ASCII 18
ASCII 18 is Device Control 2 — the control character DC2.
Every representation
| Character | DC2 (not printable) |
| Name | Device Control 2 |
| Decimal | 18 |
| Hexadecimal | 0x12 |
| Octal | 0022 |
| Binary | 00010010 |
| HTML entity |  |
| Escape sequence | \x12 |
| Unicode | U+0012 |
| Keyboard | Ctrl+R |
| Group | Control character |
What it is for
A general device control signal with no fixed modern meaning.
Where the number comes from
Codes 0 to 31 were reserved for control: instructions to a teleprinter rather than characters to print. Code 18 is Ctrl+R because the Ctrl key was originally wired to clear the top two bits of whatever you typed, mapping the letter R at 82 down to 18.
Frequently asked questions
What is ASCII 18?
Device Control 2 (DC2), a control character. In hexadecimal it is 0x12, in octal 0022, and in binary 00010010.
How do I type ASCII 18?
Press Ctrl+R in a terminal. In a string literal you can write it as \\x12 in most languages.
Is ASCII 18 printable?
No. Codes 0 to 31 and 127 are control characters — they were instructions to a teleprinter rather than marks on paper, and most terminals show nothing for them.
Nearby codes
- ASCII 11 — VT
- ASCII 12 — FF
- ASCII 13 — CR
- ASCII 14 — SO
- ASCII 15 — SI
- ASCII 16 — DLE
- ASCII 17 — DC1
- ASCII 19 — DC3
- ASCII 20 — DC4
- ASCII 21 — NAK
- ASCII 22 — SYN
- ASCII 23 — ETB
- ASCII 24 — CAN
- ASCII 25 — EM
Full ASCII table · Text to binary converter · Number base converter