Re: Unicode Character key-in problem
On 2010-09-07 22:44:27 -0400, Doug wrote:
>
> In DOS and all versions of Windows, going back to the stone age, you
> could hold ALT and press 3 digits of the extended (128~255) ASCII
> table, using the number pad, and get all kinds of foreign and other
> useful characters. For instance, if you wanted a German ess-tset
> character, you would hold ALT and push 225, like this: ß. I'm
> writing this from Win 7, and you can see that it works. It also
> works in Open Office in the Windows version. Something similar in MS
> Word--I think Word requires a 0 before the code.
>
> As far as I can tell, this does _not_ work in Debian or in
> PcLinuxOs, the two Lx's I have present access to. Not in plain
> files like KWrite, and not in Open Office. I don't understand what
> the above correspondent is getting at (I don't know what Unicode
> is). How, in plain English, can one get foreign characters in Linux
> without using an international keyboard? (I assume that works, as
> the international keyboard is a choice in many distros, under
> Locale.) Or is it basically just not possible?
>
Doug,
It is very much possible to input foreign characters in GNU/Linux.
And it's easier than in Windows, though it is *different*.
Like you, I was accustomed to the Windows way of inputting special
characters. There were several special characters that I always input
with 3- or 4-digit codes. ALT+0161, ALT+0181, and ALT+0191 to name a
few.
Let's say I want an upside down exclamation mark, so I can write ¡Ay
de mi! In Windows, you would do something like ALT+0161.
In GNU/Linux, I hit the "Compose Key", then "!", then "!".
Let's say I want to type mu, so that it looks like this: µ.
In Linux, I hit the "Compose Key", then "m", then "u".
GNU/Linux has an *improved* method of inputting these special
characters. In Windows, you have to memorize these four digit codes
that don't mean anything. In GNU/Linux, I memorize two-letter codes
that actually hint at the meaning.
!! --> ¡
mu --> µ
c| --> ¢
e= --> €
Y= --> ¥
ss --> ß
The thing that worked for me was:
1. Set up a "Compose Key" (plenty of tutorials online)
2. Learn the simple logical two-letter codes (plenty of docs online)
You may already have a "Compose Key" set up, I wouldn't know. I had
to set mine up manually. Getting that done is the hardest
part. Learning the codes is easy because they are all common sense.
There might be some other ways to get the function you want, but I
wanted to tell you what worked for me.
I don't know any way to use the actual 4-digit codes that one can use
in Windows. In my opinion, the GNU/Linux method is better.
If you get this working, it will work in a terminal, in a browser, in
KWrite, or whatever else you can think of.
Hope this helps,
Phil
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