|99 - U+0063 LATIN SMALL LETTER C|[[c]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|100 - U+0064 LATIN SMALL LETTER D|[[d]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|101 - U+0065 LATIN SMALL LETTER E|[[e]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|102 - U+0066 LATIN SMALL LETTER F|[[f]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|103 - U+0067 LATIN SMALL LETTER G|[[g]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|104 - U+0068 LATIN SMALL LETTER H|[[h]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|105 - U+0069 LATIN SMALL LETTER I|[[i]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|106 - U+006A LATIN SMALL LETTER J|[[j]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|107 - U+006B LATIN SMALL LETTER K|[[k]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|108 - U+006C LATIN SMALL LETTER L|[[l]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|109 - U+006D LATIN SMALL LETTER M|[[m]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|110 - U+006E LATIN SMALL LETTER N|[[n]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|111 - U+006F LATIN SMALL LETTER O|[[o]]}}
|-
|{{chset-left1|7x}}
|{{chset-cell1|112 - U+0070 LATIN SMALL LETTER P|[[p]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|113 - U+0071 LATIN SMALL LETTER Q|[[q]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|114 - U+0072 LATIN SMALL LETTER R|[[r]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|115 - U+0073 LATIN SMALL LETTER S|[[s]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|116 - U+0074 LATIN SMALL LETTER T|[[t]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|117 - U+0075 LATIN SMALL LETTER U|[[u]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|118 - U+0076 LATIN SMALL LETTER V|[[v]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|119 - U+0077 LATIN SMALL LETTER W|[[w]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|120 - U+0078 LATIN SMALL LETTER X|[[x]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|121 - U+0079 LATIN SMALL LETTER Y|[[y]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|122 - U+007A LATIN SMALL LETTER Z|[[z]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|123 - U+00C4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS|Ä|style=background:#EFF}}
|{{chset-cell1|124 - U+007C VERTICAL LINE|[[Vertical bar|{{pipe}}]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|125 - U+1F8B0 ARROW POINTING UPWARDS THEN NORTH WEST|[[🢰]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|126 - U+25C0 BLACK LEFT-POINTING TRIANGLE|[[◀]]}}
|{{chset-cell1|127 - U+25B6 BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE|[[▶]]}}
|-
|{{chset-table-footer1|
{{legend|#EFF|Differs from standard ATASCII}}
}}
|}

==Control characters==
ATASCII has 16 control characters, defined in four separate ranges (0x1B to 0x1F, 0x7D to 0x7F, 0x8B to 0x8F, and 0xFD to 0xFF).<ref name="400/800 manual"/> This is a key difference between ASCII and ATASCII—in ASCII, there are 32 control characters, defined in the range 0 to 31 (0x00 to 0x1F).

All ATASCII control characters except [[Newline|End of Line]] (0x9B) have a graphic representation, which can be produced by [[Escape character|escaping]] that character by pressing the [[Escape key]] before inputting that control character.<ref name="400/800 manual"/> For example, typing "Escape" followed by "cursor right" will produce a right arrow. Uniquely, the End of Line control character always renders a newline, regardless of the presence of a preceding escape character.<ref name="400/800 manual"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ ATASCII control characters<ref name="Mapping the Atari"/>
|-
! [[Hexadecimal|Hex]] !! Decimal !! Function !! Keystroke
|-
| 1B || align=right | 27 || [[Escape key]] || {{keypress|ESC}}
|-
| 1C || align=right | 28 || Cursor Up || {{keypress|CTRL|-}}
|-
| 1D || align=right | 29 || Cursor Down || {{keypress|CTRL|{{=}}}}
|-
| 1E || align=right | 30 || Cursor Left || {{keypress|CTRL|+}}
|-
| 1F || align=right | 31 || Cursor Right || {{keypress|CTRL|*}}
|-
| 7D || align=right | 125 || Clear Screen || {{keypress|CTRL|<}} or {{keypress|SHIFT|<}}
|-
| 7E || align=right | 126 || Delete ||  {{keypress|BACKSPACE}}
|-
| 7F || align=right | 127 || [[Tab key|Tab]] ||  {{keypress|TAB}}
|-
| 9B || align=right | 155 || [[Newline|End of line]] ||  {{keypress|RETURN}}
|-
| 9C || align=right | 156 || Delete Line || {{keypress|SHIFT|BACKSPACE}}
|-
| 9D || align=right | 157 || Insert Line || {{keypress|SHIFT|>}}
|-
| 9E || align=right | 158 || Clear [[Tab stop]] || {{keypress|CTRL|TAB}}
|-
| 9F || align=right | 159 || Set [[Tab stop]]|| {{keypress|SHIFT|TAB}}
|-
| FD || align=right | 253 || [[Bell character|Buzzer]] || {{keypress|CTRL|2}}
|-
| FE || align=right | 254 || Delete Character || {{keypress|CTRL|BACKSPACE}}
|-
| FF || align=right | 255 || Insert Character || {{keypress|CTRL|>}}
|}

==Inter-operation==
The differences between character representation can cause problems during modem communication between Ataris and other computers. Cursor movement commands (and even carriage returns and line feeds) from computers not using ATASCII will be nonsense on an Atari, and vice versa. Terminal programs need to translate between ATASCII and standard ASCII.

Some Atari-based [[Bulletin board system|BBS]]s exploited this difference by asking the client to hit the "Return" key. If it got 13 (ASCII CR), then standard ASCII would be used. If it got 155 (ATASCII CR) it would switch to ATASCII, allowing full use of the ATASCII graphic set. Some Atari BBSs would also block features (or even block access completely) for non-Atari users.{{cn|date=August 2021}}

Text files encoded in ATASCII also need conversion to be viewed on modern PCs and ''vice versa''—utilities are available to facilitate this.<ref>{{cite web |title=ATASCII |url=http://justsolve.archiveteam.org/wiki/ATASCII |website=Just Solve the File Format Problem}}</ref>

==ATASCII animations==
The control codes in ATASCII are transmissible to other computers such as BBSs, and crude animations are possible. These animations, also known as "break movies", often take the form of short cartoons, and were a popular feature of Atari BBSs in their heyday.<ref>{{cite web |title=AtasciiTube |author-first=Josh |author-last=Renaud |date=April 2016 |url=https://breakintochat.com/collections/atascii/ |website=Break Into Chat |publisher=self-published}}</ref>

Because cursor control operations are represented with a single character (as opposed to multi-byte sequences that were common in other schemes, like [[ANSI Art|ANSI]] or [[VT100]]), it is quite easy to make these animations. They can be created by a short BASIC program that captures keyboard commands, echoes them to the screen and saves them to a file.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Ratcliff |first1=Matthew |title=Atari 'Toons |date=August 1985 |magazine=[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]] |volume=4 |issue=4 |url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n4/toons.html}}</ref> The Atari also allowed commands to be typed and captured as part of its operating system. Of course this required care to get it right, but after a few attempts it normally became quite easy. The simple capture programs didn't have editing features, so ATASCII movies frequently had errors that were corrected by repositioning the cursor and printing over the mistake.

==See also==
* [[Semigraphics]]
* [[Extended ASCII]]
* [[ASCII]]
* [[Atari ST character set]]
* [[Apple II character set]]
* [[PETSCII]]
* [[TRS-80 character set]]
* [[ZX Spectrum character set]]

==References==
{{reflist|
<ref name="INSIGHT: Atari">{{cite magazine |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Bill |date=March 1986 |title=INSIGHT: Atari—Atari Character Codes |url=https://archive.org/details/1986-03-compute-magazine/mode/2up |magazine=[[Compute!]] |publisher=Compute! Publications |volume=8 |issue=70 |pages=112–113 |issn=0194-357X}}</ref>
<ref name="Basics of Atari Graphics">{{cite book |last1=Halfhill |first1=Tom R. |title=Compute!'s First Book of Atari Graphics |date=1982 |publisher=Compute! Books |isbn=978-0-942386-08-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-computes-first-book-of-atari-graphics/mode/2up |chapter=The Basics of Atari Graphics}}</ref>
<ref name="Mapping the Atari">{{cite book |last1=Chadwick |first1=Ian |title=Mapping the Atari |date=1985 |publisher=Compute! Books |isbn=0874550041 |edition=Revised |url=https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-mapping-the-atari/mode/2up |chapter=Appendix 10 - ATASCII And Internal Character Code Values |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-mapping-the-atari/page/n213/mode/2up |pages=180–181}}</ref>
<ref name="Reading the Keyboard Codes">{{cite book |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |author-link1=Orson Scott Card |title=Compute!'s Third Book of Atari |date=1984 |publisher=Compute! Books |isbn=978-0-942386-18-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/ataribooks-computes-third-book-of-atari/mode/2up |chapter=Reading the Keyboard Codes}}</ref>
<ref name="400/800 manual">{{cite book |title=Atari 400/800: Atari Home Computer Operating System User's Manual |date=1982 |publisher=Atari |pages=68–70, 183–184 |url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_atari40080mputerTechnicalReferenceNotes1982_20170986/mode/2up}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
*[http://raster.infos.cz/atari/chars/atascii.htm ATASCII concise graphical overview] (4.2KB [[Graphics Interchange Format|GIF]] image)
*[http://damieng.com/blog/2011/02/20/typography-in-8-bits-system-fonts Typography in 8 bits: System fonts]

{{character encoding}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atascii}}
[[Category:Character sets]]
[[Category:Atari 8-bit computers]]
[[Category:ASCII]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1979]]