from this thread http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?t=555134, here is a small utility to read special (non printing) characters in text or text files, it shows the ascii and hex values of the character at the cursor position in the text box, you can position the cursor with mouse or keyboard, but it there are non printing characters, you can not tell where you position the cursor with the mouse, whereas using an arrow key, may reveal some non printing characters and the cursor does not appear to move, while the ascii display will show different values on each arrow press.
i wrote this entirely for my own use, i can drag files over its icon, or over the form or textbox or text over the textbox, once the program is open, or i can copy and paste, or drag from posts here to discover some reason why the string codes didn't work
i do my best to test code works before i post it, but sometimes am unable to do so for some reason, and usually say so if this is the case. Note code snippets posted are just that and do not include error handling that is required in real world applications, but avoid On Error Resume Next
dim all variables as required as often i have done so elsewhere in my code but only posted the relevant part
come back and mark your original post as resolved if your problem is fixed
pete