Microsoft KB Archive/104731

= SORT Adds Extra Character to Sorted Output =

Article ID: 104731

Article Last Modified on 5/6/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0a
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.2 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.21 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q104731



SUMMARY
SORT adds an extra character to the end of the file being sorted if an end-of-file (EOF) or carriage return () character is missing from the end of the file.



MORE INFORMATION
Some text editors don't automatically add a  or EOF character to the end of the file (unlike MS-DOS Edit).

If you use this type of editor and your file doesn't have a trailing  or EOF character, your sorted file contains an extra character. For example, if you sort the following file (which does not have an EOF or  character at the end of the file)   AA BB CC AA with the command SORT < TEXT.TXT > TESTOUT.TXT, your sorted output is   AA AAx BB CC where x is a random character from memory.

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RESOLUTION
To work around this problem, edit the file you want to sort and add a <CR> to the end.

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STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in MS-DOS versions 5.x, 6.0, 6.2, and 6.21. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Additional query words: 6.22 5.00 5.00a 6.00 6.20 garbage extended ASCII corrupt corrupted symbol

Keywords: KB104731

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