Windows-1256

Windows-1256 is a code page used to write Arabic (and possibly some other languages that use Arabic script, like Persian and Urdu) under Microsoft Windows.  This code page is not compatible with ISO 8859-6 and MacArabic encodings.

It encodes every abstract single letter of the basic Arabic alphabet, not every concrete visual form of isolated, initial, medial, final or ligatured letter shape variants (i.e. it encodes characters, not glyphs). The Arabic letters in the C0-FF range are in Arabic alphabetic order, but some Latin characters are interspersed among them. These are some Windows-1252 Latin characters used for French, since this European language has some historic relevance in former French colonies in North Africa such as Morocco and Algeria. This allowed French and Arabic text to be intermixed when using Windows 1256 without any need for code-page switching (however, upper-case letters with diacritics were not included).

Unicode and UTF-8 are preferred to Windows 1256 in modern applications.

Code page layout

The following table shows Windows-1256. Each character is shown with its Unicode equivalent and its decimal code.

Here every Arabic letter is shown in isolated form. The actual forms of the letters inside Arabic words are rendered by a combination of software rules and appropriate font support.

  Letter   Number   Punctuation   Symbol   Other   Undefined

Windows-1256

	_0	_1	_2	_3	_4	_5	_6	_7	_8	_9	_A	_B	_C	_D	_E	_F
0_	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|NUL 0000 0	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|SOH 0001 1	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|STX 0002 2	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|ETX 0003 3	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|EOT 0004 4	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|ENQ 0005 5	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|ACK 0006 6	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|BEL 0007 7	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|BS 0008 8	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|HT 0009 9	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|LF 000A 10	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|VT 000B 11	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|FF 000C 12	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|CR 000D 13	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|SO 000E 14	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|SI 000F 15
1_	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|DLE 0010 16	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|DC1 0011 17	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|DC2 0012 18	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|DC3 0013 19	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|DC4 0014 20	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|NAK 0015 21	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|SYN 0016 22	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|ETB 0017 23	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|CAN 0018 24	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|EM 0019 25	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|SUB 001A 26	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|ESC 001B 27	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|FS 001C 28	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|GS 001D 29	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|RS 001E 30	Template:Chset-color-ctrl|US 001F 31
2_	Template:Chset-color-punct|SP 0020 32	Template:Chset-color-punct|! 0021 33	Template:Chset-color-punct|" 0022 34	Template:Chset-color-punct|# 0023 35	Template:Chset-color-punct|$ 0024 36	Template:Chset-color-punct|% 0025 37	Template:Chset-color-punct|& 0026 38	Template:Chset-color-punct|' 0027 39	Template:Chset-color-punct|( 0028 40	Template:Chset-color-punct|) 0029 41	Template:Chset-color-punct|* 002A 42	Template:Chset-color-punct|+ 002B 43	Template:Chset-color-punct|, 002C 44	Template:Chset-color-punct|- 002D 45	Template:Chset-color-punct|. 002E 46	Template:Chset-color-punct|/ 002F 47
3_	Template:Chset-color-digit|0 0030 48	Template:Chset-color-digit|1 0031 49	Template:Chset-color-digit|2 0032 50	Template:Chset-color-digit|3 0033 51	Template:Chset-color-digit|4 0034 52	Template:Chset-color-digit|5 0035 53	Template:Chset-color-digit|6 0036 54	Template:Chset-color-digit|7 0037 55	Template:Chset-color-digit|8 0038 56	Template:Chset-color-digit|9 0039 57	Template:Chset-color-punct|: 003A 58	Template:Chset-color-punct|; 003B 59	Template:Chset-color-punct|< 003C 60	Template:Chset-color-punct|= 003D 61	Template:Chset-color-punct|> 003E 62	Template:Chset-color-punct|? 003F 63
4_	Template:Chset-color-punct|@ 0040 64	Template:Chset-color-alpha|A 0041 65	Template:Chset-color-alpha|B 0042 66	Template:Chset-color-alpha|C 0043 67	Template:Chset-color-alpha|D 0044 68	Template:Chset-color-alpha|E 0045 69	Template:Chset-color-alpha|F 0046 70	Template:Chset-color-alpha|G 0047 71	Template:Chset-color-alpha|H 0048 72	Template:Chset-color-alpha|I 0049 73	Template:Chset-color-alpha|J 004A 74	Template:Chset-color-alpha|K 004B 75	Template:Chset-color-alpha|L 004C 76	Template:Chset-color-alpha|M 004D 77	Template:Chset-color-alpha|N 004E 78	Template:Chset-color-alpha|O 004F 79
5_	Template:Chset-color-alpha|P 0050 80	Template:Chset-color-alpha|Q 0051 81	Template:Chset-color-alpha|R 0052 82	Template:Chset-color-alpha|S 0053 83	Template:Chset-color-alpha|T 0054 84	Template:Chset-color-alpha|U 0055 85	Template:Chset-color-alpha|V 0056 86	Template:Chset-color-alpha|W 0057 87	Template:Chset-color-alpha|X 0058 88	Template:Chset-color-alpha|Y 0059 89	Template:Chset-color-alpha|Z 005A 90	Template:Chset-color-punct|[ 005B 91	Template:Chset-color-punct|\ 005C 92	Template:Chset-color-punct|] 005D 93	Template:Chset-color-punct|^ 005E 94	Template:Chset-color-punct|_ 005F 95
6_	Template:Chset-color-punct|` 0060 96	Template:Chset-color-alpha|a 0061 97	Template:Chset-color-alpha|b 0062 98	Template:Chset-color-alpha|c 0063 99	Template:Chset-color-alpha|d 0064 100	Template:Chset-color-alpha|e 0065 101	Template:Chset-color-alpha|f 0066 102	Template:Chset-color-alpha|g 0067 103	Template:Chset-color-alpha|h 0068 104	Template:Chset-color-alpha|i 0069 105	Template:Chset-color-alpha|j 006A 106	Template:Chset-color-alpha|k 006B 107	Template:Chset-color-alpha|l 006C 108	Template:Chset-color-alpha|m 006D 109	Template:Chset-color-alpha|n 006E 110	Template:Chset-color-alpha|o 006F 111
7_	Template:Chset-color-alpha|p 0070 112	Template:Chset-color-alpha|q 0071 113	Template:Chset-color-alpha|r 0072 114	Template:Chset-color-alpha|s 0073 115	Template:Chset-color-alpha|t 0074 116	Template:Chset-color-alpha|u 0075 117	Template:Chset-color-alpha|v 0076 118	Template:Chset-color-alpha|w 0077 119	Template:Chset-color-alpha|x 0078 120	Template:Chset-color-alpha|y 0079 121	Template:Chset-color-alpha|z 007A 122	Template:Chset-color-punct|{ 007B 123	Template:Chset-color-punct|| 007C 124	Template:Chset-color-punct|} 007D 125	Template:Chset-color-punct|~ 007E 126	Template:Chset-color-ctrl |DEL 007F 127
8_	Template:Chset-color-punct|€ 20AC 128	Template:Chset-color-intl|پ 067E 129	Template:Chset-color-punct|‚ 201A 130	Template:Chset-color-punct|ƒ 0192 131	Template:Chset-color-punct|„ 201E 132	Template:Chset-color-punct|… 2026 133	Template:Chset-color-punct|† 2020 134	Template:Chset-color-punct|‡ 2021 135	Template:Chset-color-punct|ˆ 02C6 136	Template:Chset-color-punct|‰ 2030 137	Template:Chset-color-intl|ٹ 0679 138	Template:Chset-color-punct|‹ 2039 139	Template:Chset-color-intl|Œ 0152 140	Template:Chset-color-intl|چ 0686 141	Template:Chset-color-intl|ژ 0698 142	Template:Chset-color-intl|ڈ 0688 143
9_	Template:Chset-color-intl|گ 06AF 144	Template:Chset-color-punct|‘ 2018 145	Template:Chset-color-punct|’ 2019 146	Template:Chset-color-punct|“ 201C 147	Template:Chset-color-punct|” 201D 148	Template:Chset-color-punct|• 2022 149	Template:Chset-color-punct|– 2013 150	Template:Chset-color-punct|— 2014 151	Template:Chset-color-intl|ک 06A9 152	Template:Chset-color-punct|™ 2122 153	Template:Chset-color-intl|ڑ 0691 154	Template:Chset-color-punct|› 203A 155	Template:Chset-color-intl|œ 0153 156	Template:Chset-color-punct|ZWNJ 200C 157	Template:Chset-color-punct|ZWJ 200D 158	Template:Chset-color-intl|ں 06BA 159
A_	Template:Chset-color-punct|NBSP 00A0 160	Template:Chset-color-punct|، 060C 161	Template:Chset-color-punct|¢ 00A2 162	Template:Chset-color-punct|£ 00A3 163	Template:Chset-color-punct|¤ 00A4 164	Template:Chset-color-punct|¥ 00A5 165	Template:Chset-color-punct|¦ 00A6 166	Template:Chset-color-punct|§ 00A7 167	Template:Chset-color-punct|¨ 00A8 168	Template:Chset-color-punct|© 00A9 169	Template:Chset-color-intl|ھ 06BE 170	Template:Chset-color-punct|« 00AB 171	Template:Chset-color-punct|¬ 00AC 172	Template:Chset-color-punct|SHY 00AD 173	Template:Chset-color-punct|® 00AE 174	Template:Chset-color-punct|¯ 00AF 175
B_	Template:Chset-color-punct|° 00B0 176	Template:Chset-color-punct|± 00B1 177	Template:Chset-color-punct|² 00B2 178	Template:Chset-color-punct|³ 00B3 179	Template:Chset-color-punct|´ 00B4 180	Template:Chset-color-punct|µ 00B5 181	Template:Chset-color-punct|¶ 00B6 182	Template:Chset-color-punct|· 00B7 183	Template:Chset-color-punct|¸ 00B8 184	Template:Chset-color-punct|¹ 00B9 185	Template:Chset-color-punct|؛ 061B 186	Template:Chset-color-punct|» 00BB 187	Template:Chset-color-punct|¼ 00BC 188	Template:Chset-color-punct|½ 00BD 189	Template:Chset-color-punct|¾ 00BE 190	Template:Chset-color-punct|؟ 061F 191
C_	Template:Chset-color-intl|ہ 06C1 192	Template:Chset-color-intl|ء 0621 193	Template:Chset-color-intl|آ 0622 194	Template:Chset-color-intl|أ 0623 195	Template:Chset-color-intl|ؤ 0624 196	Template:Chset-color-intl|إ 0625 197	Template:Chset-color-intl|ئ 0626 198	Template:Chset-color-intl|ا 0627 199	Template:Chset-color-intl|ب 0628 200	Template:Chset-color-intl|ة 0629 201	Template:Chset-color-intl|ت 062A 202	Template:Chset-color-intl|ث 062B 203	Template:Chset-color-intl|ج 062C 204	Template:Chset-color-intl|ح 062D 205	Template:Chset-color-intl|خ 062E 206	Template:Chset-color-intl|د 062F 207
D_	Template:Chset-color-intl|ذ 0630 208	Template:Chset-color-intl|ر 0631 209	Template:Chset-color-intl|ز 0632 210	Template:Chset-color-intl|س 0633 211	Template:Chset-color-intl|ش 0634 212	Template:Chset-color-intl|ص 0635 213	Template:Chset-color-intl|ض 0636 214	Template:Chset-color-punct|× 00D7 215	Template:Chset-color-intl|ط 0637 216	Template:Chset-color-intl|ظ 0638 217	Template:Chset-color-intl|ع 0639 218	Template:Chset-color-intl|غ 063A 219	Template:Chset-color-intl|ـ 0640 220	Template:Chset-color-intl|ف 0641 221	Template:Chset-color-intl|ق 0642 222	Template:Chset-color-intl|ك 0643 223
E_	Template:Chset-color-intl|à 00E0 224	Template:Chset-color-intl|ل 0644 225	Template:Chset-color-intl|â 00E2 226	Template:Chset-color-intl|م 0645 227	Template:Chset-color-intl|ن 0646 228	Template:Chset-color-intl|ه 0647 229	Template:Chset-color-intl|و 0648 230	Template:Chset-color-intl|ç 00E7 231	Template:Chset-color-intl|è 00E8 232	Template:Chset-color-intl|é 00E9 233	Template:Chset-color-intl|ê 00EA 234	Template:Chset-color-intl|ë 00EB 235	Template:Chset-color-intl|ى 0649 236	Template:Chset-color-intl|ي 064A 237	Template:Chset-color-intl|î 00EE 238	Template:Chset-color-intl|ï 00EF 239
F_	Template:Chset-color-punct|ً 064B 240	Template:Chset-color-punct|ٌ 064C 241	Template:Chset-color-punct|ٍ 064D 242	Template:Chset-color-punct|َ 064E 243	Template:Chset-color-intl|ô 00F4 244	Template:Chset-color-punct|ُ 064F 245	Template:Chset-color-punct|ِ 0650 246	Template:Chset-color-punct|÷ 00F7 247	Template:Chset-color-punct|ّ 0651 248	Template:Chset-color-intl|ù 00F9 249	Template:Chset-color-punct|ْ 0652 250	Template:Chset-color-intl|û 00FB 251	Template:Chset-color-intl|ü 00FC 252	Template:Chset-color-punct|LRM 200E 253	Template:Chset-color-punct|RLM 200F 254	Template:Chset-color-intl|ے 06D2 255
	_0	_1	_2	_3	_4	_5	_6	_7	_8	_9	_A	_B	_C	_D	_E	_F

External links

• Windows 1256 reference chart
• IANA Charset Name Registration of windows-1256
• Unicode mapping table for Windows 1256
• Unicode mappings of windows 1256 with "best fit"