Editing Baudot code (section)

==History==

==={{anchor|ITA1}}Baudot code (ITA1)===
{{Infobox character encoding
| name = Baudot code (ITA1)
| alias = International Telegraph Alphabet 1
| image = Baudot Code - from 1888 patent.png
| caption = An early version from Baudot's 1888 US patent, listing A through Z, {{du|t}} and ∗&nbsp;(Erasure)
| prev = [[Morse code]]
| next = [[#ITA2|ITA2]]
| status = Replaced by [[#ITA2|ITA2]] (not mutually compatible).
| classification = 5-bit [[state (computer science)|stateful]]{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} [[ISO Basic Latin alphabet|basic Latin]] encoding
}}
In the below table, Columns I, II, III, IV, and V show the code; the Let. and Fig. columns show the letters and numbers for the Continental and UK versions; and the sort keys present the table in the order: alphabetical, Gray and UK
{|class="wikitable collapsible sortable" style="border:none"
|+Baudot code (Continental and UK versions).<ref>in [[gray code|RBK order]]</ref>
|-
!scope="col" colspan="7" | Europe
!scope="col" colspan="2" |sort keys
!scope="col" colspan="8" | UK
!scope="col" | sort keys
|-
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|  V
! scope="col" width="10" class="unsortable"| IV 
! scope="col" width="25" colspan=2 class="unsortable"|  
! scope="col" width="10" class="unsortable"| I
! scope="col" width="10" class="unsortable"| II
! scope="col" width="10" class="unsortable"| III 
! scope="col" width="15" | Con&shy;ti&shy;nen&shy;tal
! scope="col" width="15" | [[Gray code|Gray]]
! scope="col" width="15" class="unsortable"| Let.
! scope="col" width="15" class="unsortable" | Fig. 
! scope="col" width="15" class="unsortable"  | V
! scope="col" width="15" class="unsortable" | IV
! scope="col" width="0" class="unsortable" | 
! scope="col" width="15" class="unsortable" | I
! scope="col" width="15" class="unsortable" | II
! scope="col" width="15"  class="unsortable" | III 
! scope="col" width="15" | UK
|-
|   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||     || data-sort-value="32" |  -       || data-sort-value="000"|- ||  ||     ||   ||   ||||   ||   ||      ||data-sort-value="08"|-
|-
|   ||   || A || 1 || ● ||   ||     || data-sort-value="01" |         || data-sort-value="001"| || A || 1 ||   ||   |||| ● ||   ||    ||data-sort-value="01"|
|-
|   ||   || É || & || ● || ● ||     || data-sort-value="06" |         || data-sort-value="002"| || / || <sup>1</sup>/||   ||   |||| ● || ● ||    ||data-sort-value="04"|
|-
|   ||   || E || 2 ||   || ● ||     || data-sort-value="05" |        || data-sort-value="003"| || E || 2 ||   ||   ||||   || ● ||    ||data-sort-value="02"|
|-
|   ||   || I || {{du|o}} ||   || ● || ● || data-sort-value="10" |         || data-sort-value="004"| || I || <sup>3</sup>/||   ||   ||||   || ● || ●   ||data-sort-value="05"|
|-
|   ||   || O || 5 || ● || ● || ●  || data-sort-value="16" |          || data-sort-value="005"| || O || 5 ||   ||   |||| ● || ● || ●    ||data-sort-value="07"|
|-
|   ||   || U || 4 || ● ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="22" |          || data-sort-value="006"| || U || 4 ||   ||   |||| ● ||   || ●   ||data-sort-value="06"|
|-
|   ||   || Y || 3 ||   ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="26" |          || data-sort-value="007"| || Y || 3 ||   ||   ||||   ||   || ●    ||data-sort-value="03"|
|-
|   || ● || B || 8 ||   ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="02" |         || data-sort-value="010"| || B || 8 ||   || ● ||||   ||   || ●    ||data-sort-value="11"|
|-
|   || ● || C || 9 || ● ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="03" |         || data-sort-value="011"| || C || 9 ||   || ● |||| ● ||   || ●   ||data-sort-value="14"|
|-
|   || ● || D || 0 || ● || ● || ●  || data-sort-value="04" |         || data-sort-value="012"| || D || 0 ||   || ● |||| ● || ● || ●    ||data-sort-value="15"|
|-
|   || ● || F || {{du|f}} ||   || ● || ●   || data-sort-value="07"|         || data-sort-value="013"| || F || <sup>5</sup>/||   || ● ||||   || ● || ●   ||data-sort-value="13"|
|-collapsed
|   || ● || G || 7 ||   || ● ||     || data-sort-value="08" |         || data-sort-value="014"| || G || 7 ||   || ● ||||   || ● ||     ||data-sort-value="10"|
|-
|   || ● || H || {{du|h}} || ● || ● ||    || data-sort-value="09" |         || data-sort-value="015" | || H || ¹ ||   || ● |||| ● || ● ||     ||data-sort-value="12"|
|- 
|   || ● || J || 6 || ● ||   ||  || data-sort-value="11" |         || data-sort-value="016 " | || J || 6 ||   || ● |||| ● ||   ||     ||data-sort-value="09"|
|-
|   || ● ||  ''Figure''  || ''Blank'' || || || ||data-sort-value="30" |         || data-sort-value="017" | ||  ''Fig.''  || ''Bl.'' ||   || ● ||||   ||   ||   ||data-sort-value="16"|
|-
| ● || ● ||   ''Erasure'' ||   ''Erasure'' || || || ||data-sort-value="29" |         || data-sort-value="020" | || * || * || ● || ● ||||   ||   ||   ||data-sort-value="32"|
|-
| ● || ● || K || ( || ● ||   ||    || data-sort-value="12" |         || data-sort-value="021" | || K || ( || ● || ● |||| ● ||   ||   ||data-sort-value="25"|
|-
| ● || ● || L || = || ● || ● ||    || data-sort-value="13" |         || data-sort-value="022" | || L || = || ● || ● |||| ● || ● ||   ||data-sort-value="28"|
|-
| ● || ● || M || ) ||   || ● ||    || data-sort-value="14" |         || data-sort-value="023" | || M || ) || ● || ● ||||   || ● ||   ||data-sort-value="26"|
|-
| ● || ● || N || N°||   || ● || ●  || data-sort-value="15" |         || data-sort-value="024" | || N || £ || ● || ● ||||   || ● || ● ||data-sort-value="29 "|
|-
| ● || ● || P || % || ● || ● || ●  || data-sort-value="17" |         || data-sort-value="025" | || P || + || ● || ● |||| ● || ● || ● ||data-sort-value="31"|
|-
| ● || ● || Q || / || ● ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="18" |         || data-sort-value="026" | || Q || / || ● || ● |||| ● ||   || ● ||data-sort-value="30"|
|-
| ● || ● || R || – ||   ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="19" |         || data-sort-value="027" | || R || – || ● || ● ||||   ||   || ● ||data-sort-value="27"|
|-
| ● ||   || S || ; ||   ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="20" |         || data-sort-value="030" | || S || <sup>7</sup>/|| ● ||   ||||   ||   || ●  ||data-sort-value="19"|
|-
| ● ||   || T || ! || ● ||   || ●  || data-sort-value="21" |         || data-sort-value="031" | || T || ² || ● ||   |||| ● ||   || ● ||data-sort-value="22"|
|-
| ● ||   || V || ' || ● || ● || ●  || data-sort-value="23" |         || data-sort-value="032" | || V || ¹ || ● ||   |||| ● || ● || ● ||data-sort-value="23"|
|-
| ● ||   || W || ? ||   || ● || ●  || data-sort-value="24" |         || data-sort-value="033" | || W || ? || ● ||   ||||   || ● || ● ||data-sort-value="21"|
|-
| ● ||   || X ||, ||   || ● ||     || data-sort-value="25" |         || data-sort-value="034" | || X || <sup>9</sup>/|| ● ||   ||||   || ● ||  ||data-sort-value="18"|
|-
| ● ||   || Z || : || ● || ● ||    || data-sort-value="27" |         || data-sort-value="035" | || Z || : || ● ||   |||| ● || ● ||    ||data-sort-value="20"|
|-
| ● ||   || {{du|t}} || . || ● ||   ||   || data-sort-value="28" |          || data-sort-value="036" | || – || . || ● ||   |||| ● ||   ||     ||data-sort-value="17"|
|-
| ● ||   ||   ''Blank'' ||''Letter'' ||  || || ||data-sort-value="31" |         || data-sort-value="037" | ||  ''Bl.''||   ''Let.''    || ● ||   ||||   ||   ||   ||data-sort-value="24"|
|}

Baudot developed his first multiplexed telegraph in 1872<ref name=emmons/><ref name="Fischer_2000">{{cite web |author-last=Fischer |author-first=Eric N. |date=2000-06-20 |title=The Evolution of Character Codes, 1874–1968 |url=https://archive.org/details/enf-ascii |access-date=2020-12-20 |id=ark:/13960/t07x23w8s |quote=[...] In 1872, [Baudot] started research toward a telegraph system that would allow multiple operators to transmit simultaneously over a single wire and, as the transmissions were received, would print them in ordinary alphabetic characters on a strip of paper. He received a patent for such a system on June 17, 1874. [...] Instead of a variable delay followed by a single-unit pulse, Baudot's system used a uniform six time units to transmit each character. [...] his early telegraph probably used the six-unit code [...] that he attributes to [[Edward Davy|Davy]] in an 1877 article. [...] in 1876 Baudot redesigned his equipment to use a five-unit code. Punctuation and digits were still sometimes needed, though, so he adopted from [[David Edward Hughes|Hughes]] the use of two special letter space and figure space characters that would cause the printer to shift between cases at the same time as it advanced the paper without printing. The five-unit code he began using at this time [...] was structured to suit his keyboard [...], which controlled two units of each character with switches operated by the left hand and the other three units with the right hand. [...]}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20180919020435/http://index-of.es/Varios-2/ASCII%20The%20Evolution%20of%20Character%20Codes.pdf][https://archive.org/details/enf-ascii]</ref> and patented it in 1874.<ref name="Fischer_2000"/><ref name="Baudot_1874">{{cite web |author-first=Jean-Maurice-Émile |author-last=Baudot |author-link=Jean-Maurice-Émile Baudot |title=Système de télégraphie rapide |language=fr |date=June 1874 |id=Patent Brevet 103,898 |publisher=Archives [[Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle]] (INPI) |url=http://leoferres.info/images/baudot_cp1874.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216144029/http://leoferres.info/images/baudot_cp1874.jpg |archive-date=2017-12-16}}</ref> In 1876, he changed from a six-bit code to a five-bit code,<ref name="Fischer_2000"/> as suggested by [[Carl Friedrich Gauss]] and [[Wilhelm Eduard Weber|Wilhelm Weber]] in 1834,<ref name=emmons>{{cite journal
|journal=Wire & Radio Communications
|title=Printer Systems
|author=H. A. Emmons
|date=1 May 1916
|volume=34
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ozopAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA209
|page=209
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|journal=Transactions
|publisher=American Institute of Electrical Engineers
|title=A New Page-Printing Telegraph
|author=William V. Vansize
|date=25 January 1901
|volume=18
|page=22
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlNLAAAAMAAJ&q=gauss+weber+baudot&pg=PA22
}}</ref>
with equal on and off intervals, which allowed for transmission of the Roman alphabet, and included punctuation and control signals. The code itself was not patented (only the machine) because French patent law does not allow concepts to be patented.<ref>Procès d'Amiens Baudot vs Mimault</ref>

Baudot's 5-bit code was adapted to be sent from a manual keyboard, and no teleprinter equipment was ever constructed that used it in its original form.<ref name = "TomJennings-Baudot">{{Cite web |last1=Jennings |first1=Tom |author-link=Tom Jennings |title=An annotated history of some character codes: Baudot's code |year=2020 |url=https://www.sr-ix.com/Archive/CharCodeHist/index.html#BAUDOT}}</ref> The code was entered on a keyboard which had just five piano-type keys and was operated using two fingers of the left hand and three fingers of the right hand. Once the keys had been pressed, they were locked down until mechanical contacts in a distributor unit passed over the sector connected to that particular keyboard, at which time the keyboard was unlocked ready for the next character to be entered, with an audible click (known as the "cadence signal") to warn the operator. Operators had to maintain a steady rhythm, and the usual speed of operation was 30 words per minute.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beauchamp |first=K.G. |title=History of Telegraphy: Its Technology and Application |publisher=[[Institution of Engineering and Technology]] |year=2001 |pages=394–395 |isbn=0-85296-792-6}}</ref>

The table "shows the allocation of the Baudot code which was employed in the [[General Post Office#New communication systems|British Post Office]] for continental and inland services. A number of characters in the continental code are replaced by fractionals in the inland code. Code elements 1, 2 and 3 are transmitted by keys 1, 2 and 3, and these are operated by the first three fingers of the right hand. Code elements 4 and 5 are transmitted by keys 4 and 5, and these are operated by the first two fingers of the left hand."<ref name = "TomJennings-Baudot" /><ref>Alan G. Hobbs, ''[http://www.nadcomm.com/?p=95 5 Unit Codes]'', section ''Baudot Multiplex System''</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gleick |first=James |title=The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood |year=2011 |publisher=Fourth Estate |location=London |isbn=978-0-00-742311-8 |pages=203 |url=http://around.com/the-information}}</ref>

Baudot's code became known as the '''International Telegraph Alphabet No. 1''' ('''ITA1'''). It is no longer used.

===Murray code===
[[File:Baudot Tape.JPG|thumb|240px|upright|Paper tape with holes representing the "Baudot–Murray Code". Note the fully punched columns of "Delete/Letters select" codes at end of the message (on the right) which were used to cut the band easily between distinct messages. The last symbols before the fully punched columns at the end are BRASIL CR LF CR FS (word Brasil, carriage return, line feed, carriage return, shift to figures)]]
In 1901, Baudot's code was modified by [[Donald Murray (inventor)|Donald Murray]] (1865–1945), prompted by his development of a typewriter-like keyboard. The Murray system employed an intermediate step: an operator used a keyboard perforator to punch a paper tape and then a transmitter to send the message from the [[punched tape]]. At the receiving end of the line, a printing mechanism would print on a paper tape, and/or a reperforator would make a perforated copy of the message.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Foster |first=Maximilian |date=August 1901 |title=A Successful Printing Telegraph |journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=II |pages=1195–1199 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IF6tNZnhO7wC&pg=PA1195 |access-date=2009-07-09 }}</ref>

Because there was no longer a connection between the operator's hand movement and the bits transmitted, there was no concern about arranging the code to minimize operator fatigue. Instead, Murray designed the code to minimize wear on the machinery by assigning the code combinations with the fewest punched holes to the most [[letter frequencies|frequently used characters]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Copeland|2006|p=38}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Telegraph and Telephone Age |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TFUiAQAAMAAJ|year=1921 |quote=I allocated the most frequently used letters in English language to the signals represented by the fewest holes in the perforated tape, and so on in proportion.}}</ref> For example, the one-hole letters are E and T. The ten two-hole letters are AOINSHRDLZ, very similar to the "[[Etaoin shrdlu]]" order used in [[Linotype machine]]s. Ten more letters, BCGFJMPUWY, have three holes each, and the four-hole letters are VXKQ.

The Murray code also introduced what became known as "format affectors" or "[[control character]]s"{{snd}} the [[Carriage return|CR]] (Carriage Return) and [[Newline|LF]] (Line Feed) codes. A few of Baudot's codes moved to the positions where they have stayed ever since: the NULL or BLANK and the DEL code. NULL/BLANK was used as an idle code for when no messages were being sent, but the same code was used to encode the space separation between words. Sequences of DEL codes (fully punched columns) were used at start or end of messages or between them which made it easier to separate distinct messages. (BELL codes could be inserted in those sequences to signal to the remote operator that a new message was coming or that transmission of a message was terminated).

Early [[Creed & Company|British Creed]] machines also used the Murray system.

===Western Union===
[[File:Baudotkeyboard.png|right|frame|Keyboard of a [[teleprinter]] using the Baudot code (US variant), with FIGS and LTRS shift keys]]
Murray's code was adopted by [[Western Union]] which used it until the 1950s, with a few changes that consisted of omitting some characters and adding more control codes. An explicit SPC (space) character was introduced, in place of the BLANK/NULL, and a new [[Bell character|BEL]] code rang a bell or otherwise produced an audible signal at the receiver. Additionally, the WRU or "Who aRe yoU?" code was introduced, which caused a receiving machine to send an identification stream back to the sender.
{{clear}}

==={{anchor|MTK-2}}ITA2===
{{Infobox character encoding
| name = ITA2 Baudot–Murray code
| alias = International Telegraph Alphabet 2
| image = International Telegraph Alphabet 2 brightened.jpg
| caption = British variant of ITA2
| prev = [[#ITA1|ITA1]]
| next = [[FIELDATA]],<br />[[ARQ-M#ITA3|ITA 3 (van Duuren code)]],<br />[[ITU T.50|ITA 5]] ([[ISO 646]], [[ASCII]])
| classification = 5-bit [[state (computer science)|stateful]]{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} [[ISO Basic Latin alphabet|basic Latin]] encoding
}}
{{Infobox character encoding
| name = MTK-2
| alias = 
| image = 
| caption = 
| prev = [[Russian Morse code]]
| next = [[KOI-7]]
| lang = [[Russian language|Russian]]
| classification = 5-bit [[state (computer science)|stateful]]{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} [[Russian alphabet|Russian Cyrillic]] encoding
}}
In 1932, the [[CCITT]] introduced the '''International Telegraph Alphabet No. 2''' ('''ITA2''') code<ref>{{cite web |url=http://handle.itu.int/11.1004/020.1000/4.5.43.en.101 |title=Telegraph Regulations and Final Protocol (Madrid, 1932) |access-date=10 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821020920/https://search.itu.int/history/HistoryDigitalCollectionDocLibrary/4.5.43.en.101.pdf |archive-date=21 August 2023}}</ref> as an international standard, which was based on the Western Union code with some minor changes. The US standardized on a version of ITA2 called the [[American Teletypewriter code]] (US TTY) which was the basis for 5-bit teletypewriter codes until the debut of 7-bit [[ASCII]] in 1963.<ref>{{cite web | last = Smith | first = Gil | title = Teletype Communication Codes | publisher = Baudot.net | year = 2001 | url = http://www.baudot.net/docs/smith--teletype-codes.pdf | access-date = 2008-07-11| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080820043949/http://www.baudot.net/docs/smith--teletype-codes.pdf| archive-date= 20 August 2008 <!--DASHBot-->|url-status = live}}</ref>

Some code points (marked blue in the table) were reserved for national-specific usage.<ref name="Steinbuch-Weber_1974">{{cite book |title=Taschenbuch der Informatik - Band III - Anwendungen und spezielle Systeme der Nachrichtenverarbeitung |language=de |editor-first1=Karl W. |editor-last1=Steinbuch |editor-link1=Karl W. Steinbuch |editor-first2=Wolfgang |editor-last2=Weber |date=1974 |orig-year=1967 |edition=3 |volume=3 |work=Taschenbuch der Nachrichtenverarbeitung |publisher=[[Springer Verlag]] |location=Berlin, Germany |isbn=3-540-06242-4 |lccn=73-80607 |pages=328–329}}</ref>

[[File:Cyrillic teletype keyboard.jpg|thumb|A four-row teletype keyboard with Roman and Cyrillic letters.]]
{|class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="border:none"
|+International telegraphy alphabet No. 2 (Baudot–Murray code)<ref>{{Cite web | last = dataIP Limited | title = The "Baudot" Code | url = http://www.dataip.co.uk/technical-information/the-baudot-code/ | access-date = 16 July 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171223093021/http://www.dataip.co.uk/technical-information/the-baudot-code/ | archive-date = 23 December 2017}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col" colspan="3"| Impulse patterns<br/> (1=mark, 0=space)
!scope="col" colspan="2"| Letter shift
!scope="col" colspan="3"| Figure shift
|-
!scope="col" width="6em"| [[Least significant bit|LSB]] on<br /> right;<br />''code elements:''<br /> 543·21
!scope="col" width="6em"| [[Least significant bit|LSB]] on<br /> left;<br /> ''code elements:''<br /> 12·345
!scope="col" width="2em"| Count of punched marks
!scope="col" width="4em"| ITA2<br /> standard
!scope="col" width="4em"| Russian<br />MTK-2<br /> variant
!scope="col" width="4em"| Russian<br />MTK-2<br /> variant
!scope="col" width="4em"| ITA2<br /> standard
!scope="col" width="4em"| US TTY<br /> variant
|-
| 000·00 || 00·000 || 0 ||colspan="2" style="background:#CCF"| Null || style="background:#FCC" | Shift to Russian Letters (RS) ||colspan="2" style="background:#CCF"| Null 
|-		        
| 010·00 || 00·010 || 1 ||style="background:#FCC" colspan="5"| Carriage return
|-		        
| 000·10 || 01·000 || 1 ||style="background:#FCC" colspan="5"| Line feed
|-		        
| 001·00 || 00·100 || 1 ||colspan="5"| Space
|-		        
| 101·11 || 11·101 || 4 || Q || Я ||colspan="3"| 1
|-		        
| 100·11 || 11·001 || 3 || W || В ||colspan="3"| 2
|-		        
| 000·01 || 10·000 || 1 || E || Е ||colspan="3"| 3
|-		        
| 010·10 || 01·010 || 2 || R || Р || 4, Ч ||colspan="2"| 4
|-		        
| 100·00 || 00·001 || 1 || T || Т ||colspan="3"| 5
|-		        
| 101·01 || 10·101 || 3 || Y || Ы ||colspan="3"| 6
|-		        
| 001·11 || 11·100 || 3 || U || У ||colspan="3"| 7
|-		        
| 001·10 || 01·100 || 2 || I || И ||colspan="3"| 8
|-		        
| 110·00 || 00·011 || 2 || O || О ||colspan="3"| 9
|-		        
| 101·10 || 01·101 || 3 || P || П ||colspan="3"| 0
|-		        
| 000·11 || 11·000 || 2 || A || А ||colspan="3"| –
|-		        
| 001·01 || 10·100 || 2 || S || С ||colspan="2"| ' ||style="background:#FCC"| Bell
|-		        
| 010·01 || 10·010 || 2 || D || Д ||colspan="2"| <abbr title="Who are you?">WRU?</abbr> || $
|-		        
| 011·01 || 10·110 || 3 || F || Ф || style="background:#CCF"|Э || style="background:#CCF" colspan="2"| !
|-		        
| 110·10 || 01·011 || 3 || G || Г || style="background:#CCF"|Ш || style="background:#CCF" colspan="2"| &
|-		        
| 101·00 || 00·101 || 2 || H || Х || style="background:#CCF"|Щ || style="background:#CCF"|£ || style="background:#CCF"|#
|-		        
| 010·11 || 11·010 || 3 || J || Й || Ю, Bell ||style="background:#FCC"| Bell || '
|-		        
| 011·11 || 11·110 || 4 || K || К ||colspan="3"| (
|-		        
| 100·10 || 01·001 || 2 || L || Л ||colspan="3"| )
|-		        
| 100·01 || 10·001 || 2 || Z || З ||colspan="2"| + || "
|-		        
| 111·01 || 10·111 || 4 || X || Ь ||colspan="3"| /
|-		        
| 011·10 || 01·110 || 3 || C || Ц ||colspan="3"| :
|-		        
| 111·10 || 01·111 || 4 || V || Ж ||colspan="2"| = || ;
|-		        
| 110·01 || 10·011 || 3 || B || Б ||colspan="3"| ?
|-		        
| 011·00 || 00·110 || 2 || N || Н ||colspan="3"| ,
|-		        
| 111·00 || 00·111 || 3 || M || М ||colspan="3"| .
|-		        
| 110·11 || 11·011 || 4 ||style="background:#FCC" colspan="2"| Shift to Figures (FS) ||style="background:#CCC" colspan="3"| ''Reserved for<br/> figures extension''
|-		        
| 111·11 || 11·111 || 5 ||style="background:#CCC" colspan="2"| ''Reserved for<br/> lettercase extension'' ||style="background:#FCC" colspan="3"| Shift to Letters (LS)<br /> / Erasure / Delete
|}

The code position assigned to Null was in fact used only for the idle state of teleprinters. During long periods of idle time, the impulse rate was not synchronized between both devices (which could even be powered off or not permanently interconnected on commuted phone lines). To start a message it was first necessary to calibrate the impulse rate, a sequence of regularly timed "mark" pulses (1), by a group of five pulses, which could also be detected by simple passive electronic devices to turn on the teleprinter. This sequence of pulses generated a series of Erasure/Delete characters while also initializing the state of the receiver to the Letters shift mode. However, the first pulse could be lost, so this power on procedure could then be terminated by a single Null immediately followed by an Erasure/Delete character. To preserve the synchronization between devices, the Null code could not be used arbitrarily in the middle of messages (this was an improvement to the initial Baudot system where spaces were not explicitly differentiated, so it was difficult to maintain the pulse counters for repeating spaces on teleprinters). But it was then possible to resynchronize devices at any time by sending a Null in the middle of a message (immediately followed by an Erasure/Delete/LS control if followed by a letter, or by a FS control if followed by a figure). Sending Null controls also did not cause the paper band to advance to the next row (as nothing was punched), so this saved precious lengths of punchable paper band. On the other hand, the Erasure/Delete/LS control code was always punched and always shifted to the (initial) letters mode. According to some sources, the Null code point was reserved for country-internal usage only.<ref name="Steinbuch-Weber_1974"/>

The Shift to Letters code (LS) is also usable as a way to cancel/delete text from a punched tape after it has been read, allowing the safe destruction of a message before discarding the punched band.{{clarify|date=October 2020}} Functionally, it can also play the same filler role as the Delete code in ASCII (or other 7-bit and 8-bit encodings, including EBCDIC for punched cards). After codes in a fragment of text have been replaced by an arbitrary number of LS codes, what follows is still preserved and decodable. It can also be used as an initiator to make sure that the decoding of the first code will not give a digit or another symbol from the figures page (because the Null code can be arbitrarily inserted near the end or beginning of a punch band, and has to be ignored, whereas the Space code is significant in text).

The cells marked as reserved for extensions (which use the LS code again a second time—just after the first LS code—to shift from the figures page to the letters shift page) has been defined to shift into a new mode. In this new mode, the letters page contains only lowercase letters, but retains access to a third code page for uppercase letters, either by encoding for a single letter (by sending LS before that letter), or locking (with FS+LS) for an unlimited number of capital letters or digits before then unlocking (with a single LS) to return to lowercase mode.<ref>[[ITU-T]] [https://www.itu.int/rec/dologin_pub.asp?lang=e&id=T-REC-S.1-198811-S!!PDF-E Recommendation S.2 / 11/1988], published in Fascicle VII.1 of the ''Blue Book''</ref> The cell marked as "Reserved" is also usable (using the FS code from the figures shift page) to switch the page of figures (which normally contains digits and ''national'' lowercase letters or symbols) to a fourth page (where national letters are uppercase and other symbols may be encoded).

ITA2 is still used in [[telecommunications devices for the deaf]] (TDD), [[Telex]], and some [[amateur radio]] applications, such as [[radioteletype]] ("RTTY"). ITA2 is also used in Enhanced Broadcast Solution, an early 21st-century financial protocol specified by [[Deutsche Börse]], to reduce the character encoding footprint.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Enhanced Broadcast Solution – Interface Specification Final Version | publisher = Deutsche Börse | date = 17 May 2010 | url = https://www9.deutsche-boerse.com/INTERNET/XETRA/x4_member.nsf/0/4502210270B32DA8C1257600005247F5/$FILE/MUI11010_EnBS_FinalVersion.pdf/MUI11010_EnBS_FinalVersion.pdf?OpenElement | access-date = 10 August 2011 | archive-date = 8 February 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120208070449/https://www9.deutsche-boerse.com/INTERNET/XETRA/x4_member.nsf/0/4502210270B32DA8C1257600005247F5/$FILE/MUI11010_EnBS_FinalVersion.pdf/MUI11010_EnBS_FinalVersion.pdf?OpenElement | url-status = dead }}</ref>