non-displaying character in oXygen 8.2 in Eclipse 3.2.2

[Graydon]

In converted DITA content (converted from Frame or Word),
we've hit the character sequence
U+F0A7 U+0020

between the end of a start tag and the initial text:
<cmd>Do something</cmd>
would have the character sequence between the > and the D.

The character sequence shows up as a space in the output; in oXygen, it doesn't display at all, though if I cursor through it the bottom bar shows the the character values, with three key presses to get from D to >.

The content validates, both in oXygen and through a Java processing chain.

Is there some way to set oXygen to display all characters, even characters that aren't mapped in Unicode? The problem isn't hard to deal with, but it's extremely hard to *see*.

-- Graydon

[sorin_ristache]

Hello,

oXygen can display the two characters only if you have a font that is able to display them installed on your computer. If you have such a font just set is as the editor font in Options -> Preferences -> Fonts -- Editor.


Regards,
Sorin

[Graydon]

F0A7 isn't going to be available in any font because it's not a defined character, at least not in Unicode 4.0.

Is there any chance of a "show me everything" mechanism, that does the little box with the codepoint thing or similar?

The other problem is that the space *next* to the F0A7 character didn't show either, and it ought to have.

I can attach the full files if you want, but what I've got is:

<cmd> Power up the system and boot into Windows XP. </cmd>

In oXygen 8.2 on Eclipse 3.2.2, there is *no* space showing between the > and the P. This is with the default font, with Eclipse hosted by Windows XP SP2.

[sorin_ristache]

Hello,

The text displayed in an Eclipse editor is rendered using the font set for that type of editor. If the font contains that character in the set of characters that it can display then you see the character in the editor otherwise you cannot see it with that font. This is the rule for displaying characters in an Eclipse editor and as an Eclipse plugin the oXygen plugin cannot have other type of editor.

For example open the same file with the Eclipse text editor and see if the character is rendered with the text editor font. You can set this font in Options -> Preferences -> General -> Appearance -> Colors and Fonts. For oXygen editors the font is set in Options -> Preferences -> oXygen -> Editor.


Regards,
Sorin

[Graydon]

Hi Sorin --

I don't believe this is a font issue.

With oXygen 8.2 in Eclipse, whether or not it's Arial MS Unicode, Courier New, the Eclipse default font (same as the text editor is using), or several randomly selected open type fonts, I continue to see <cmd>P with absolutely nothing displayed between them. The two characters hidden between the > and the P are certainly there in the file; the unicode code points for these show in the bottom bar if I use the arrow keys to cursor over them. Note that one of these characters is a plain ASCII space (U+0020), and I cannot believe that *any* font doesn't have this character!

If I open the same file in the Eclipse text editor, I see characters between the > and the P. (dotted lowercase i, comma, double S, space, which is presumably what U+F0A7 U+0020 decays into.)

If I open the same files in oXygen 7.2 in Eclipse on Linux, I see the box-with-the-codepoint character and a space between the > and the P. Standalone 8.2 displays a black box and the space.

I have screencaps of all this but nowhere to host it; please send me an email address if you want these or the XML files.[/img]

[sorin_ristache]

Hello,

Please send a sample XML file, the screenshots and specify the font set and where you set it in Eclipse preferences.


Regards,
Sorin