Special characters (Character Map): Frequently asked questions

A special character is one that you won’t find on your keyboard. Character Map lists the characters that are available in a selected font. You can search for special characters, copy individual characters or a group of special characters, and paste characters into any app that can display them.

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How do I insert a special character into a file?

  1. Tap or click to open Character Map.

  2. Tap or click the Font list, and then choose the font you want to use.

  3. Tap or click the special character you want to insert into the file.

  4. Tap or click Select, and then tap or click Copy.

  5. Open your file and select the location in the file where you want to insert the special character.

  6. Tap or click the Edit menu, and then tap or click Paste.

Tip

Tip

Many apps allow you to drag special characters into files. To do this, tap or click the character you want to copy. When the character appears enlarged, drag it into the open file.

Note

Note

If you don't delete previously copied characters in the Characters to copy box, they're copied along with any new characters you select.

Using a keyboard

If you frequently use special characters, it might be faster to enter them directly using the keyboard. You’ll need to know the character’s keystroke value.

  1. Tap or click to open Character Map.

  2. Choose a special character and search for the keystroke value in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

    Keystroke value for a special character in Character MapKeystroke value for a special character

  3. Open the file and place the cursor where you want the special character to appear.

  4. With Num Lock on, press and hold the Alt key, and then press the keys on the numeric keypad that represent the keystroke value of the character you want to use.

  5. When you finish typing, release the Alt key.

How do I create my own characters?

If you can’t find the character you’re looking for in Character Map, you can create it using Private Character Editor.

How do I search for a character by name?

  1. Tap or click to open Character Map.

  2. In the Font list, tap or click the font you want to search in, and then select the Advanced view check box.

  3. In the Character set list, tap or click the character set you want to search in.

    If the character set you want isn't available, choose a different font in the Font list.

  4. In the Search for box, enter all or part of the name of the character you're searching for. For example, to search for any Greek letter, enter Greek, or to find all types of the Cyrillic character Zhe, enter Zhe.

  5. Tap or click Search.

    Character Map displays the characters that match your search.

    Search results in Character Map Search results in Character Map

  6. To start another search, tap or click Reset.

Tip

Tip

To see the name of a particular character and its associated hexadecimal code, press and hold it or point to the character. When you tap or click the character, this info is also displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Character Map window and can serve as an example of search terms you can use for additional searches.

How do I search for a group of similar types of characters?

Unicode categories are used to group similar types of characters available in a font. For example, the Currency Unicode category groups all of the currency symbols available for a font.

  1. Tap or click to open Character Map.

  2. In the Font list, tap or click the font you want to search in, and then select the Advanced view check box.

  3. In the Group by list, tap or click Unicode Subrange.

  4. In the Group By dialog box, tap or click the category of character you want to view.

    Character Map displays the characters that belong to that category.

    Groups of similar characters in Character MapGroups of similar characters in Character Map

  5. Once you find the character you're looking for, tap or click Select, and then tap or click Copy.

How do I search for a character by Unicode value?

  1. Tap or click to open Character Map.

  2. In the Font list, tap or click the font you want to search in, and then select the Advanced view check box.

  3. In the Character set list, tap or click Unicode.

  4. In the Group by list, tap or click All.

  5. In the Go to Unicode box, enter the four-character Unicode value of the character you're looking for.

    The character is automatically highlighted in the grid of characters.

Tip

Tip

In Character Map, all the characters in a specific font are displayed in the order of their Unicode value. If you don't know the Unicode value of the character you're looking for, you can scroll through the characters to search for it.

How do I search for and insert Kanji, Hanja, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese characters using the sound of the character?

By knowing the sound of the character you want to insert, you can look for Japanese Kanji using Hiragana, Korean Hanja using Hangul, Simplified Chinese using PinYin, or Traditional Chinese using Bopomofo.

  1. Tap or click to open Character Map.

  2. Select the Advanced view check box and in the Group by list, tap or click the character grouping you want to search in.

  3. In the Group By dialog box, tap or click the character that corresponds to the sound you want to search for.

    Character Map displays the characters that start with that particular sound.

  4. Choose the character you want to insert.

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