"formatting characters" could refer to the design of letters, numbers and other symbols on a square matrix. The assignment of values to there "user definable definitions" or UDGs and poking these values into the character buffer of the computer or saving for later use as in older typesetting computers
In typesetting computers or initialising printers yes you could call it character formatting or print formatting
The Format Painter.
it is the reason why you format the character
A __________ mark is sometimes called a nonprinting character because it can be displayed on the screen but is not visible on a printed document.
character formatting
Light Dots
The style that includes both character and paragraph formatting is known as a "composite style" or "paragraph style" in word processing and design software. This type of style allows users to apply a set of formatting attributes—such as font type, size, color, line spacing, and indentation—to an entire paragraph while also enabling specific character formatting within that paragraph. It streamlines the formatting process, ensuring consistency and efficiency in document creation.
the home tab
Character formatting
superscript
Character formatting
Character Formatting