^FP — Field Parameter (Direction & Spacing)
Plain English
Sets two field-level rendering tweaks for the next `^FD`: direction (horizontal, vertical, or reverse) and inter-character gap. Different from `^A`'s rotation parameter — `^FP` controls how characters within the field are arranged, while `^A`'s orientation rotates the field as a whole.
When to use
For vertical text on narrow labels (spine labels, side panels), reverse layout for right-to-left scripts, or when default character spacing needs nudging. Place `^FP` between `^A` and `^FD` for the field you want to affect — scope is one field.
Syntax
^FPd,g
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
d | Direction: `H` (horizontal, default), `V` (vertical — characters stacked top-to-bottom), `R` (reverse — characters laid right-to-left) |
g | Extra gap between characters in dots (default 0). Negative values are not supported — characters cannot overlap via `^FP`. |
Example
^XA ^FO50,50^A0N,25,25^FPV,2^FDStacked^FS ^XZ
Vertical layout with 2-dot extra spacing between each stacked character.