Editing Control character (section)

{{Short description|Code point in a character set, that does not represent a written symbol}}
{{Redirect|Non-printable character|characters in text applications|Non-printing character in word processors}}
{{Distinguish|Escape character}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2007}}

In [[computing]] and [[telecommunications]], a '''control character''' or '''non-printing character''' ('''NPC''') is a [[code point]] in a [[character encoding|character set]] that does not represent a written [[Character (computing)|character]] or symbol. They are used as [[in-band signaling]] to cause effects other than the addition of a symbol to the text. All other characters are mainly ''[[graphic character]]s'', also known as ''printing characters'' (or ''printable characters''), except perhaps for "[[space (punctuation)|space]]" characters. In the [[ASCII]] standard there are 33 control characters, such as code 7, {{tt|BEL}}, which rings a terminal bell.