The start field order

The SF order is supported on all models and lets you specify the field attributes and the display contents of a field, but not extended attributes.

To define a field with SF, you insert a sequence in the data stream as in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Field definition using SF order
An example of a datastream showing the SF order, 1D, followed by field attribute, F0, followed by the display data, D4C5D5E4 ( MENU).
If you need to specify extended attributes, and your terminal supports them, you use the start field extended order instead. SFE requires a different format, because of the more complex attribute information. Extended attributes are expressed as byte pairs. The first byte is a code indicating which type of attribute is being defined, and the second byte is the value for that attribute. The field attributes are treated collectively as an additional attribute type and also expressed as a byte pair. Immediately after the SFE order, you give a 1 byte count of the attribute pairs, then the attribute pairs, and finally the display data. The whole sequence is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Field definition using SFE order
An example of a datastream showing the SFE order, 29, followed by a count of attribute pairs, 02, followed by an attribute code for field outlining, C2, followed by the field outlining value for a box, 0F, followed by the attribute code for field attributes, C0, followed by field attributes, F0, followed by the display data, D4C5D5E4 (MENU).