Mysterious & Bizarre Results

For example, if you hold down “alt,” type in 65, then release “alt,” a capital “A” appears on your screen. It seems harmless, but it’s not if you type certain other numbers. One number in particular if typed, will indicate “end of file.” If your operator inadvertently presses “alt” and types that number on the keypad (easy to do these days, where “alt” triggers Windows menus, and the keypad is used by many operators to enter digits), this invisible “end of file” character will be entered directly into your database. And almost every database in the world will recognize that as “end of file,” and will chop your database right there. It’s as if you had an invisible stop sign in the middle of your customer file.