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Mac Forum / Country Specific / UK Mac Group / July 2007Getting alt key codes on the Mac
In all the time I have been using the Mac I have never had to use this, but I remember I occasionally did it in Windows: I want the key code combination to put in a character. For example, for a £ sign I just press shift-3 on my keyboard, but I should also be able to press a key combination + "0163". In Windows this would be alt-0163. I've tried opt, cmd-opt, shift-opt and many others. Can some kind person put me out of my misery? Thanks, Ian. -- > In all the time I have been using the Mac I have never had to use > this, but I remember I occasionally did it in Windows: I want the key [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > tried opt, cmd-opt, shift-opt and many others. Can some kind person > put me out of my misery? Enable "Unicode Hex Input" in System Preferences > International > Input Menu. Then learn Unicode :-) Cheers, Chris > > a key combination + "0163". In Windows this would be alt-0163. I've > > tried opt, cmd-opt, shift-opt and many others. Can some kind person > > put me out of my misery? > > Enable "Unicode Hex Input" in System Preferences > International > Input Menu. Hmm. I can't see an option for that. I have an input menu tab, with input types and scripts, but no obvious way of setting or changing them. The British entry is set as Input type="Keyboard" and the Script is "Roman" and its checkbox is greyed out. What am I missing? > Then learn Unicode :-) Oh gawd :-( Ian. -- >>> a key combination + "0163". In Windows this would be alt-0163. I've >>> tried opt, cmd-opt, shift-opt and many others. Can some kind person [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > them. The British entry is set as Input type="Keyboard" and the Script > is "Roman" and its checkbox is greyed out. What am I missing? Do you not see Unicode Hex Input at all? It is down the bottom of the list: <http://myskitch.com/chrisridd/unicodehexinput-20070729-120101.png> >> Then learn Unicode :-) > > Oh gawd :-( Cheers, Chris > Do you not see Unicode Hex Input at all? It is down the bottom of the list: > > <http://myskitch.com/chrisridd/unicodehexinput-20070729-120101.png> Duh, sorry, it turns out I'm being more than usually dull today. Yes, I did have that entry and I have now enabled it. Anyway, now that I have done this I can see partly how to do what I want: I can type opt +00+ the hex code for the character. So for the pound sign I can use opt-00a3. Thanks for the help. Ian. -- > Anyway, now that I have done this I can see partly how to do what I > want: I can type opt +00+ the hex code for the character. So for the > pound sign I can use opt-00a3. Hurrah! It gave me a reason to use Skitch too :-) Cheers, Chris >> Anyway, now that I have done this I can see partly how to do what I >> want: I can type opt +00+ the hex code for the character. So for the >> pound sign I can use opt-00a3. > > Hurrah! It gave me a reason to use Skitch too :-) That was timely. I was looking at how to enter Unicode directly a couple of days ago and didn't find out how to do this at the time. It's a shame that one has to switch over the 'flag' in the menu bar (changing keyboard input) to do this.  SignatureCheers, Steve The reply-to email address is a spam trap. Email steve 'at' shodgson 'dot' org 'dot' uk >>> Anyway, now that I have done this I can see partly how to do what I >>> want: I can type opt +00+ the hex code for the character. So for the [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > a shame that one has to switch over the 'flag' in the menu bar > (changing keyboard input) to do this. You can hit Cmd-Opt-Space (configurable) to switch between things on the input menu. Cheers, Chris > > Do you not see Unicode Hex Input at all? It is down the bottom of the list: > > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > want: I can type opt +00+ the hex code for the character. So for the > pound sign I can use opt-00a3. There is no stopping progress :-( Jan > > > Do you not see Unicode Hex Input at all? It is down the bottom of the list: > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Jan Look, I didn't say I enjoyed doing it, did I? :-} As it turns out, I had a message from a user of my Font Mate freeware program, who wanted to suggest that I include all of the keystrokes as well as displaying the ASCII and Hex codes. I wanted to be able to write back and tell him that if he really wanted to do this all he needed was to press The Magic Key plus the ASCII code... then I realised that on the Mac I didn't know what The Magic Key was, and also that I didn't know whether you could use the ASCII code or needed the Hex code. And that, dear reader, is the origin of this thread... Ian. -- >>>> Do you not see Unicode Hex Input at all? It is down the bottom of the list: >> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > program, who wanted to suggest that I include all of the keystrokes as > well as displaying the ASCII and Hex codes. I wanted to be able to Ah. Maybe the solution here is to look at how keyboard layouts are constructed on OS X. There are programs around that can create new layouts, and maybe edit existing ones. Perhaps the source code to one of these would help? Cheers, Chris > I wanted to be able to > write back and tell him that if he really wanted to do this all he > needed was to press The Magic Key plus the ASCII code... Tell them to get Popchar? SignaturePeter > > I wanted to be able to > > write back and tell him that if he really wanted to do this all he [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > -- > Peter Popchar is a good example of why I wrote Font Mate. Popchar is very polished, but like most of the other font tools it is bloated with features that I don't need. And I find the interface overly complex, and somehow not very Mac (I'm guessing it was ported from Windows). And it is not free. Ian. -- > > Do you not see Unicode Hex Input at all? It is down the bottom of the list: > > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > want: I can type opt +00+ the hex code for the character. So for the > pound sign I can use opt-00a3. Hmm! Interesting - how did you find out what the magic keys were? I've tried to find the documentation which explains how to enter Unicode as hex, and I can't find anything anywhere. Rowland. SignatureRemove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell@dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking > Interesting - how did you find out what the magic keys were? I've tried > to find the documentation which explains how to enter Unicode as hex, > and I can't find anything anywhere. I googled for it, partly to check that I didn't get Unicode Hex Input from Xcode or something non-default. This article's old, but still good: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/6780> Cheers, Chris > (Rowland McDonnell) said: > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > <http://db.tidbits.com/article/6780> Righto - ta. A good deal more than just `how to enter the characters' - nice. And there was me thinking that Apple might have condescended to document it for us. <sigh> I'm not happy using an OS/GUI combination that has almost all its important user functions as `undocumented features' of that sort - but since the alternatives are worse... Rowland. SignatureRemove the animal for email address: rowland.mcdonnell@dog.physics.org Sorry - the spam got to me http://www.mag-uk.org http://www.bmf.co.uk UK biker? Join MAG and the BMF and stop the Eurocrats banning biking > > Then learn Unicode :-) > > Oh gawd :-( Good news: learning some of the symbol sets is not compulsory. Often, Tibetan may be omitted from a well educated gentleman's repertoire of skills. SignatureAndrew Stephenson >>> Then learn Unicode :-) >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Often, Tibetan may be omitted from a well educated gentleman's > repertoire of skills. You're not Fake Steve. Cheers, Chris > >>> Then learn Unicode :-) > >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > You're not Fake Steve. Okay, ta, I feel reassured by that update... Is this a backwards "AICMFP", in which _you_ give _me_ five pounds? :-) SignatureAndrew Stephenson > Okay, ta, I feel reassured by that update... Is this a backwards > "AICMFP", in which _you_ give _me_ five pounds? :-) Er, no. But feel free to try a Tibetan chant or something. Cheers, Chris > Often, Tibetan may be omitted from a well educated gentleman's > repertoire of skills. Unless one's father in law is wildly interested in all things Tibetan, dabbles in Bon-Po, has an extensive collection of singing bowls and has released a series of meditation CDs, and one is also a novice khoomi singer personally blessed by an exiled Tibetan lama as well as a passing acquaintance with the works of Sogyal Rinpoche, of course. Then one feels a vague shame that one hasn't attempted to master the Tibetan script characters and put them to productive employment. (Apart from U+0F00, the Tibetan version of aum). SignaturePd > > Often, Tibetan may be omitted from a well educated gentleman's > > repertoire of skills. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Tibetan script characters and put them to productive employment. > (Apart from U+0F00, the Tibetan version of aum). GROAN! SignatureTo de-mung my e-mail address:- fsnospam$elliott$$ PGP Fingerprint: 1A96 3CF7 637F 896B C810 E199 7E5C A9E4 8E59 E248 > > (Apart from U+0F00, the Tibetan version of aum). > > GROAN! Ah, the sound of one hand clapping. Or is that a KOAN? SignaturePd Ian Piper wrote on 29/7/2007 10:30 am: > In all the time I have been using the Mac I have never had to use > this, but I remember I occasionally did it in Windows: I want the key > code combination to put in a character. For example, for a £ sign I > just press shift-3 on my keyboard, but I should also be able to press > a key combination + "0163". I wonder why? > In Windows this would be alt-0163. This might help you find strange characters; Apple menu, or the Dock, System Preferences, International, Input Menu, Character Palette, tick Show input menu in menu bar. Lots of extras there. View: Unicode, Unicode Table (for the numbers you are so keen about). Easier in Finder, Edit menu, Special Characters... Select the one you want and Insert. HTH, &B-) another Ian Please reply to newsgroup! |
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