Classic DOS Codes: 1 to 255
Before Windows, this was the entire character set: code page 437, built for the first IBM PC in 1981. It packed in card suits, smiley faces, box drawing pieces for text-mode borders, and enough accented letters to cover Western Europe, all inside a single byte.
Modern Windows keeps these codes working for compatibility, though most people now reach the same glyphs through Unicode instead. This page is the full original set, numbers 1 through 255, smiley faces included.
Questions
What is the Alt code for the smiley face?
Alt+1 for the white smiling face, Alt+2 for the solid black version, both original code page 437 characters.
Are box drawing characters still useful?
Yes, in terminal and command-line interfaces, ASCII art, and anywhere text-mode borders are drawn using plain characters.
Why does this code page only go up to 255?
Code page 437 packs every character into a single eight-bit byte, so 255 is the highest number available.
Why is the DOS character set called code page 437?
IBM numbered its character sets for the original PC, and 437 was the identifier given to the US English version shipped with early DOS machines.
Do these characters still work in a modern Windows command prompt?
Mostly. The command prompt can still render code page 437, though many terminals default to Unicode instead, which covers the same characters without needing an Alt code at all.