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Unicode questions
#7135 12/30/09 02:19 PM
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jchuzi Online OP
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Originally Posted By: Hal Itosis
command: ⌘
shift: ⇧
option: ⌥
escape: ⎋
How do you type these symbols? I looked in Character Viewer (called Character Palette previous to 10.6) and couldn't find them. Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know what Unicode is.

EDIT: I have searched in Google (and found some basic information about Unicode itself) but I can't figure out the keystrokes for those symbols nor how to type them. For example, if I type U+00C6, that's exactly what I see. That should come out to be Æ with my available keystrokes.

Edited by jchuzi (12/30/09 09:53 AM ET)

Last edited by cyn; 12/30/09 03:52 PM. Reason: Changed thread's subject line.

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Re: Unicode questions
jchuzi #7136 12/30/09 02:46 PM
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Wikipedia has a comprehensive article on Unicode or if you want to know all the details go to the Unicode Consortium. Most, maybe all, standard Apple fonts are Unicode and AFIK all the current Apple apps and a substantial number of third party apps can handle Unicode as well. Older apps such as Appleworks are not Unicode aware and therefore have only a very limited character set available.

If you want to see the Unicode characters in Character Viewer on the View drop down at the top of the Character Viewer window select "All Characters".


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Re: Unicode questions
joemikeb #7137 12/30/09 02:51 PM
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Thanks, Joe. I did select "All Characters" and see nothing about Unicode. Also, look at the additional question that I asked in my previous post after I edited it.

EDIT: I found out that I can select a character in Character Viewer and see the Unicode information if I hover the mouse over it. That still doesn't answer the question about how to type it. BTW, I can't find the symbols that Hal entered (previously) in CV.

Last edited by jchuzi; 12/30/09 02:57 PM.

Jon

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Re: Unicode questions
jchuzi #7143 12/30/09 03:53 PM
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Jon, I detached your reply to Hal from Bensheim's "Euro Symbol" thread (along with the subsequent responses) as your questions are better addressed in a separate topic.

Since you're running Snow Leopard I'll move this thread to the Mac OS X 10.6.x forum in a day or so.

Last edited by cyn; 12/31/09 04:35 PM. Reason: Topic moved from Mac OS X 10.0 - 10.5.x forum.

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Re: Unicode questions
jchuzi #7144 12/30/09 03:58 PM
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When you look at the multitudinous alphabets and symbols is Character view you are looking at Unicode. When you are using a Unicode aware application and on the Input Menu on the Menu bar select another language such as Γρεεκ (Greek) or קנרק' (Hebrew) you can type anything you want in that alphabet. When you switch to Hebrew for example the text flow changes from left to right to right to left. All thanks to Unicode.

There are over 107,000 Unicode characters and symbols so it is plainly impractical to attempt to have a keyboard combination for each of them when you are in another alphabet.

As to the characters Hal showed:

⇧ — is found in Character Viewer > All Characters > Symbols > Arrows
⌘, ⌥, — are found in Character Viewer > All Characters > Symbols > Technical Symbols on the third row from the top
⎋ — is found in Character Viewer > All Characters > Symbols > Technical Symbols on the fifth row from the top

Last edited by joemikeb; 12/30/09 03:59 PM. Reason: clarification

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

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Re: Unicode questions
joemikeb #7147 12/30/09 05:26 PM
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You're right, Joe. Somehow, I missed that. blush

Here's a question, however:

I know that ⌥ is the symbol for Option. According to Character Viewer, ⎇ is the symbol for "Alternative Key". What is that?


Jon

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Re: Unicode questions
jchuzi #7150 12/30/09 06:15 PM
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I don't remember how to actually type them. I just copied and saved them in a handy place. Character Palette lets us store favorites... but i also use a textClipping on the desktop -- which contains those 4 chars (plus ) in both its content and its name -- so i can get to them pretty quick either way.

Re: Unicode questions
jchuzi #7157 12/30/09 10:09 PM
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Jon, I think this may be related to PC. PC keyboard has Alt key but does not have Option.


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Re: Unicode questions
jchuzi #7173 12/31/09 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted By: jchuzi

I know that ⌥ is the symbol for Option. According to Character Viewer, ⎇ is the symbol for "Alternative Key". What is that?

According to this page, ⌥ is the left, ⎇ is the right. But I have no idea how to check the keyboard output to see if there is a difference when either of those keys is selected.

Re: Unicode questions
Dermot Trellis #7174 12/31/09 05:44 PM
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Keyboard Viewer shows absolutely no difference between the pressing the left and right option/alt keys


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Unicode questions
joemikeb #7181 01/01/10 12:30 AM
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If I may (or if I may not, Mods please delete), but why, pray tell, does Apple include “Alt” on the Option keys, when alt is rarely used in common parlance?

Me thinks that adding the corresponding symbols on the Shift, Escape, & Option key can only be a help to nubees and seniors. Yet those symbols are not present (at least on the extended keyboard that came with my 24”iMac).

In the case of the Command key, we get 2 symbols, yet on the other keys we get only the text. Well, with the exception of the forward delete key. In that case we get both a symbol and text.

Aren’t simple, clear, and consistent hallmarks of design elegance?

Waddya think?


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Re: Unicode questions
Pendragon #7182 01/01/10 01:00 AM
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I always thought it was to help PC switchers.


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Re: Unicode questions
roger #7185 01/01/10 04:01 AM
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Yep. PC uses Alt, Mac uses Option, but they do the same thing.

Some older computer systems, in addition to an Alt (short for Altmode) key, also featured a "Meta" key as well. (Sun Microsystems keyboards still have a Meta key; it does basically what the Mac Command key does).

Old MIT keyboards have Control, Alt, Meta, and Compose keys. The Compose key is used for creating foreign-language characters; you hit Compose, then another key to indicate the type of mark you want to make, then the key you want to put the mark over or under...so for example you would hit Compose-n N to make the character "Ñ".


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