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How to Easily Insert Special Symbols and Characters in Windows - Part I
Did you ever want to put a special character like the cent sign (¢) or the British pound sign (£) into a document or email? Or use the correct symbols for Spanish or other languages? Regular users of word processing programs like Microsoft Word probably already know how to do this but many average PC users are not aware that easy methods of inserting special characters are readily available.
There are several methods and in this tip I’ll describe an old standby. From the early days of Windows, it has been possible to use the numeric keypad with Num Lock enabled to insert a variety of characters using some simple codes. (Be aware that these codes differ from the HTML versions.) The general procedure goes like this:
- Place the insertion point (cursor) in the document location where you want the special character
- Hold down the Alt key
- Type the appropriate four-number code from the numeric keypad. The first digit is always a zero. Be sure Num Lock is enabled.
- Release the Alt key
A few examples of the codes are given in the table below. Note that they all begin with zero and differ from HTML codes. More examples can be found at this link and a detailed list at this link. These particular codes date back to an old coding system called ISO Latin 1 and go no higher than 0255. But there is a huge assortment of characters and symbols in what is known as Unicode and I will discuss them in Part II. In the meantime, the numeric keypad gives you quite a variety of symbols and characters to add to your documents.
| Description | Character | Code |
|---|---|---|
| cent sign | ¢ | 0162 |
| pound sterling | £ | 0163 |
| copyright | © | 0169 |
| degree sign | ° | 0176 |
| plus/minus | ± | 0177 |
| superscript two | ² | 0178 |
| fraction three-fourths | ¾ | 0190 |
| inverted question mark | ¿ | 0191 |
| capital C, cedilla | Ç | 0199 |
| small c, cedilla | ç | 0231 |
| small n, tilde | ñ | 0241 |
| division sign | ÷ | 0247 |
If you have one of the smaller or older laptops that lack a numeric keypad, you can probably activate similar functions with an Fn key or other method. Check your instructions or help function.
Part II describes ways to add even more symbols to your documents.
More information: Add Custom Characters to Documents Using the Numeric Keypad
This tip applies to the American version of all current Windows editions and may or may not be relevant to other language distributions or systems with other keyboard layouts.
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This tips section is maintained by Vic Laurie. Vic runs several websites with Windows how-to's and tutorials, including a computer education website and a site for learning about the command line.
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Comments
For some reason allchars quit working on me, and wouldn't come back even after being deleted and a fresh copy installed - bummer. So I tried AX but it seems a bit clumsy and awkward after allchars. But putting a shortcut to the character map on the taskbar sounds promising; I'll give it a try.
[edit] Link removed - website has poor WOT rating.
Hey rich, same thing happened to me, it went crazy. Had to uninstall, re-download, reinstall and reboot. Remember, it is a TSR, different animal. It does work, give it another try. I'm using V4.0.321 on an XP system.
Also, I read that it does not play well with Chrome, so I went to Opera to DL.
It seems that not all the char work in all modes, but mine works in Thunderbird when the font is Arial. Word 2003 is good, too.
No icon on the desktop, only on the sys tray/notification area. Right click on it to bring up the options, or you can go to the ctrl commands. click the CTRL key, release, then the other key codes. Takes some getting used to this way.
I use AutoHotKey for this (http://www.autohotkey.com) since I need to type in Portuguese frequently and there are two very common letters missing from my Spanish keyboard. Here's the entire script I use to get the letters "ã" and "õ" by typing Ctrl+Alt+a, or Ctrl+Alt+o:
^!a:: ; Ctrl-Alt-a = ã
SendInput {ã}
return
;
^!o:: ; Ctrl-Alt-o = õ
SendInput {õ}
return
I tried this process using Alt key and Num Lock, but as soon as I type 01 it brings on the "save file" window. I have Windonws Vista and it may not work with that.
It works in Vista. Are you sure Num Lock is enabled?
I have a shortcut on my taskbar to Windows "Character Map" which I occasionally use to insert a special character. While I remember Alt-0176 for degrees ( ° ) these cold mornings, I don't use other special characters often enough to make other shortcuts or applications worthwhile for me to memorize. I suspect this solution is best for the majority of users.
10-4
Maybe the freeware Allchars may please you as well. It uses a hotkey combination [control] to form accented characters, etc. For example, to get ë, you first press the control key, then type " and then e. For ä that would be [control] " a, etc. so, the combination is much easier to remember than ALT codes. Also definition of macros is possible so you can define some text as a macro and insert it in a similar way into your text. See http://allchars.zwolnet.com/ if it's something for you to try out (and if so, for the freeware download location).
Bëst règárds,
jms
I use AllChars as well. It also has a macro facility for easily typing text strings in any software. A great little program!
I've been using "AllChars" for many years now, and I agree - it's very easy to use, can be loaded as a t.s.r. when needed, and uses minimal resources. A really worthwhile freebie.
For people who use special characters quite frequently, it's probably better to either install a few international keyboards so you can switch between them, or, installing the "United-States International keyboard" that offers a lot of special characters by pressing either Ctrl+Alt key (that is the left Alt key) plus a key on the keyboard, or the AltGr (that's the right Alt key) and a key.
The easiest way to find out where is what is to go start the onscreen keyboard and simply have a look how that changes when pressing Ctrl+Alt or the AltGr keys. There are a few differences between left Alt+Ctrl and right Alt (AltGr) keys...
Merry typing...
Maurice
After a while you get used to the most common keyboard shortcuts and they come very natural. Being German living in New Zealand, I end up using this method to enter my beloved Umlaute äöü and the essential ß...also things like øØ for diameter or °C is easy peasy!...
Here's a quick glance:
Top Row (123...) ¡²³¤€¼½¾‘’¥× with Shift: ¹£÷
qwerty row: äåé®þüúíóö«»¬ with Shift: ÄÅÉÞÜÚÍÓÖ¦
asdfg row: áßðø¶´ with Shift: Á§ÐØ°¨
zxcvrow: æ©ñµç¿ with Shift: Æ¢ÑÇ
that's it...
Maurice
Good tip!
You may also be interested in this web: http://copypastecharacter.com/
By far the easiest way to quickly browse for unique characters.
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