num2char
num2char (num [, options ])
The num2char function returns a string containing a character.
The options parameter was added in Igor Pro 7.00 and defaults to 0.
As of Igor 7, Igor represents text internally as UTF-8, a form of Unicode. Previously it represented text as system text encoding. Because of this change, the behavior of num2char is complicated.
Recommended use of num2char in Igor 7 or later
If num is a Unicode code point, pass 0 for options and num2char will return a UTF-8 string containing the character for the Unicode code point represented by num .
If you want a string containing a single byte, even though it may not be a valid UTF-8 string, pass 1 for options and num2char will return a string containing the single byte whose value is num , provided that num is between 0 and 255.
Detailed description of num2char in Igor 7 or later
If num is between 0 and 127, num2char returns a string containing a single byte whose value is num . This represents an ASCII character.
If num is between 128 and 255 and options is 1, num2char returns a string containing a single byte whose value is num . This is not valid UTF-8 text, but it is consistent with the behavior of num2char in Igor 6.
If num is between 128 and 255 and options is 0 or omitted, num2char returns the UTF-8 representation of the character for the Unicode code point represented by num .
If num is greater than 255, num2char returns the UTF-8 representation of the character for the Unicode code point represented by num regardless of the value of options .
If you provide the options parameter, it must be either 0 or 1. Other values may be used for other purposes in the future.
Examples
Print num2char(65) // Prints A
Print num2char(97) // Prints a
Print num2char(0xF7) // Prints division sign
Print num2char(0xF7,0) // Prints division sign
Print num2char(0xF7,1) // Prints missing character symbol
Print num2char(0x0127) // Prints small letter h with stroke (h-bar)
Print num2char(0x0127,0) // Prints small letter h with stroke (h-bar)
Print num2char(0x0127,1) // Prints small letter h with stroke (h-bar)
// In the case of num2char(0xF7,1), num2char returns a string containing
// a single byte whose value is 0xF7. This is not a valid UTF-8 string.