What ␑ means
It displays DC1, a control code for device-specific functions.
The 1963 ASCII standard assigned DC1 a device-control role, including switching on an auxiliary device. In XON/XOFF flow control, DC1 is XON: it tells the receiving end to resume transmission; DC3 is XOFF and pauses it.
Technical notation for a control code.
Read “resume” only in explicit XON/XOFF context.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Is ␑ the same as Ctrl+Q?
No. In a terminal using XON/XOFF, Ctrl+Q can send the underlying DC1 control; ␑ is the separate visible character that represents it.
How to type ␑
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 2411, then Alt+X to get ␑.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “symbol for device control one”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 2411, then Enter or Space.
HTML
␑CSS
\2411How to type ␑
Use a Unicode input method that accepts character-code entry; steps depend on your device and keyboard.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
␑
HTML hex
␑
CSS content
content: "\2411";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%90%91
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.