Using Special Characters

Most every key on the keyboard can generate up to 4 characters, the trick is knowing which key combination is used to generate the desired character. Once you know the key combination, simply place the cursor where the special character is desired and press the key combination.

For example, on the Macintosh, using the A key, you can get the following

• pressing the A key by itself will type a
• pressing Shift+A will type A
• pressing Option+A will type å
• pressing Shift+Option+A will type Å

For example, with Windows, using the A key, you can get the following

• pressing the A key by itself will type a
• pressing Shift+A will type A
• pressing Alt+0229 will type å
• pressing Alt+0197 will type Å

Using System Desk Accessories for Special Characters

To “lookup” the key combinations, use

• the Key Caps desk accessory on the Macintosh
• or the Character Map accessory in Windows.

Using Special Characters in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word offers an alternative to system desk accessories, the Symbol Dialog Box, to streamline the process. Position the cursor at the desired location then

• choose Insert Symbol …
  • the [Symbols] tab in the dialog box allows you to determine the special characters available within a font
    • select the desired font from the dropdown list
      • the special characters available in that font will now be displayed in the grid area
      • you may have to review more than one font to find a desired special character
    • select the desired special character by clicking once on it; a blowup of the character will now be displayed
    • click thebutton to insert the character in your text
  • the [Special Characters] tab contains a list of the commonly used special characters
    • scroll down the list and select the special character desired
      • note if a keyboard shortcut has been assigned for that character; if so, you may use it to insert the character instead of using the dialog box
    • click thebutton to insert the character in your text

  The Symbol Dialog Box in Word 98 and Word 2001. Note the enlargement of the bullet character. When you click once on a character it enlarges for easier viewing. The dialog box in Word 2000 includes one additional drop-down list to the right of the Font list called Subset.

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last updated August 12, 2003