^CW - Font Identifier
Assigns a downloaded font to one of the single-letter font slots.
Every built-in font has a one-character name, and ^CW is how a downloaded font
joins them. Bind a file to a letter once, and the rest of the format can use it
with ordinary ^A and ^CF commands. The letter is exactly one character.
^CWQ,R:ARIAL.TTF assigns to Q, and a longer name before the comma is a
misparse rather than a longer slot name.
Syntax
^CWa,d:o.xSupport
Every documented parameter renders the same output Labelary produces.
A letter aliased to a path on Z: selects that built-in font for ^A and ^CF alike, and the alias outlives the format that set it. A path a ~DY font download occupies is accepted and reports only the remapping note, as on Labelary, but no alias to a downloaded face is made. A path this printer has no font for is rejected with RESOURCE_MISSING and leaves the letter as it was, which is what Labelary does. — not pinned by a test
Labelary renders this command. Scheduled for milestone 5.9.
Parameters
aFont letterrequired · single characterThe single letter or digit, A to Z or 0 to 9, for the font, which ^A and ^CF then select. A reassigned built-in letter replaces that font until the next power-off.
- Invalid value
- discarded, and the current value is kept. Measured on 2026-08-21. An omitted letter reports
Command was ignored because font name was not specifiedand makes no alias. A value longer than one character is trimmed to its first character, reported, and then applied. A character outsideA-Zand0-9is reported as not valid and makes no alias. The letter is read without regard to case, so^CWzand^CWZare the same slot. A letter that already names a built-in font is remapped, and the remapping is reported. That report appears only when the alias actually takes. A built-in letter paired with a missing file reports the file alone. - Test coverage
- The invalid-value rule is pinned by 1 test.
d:o.xFont filerequired · textThe font to assign, as device, name and extension: R:, E:, B: or A:, a name of up to eight characters, and .FNT or .TTF.
- Invalid value
- discarded, and the current value is kept. A file the printer does not have is reported, and the letter keeps the font it already had. A letter with no built-in font therefore still reports
Font 'x' does not existwhen^Aselects it. Unlike^A@'s, this slot has no absent case: an omitted or empty name reads asR:UNKNOWN.FNTand is reported missing, which the guide describes and we measured on 2026-08-21. - Test coverage
- The invalid-value rule is not pinned by a test.
Behavior
The letter decides what the assignment means. ^CW replaces a letter that
already names a built-in font: A to H, 0, GS. Every field that asks for
that font gets the downloaded one instead, and nothing else in the format changes.
A letter with no built-in font behind it — I to O, W to Z, 1 to 9 —
becomes an additional font.
Both kinds of assignment last until the printer switches off, and an addition also
ends when a later ^CW reassigns the letter. Neither survives a power cycle, so a
format that depends on an alias must set the alias itself rather than trust an
earlier job.
^CW must come before the fields that use the letter, and the font must be in
memory first. Use a ~DT, ~DU, ~DB or ~DS download, or a font that ships on
the printer. Labelary's reference states that Labelary ignores a ^CW that names a
file that does not exist, so the letter keeps its previous meaning.
^A@ is the alternative and needs no slot: it names the file directly, per
field. Prefer ^CW where many fields share one downloaded font, and ^A@ for a
single field.
Tested behavior
Differences from the specification
Example
Aliasing the letter Q to a font that is present without any download — Z:0.FNT is the scalable font 0 — so the effect is visible in a render:
^XA
^CWQ,Z:0.FNT
^FO50,40^AQN,40^FDFont Q is now font 0^FS
^FO50,110^A0N,40^FDFont 0 for comparison^FS
^XZ
Related commands
^AScalable / Bitmapped FontSelects the font, rotation and size for the following field.^A@Use Font Name to Call FontSelects a downloaded or built-in font by file name rather than by letter.~DTDownload TrueType FontDownloads a TrueType font.~DUDownload Unbounded TrueType FontDownloads a TrueType font with a full, unrestricted character set.^CMChange Memory Letter DesignationReassigns the drive letters `B:`, `E:`, `R:` and `A:` to different physical storage devices.