control character
n.
A computer code within a character set typically used to direct operations rather than for informational content.
Notes
In ASCII, characters between 0 and 31, and character 127 are reserved as control characters. Common control characters within documents include tab, carriage return, and newline. Other control characters used to control transmission of data include Start of Text, End of Text, and End of Transmission. Control characters used to indicate data records and fields include the file, group, record, and unit separators.
