With this session parameter, you specify the character string to be inserted in the column immediately preceding the value of a field output with a DISPLAY statement. The width of the output column is enlarged accordingly.

Possible settings	any character	Character string to be inserted. You can specify a string of one to ten characters. Note: Insertion characters may optionally be specified within apostrophes, in which case any characters can be specified. Any character string specified which contains a closing parenthesis or a quotation mark must be enclosed within apostrophes. A blank in a character string not enclosed within apostrophes is represented by a circumflex (^).
Default setting	none
Specification within session	yes
Applicable statements	FORMAT	Parameter may be specified dynamically with the FORMAT statement.
	DISPLAY	Parameter may be specified at statement level and/or at element level.
Applicable command	none

Notes:

1. The session parameter ICU is identical to the session parameter IC. The difference is that the insertion characters are always stored in Unicode format. This allows you to specify insertion characters with mixed characters from different code pages, and assures that always the correct character is displayed independent of the installed system code page.
2. For numeric values, the insertion characters will be placed before the first significant digit printed.
3. The parameters ICU and LCU are mutually exclusive.

See also:

• Parameters to Influence the Output of Fields in the Programming Guide

• Unicode and Code Page Support in the Natural Programming Language, Session Parameters, EMU, ICU, LCU, TCU versus EM, IC, LC, TC in the Unicode and Code Page Support documentation.