Character Map utility??

[Guest]

according to an XP page i've found, there is supposed to be a Character Map
to copy and paste special characters from. Page says it's in System Tools but
the only thing in my System Tools is Backup and Security Center.

I have XP Home v2002 on Gateway 450 laptop. Any one know where the Map is?

 

[Alan Edwards]

Have you looked to see if it is there?
It is normally %SystemRoot%\System32\charmap.exe but perhaps you have
charmap.exe somewhere else?

If you don't have it at all, then add it using
Control Panel-Add/Remove-Windows Components


....Alan

 

[Guest]

Thank you very much. the *charmap.exe* brought it right up so I could make a
shortcut to it. I'll put it on an fkey so it's handy.

Chas.

 

[John]

Have you looked to see if it is there?
It is normally %SystemRoot%\System32\charmap.exe but perhaps you have
charmap.exe somewhere else?

...Alan

Hey, that's a good idea! I found it, placed a shortcut on my desktop, and
looked at it.
But, I can't find the "¢" symbol. I use it quite often. Am I overlooking it?
(When I try to send this note, it tells me that the "¢" symbol (for "cent" can
not be sent.)
?????????


John <><

 

[Alan Edwards]

Are you having me on?
The ¢ symbol is Alt+0162 and I see it in most of the standard fonts
and I see it in your reply.

....Alan

 

[John]

Are you having me on?
The ¢ symbol is Alt+0162 and I see it in most of the standard fonts
and I see it in your reply.

...Alan

Thanks, Alan:

When I tried to send the previous post, I got some sort of error message saying
it could not transmit certain fonts (or some such thing) and I assumed it to be
the "¢" symbol, but then it transmitted it anyway.
Thanks for the Alt+0162 hint!

John <><

 

[David Candy]

Entering International Characters
There is a number of ways of entering international characters and symbols.

a.. Use Character Map.
b.. Use Alt + <the character code entered on the numeric keypad>
c.. Hex to Unicode IME
d.. Use the US International Keyboard
a.. The Alt Gr Key
a.. Dead Keys
e.. Switching Keyboards
f.. Tips
[Back to Contents]

Entering International Characters - Character Map
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Character Map (or type charmap in Start - Run) and transfer via the clipboard or drag from Character Map into your document.

Run Character Map

[Back to International Contents]

Alt + Character Code
Holding down alt and pressing the character code on the numeric keypad will enter that character. The keyboard language in use must support entering that character. If your keyboard supports it the code is shown on the right hand side of the status bar in Character Map else this section of the status bar is empty.

However there is two ways of entering codes. The point to remember here that the characters are the same for the first 127 codes. The difference is if the first number typed is a zero of not. If it is then the code will insert the character from the current character set else it will insert a character from the OEM character set. Codes over 255 enter the unicode character and are in decimal. See the next section for converting hexidecimal to decimal.

E.G., Alt + 0 then 6 then 5 then release Alt enters the letter A

[Back to International Contents]

Hex To Unicode IME
In programs based on the Rich Edit 3 control, such as Wordpad, enter a unicode number in hexidecimal format into the document then press Alt + X. This will convert the number typed into the unicode character. Select a character and press Alt + X to convert that character into it's unicode number.

Selecting letters A to E will result in it being considered a hexidecimal number and it will convert to the unicode characters (which are things like form feed and the enter key).

To convert hexidecimal to decimal start Windows Calculator (type calc in Start - Run or Start - All Programs - Accessories - Calculator) and choose Scientific from the View menu. Select Hex, enter the number, and click Dec. Hex and Decimal are also on the View menu.

Run Calculator

Run Wordpad

[Back to International Contents]

Entering International Characters - US International Keyboards
Install the US International keyboard. Start - Control Panel - Regional And Language Options - Languages - Details - Add. While here review the Key Settings to switch keyboards or turn on the Language Bar (Advanced Text Services must not be disabled).

Run Language Dialog

This works in two modes. Right Alt or Shift + Right Alt + another key and also by pressing dead keys (such as accents). On non US Keyboards the Right Alt key is called Alt Gr.

Right Alt is the same key as Ctrl + Left Alt on the US International keyboards, and on almost all keyboards except the standard US keyboards where left and right keys are treated the same . This is a reason why Ctrl + Alt should not be used to set hotkeys. Also F12 should also not be used for hotkeys as it's reserved for attaching a debugger.

[Back to International Contents]

The Right Alt Keys
Key Description
Right Alt + 1 i
Right Alt + 2 ²
Right Alt + 3 ³
Right Alt + 4 ¤
Right Alt + 5 €
Right Alt + 6 1/4
Right Alt + 7 1/2
Right Alt + 8 3/4
Right Alt + 9 '
Right Alt + 0 '
Right Alt + - ¥
Right Alt + = ×
Right Alt + Q ä
Right Alt + W å
Right Alt + E é
Right Alt + R (r)
Right Alt + T þ
Right Alt + Y ü
Right Alt + U ú
Right Alt + I í
Right Alt + O ó
Right Alt + P ö
Right Alt + [ <<
Right Alt + ] >>
Right Alt + \ Not Sign
Right Alt + A á
Right Alt + S ß
Right Alt + D ð
Right Alt + L ø
Right Alt + ; Pilcrow Sign
Right Alt + ' ´
Right Alt + Z æ
Right Alt + C (c)
Right Alt + N ñ
Right Alt + M µ
Right Alt + , ç
Right Alt + / ¿
Shift + Right Alt + 1 ¹
Shift + Right Alt + 4 £
Shift + Right Alt + = ÷
Shift + Right Alt + Q Ä
Shift + Right Alt + W Ã…
Shift + Right Alt + E É
Shift + Right Alt + T Þ
Shift + Right Alt + Y Ü
Shift + Right Alt + U Ú
Shift + Right Alt + I Ã
Shift + Right Alt + O Ó
Shift + Right Alt + P Ö
Shift + Right Alt + \ ¦
Shift + Right Alt + A Ã
Shift + Right Alt + S §
Shift + Right Alt + D Ã
Shift + Right Alt + L Ø
Shift + Right Alt + ; °
Shift + Right Alt + ' ¨
Shift + Right Alt + Z Æ
Shift + Right Alt + C ¢
Shift + Right Alt + N Ñ
Shift + Right Alt + , Ç

[Back to International Contents]

The Dead Keys
The dead keys are the apostrophe ('), quotation mark ("), accent grave (`), tilde (~), and caret (^). If these are pressed the system waits for the next key. If it is in the list below then it enters the symbol character else it enters both keys seperately. These work with uppercase where appropiate.

Key Description
' then C Ç
' then e é
' then y ý
' then u ú
' then i í
' then o ó
' then a á
" then e ë
" then u ü
" then i ï
" then o ö
" then a ä
` then e è
` then u ù
` then i ì
` then o ò
~ then o õ
~ then n ñ
^ then e ê
^ then u û
^ then i î
^ then o ô
^ then a â

[Back to International Contents]

Switching Keyboards
Key Description
Left Alt + Shift Switches keyboard layout or language (default).
Control + Shift Switches keyboard layout (default) or language.
Left Alt + Shift + <a number, tilde (~), or accent grave (`)> Switches to a specific keyboard layout or language (default).
Control + Shift + <a number, tilde (~), or accent grave (`)> Switches to a specific keyboard layout (default) or language.

On the advanced tab turn on both Advanced Text Services and Extend Support To All Programs to enable Left Alt + Shift support.

Keys to switch layouts are set at Start - Control Panel - Regional Options - Languages - Details - Key Settings.

Run Language Dialog then click Advanced tab or Key Settings button.

[Back to International Contents]

Tips
Like Accessibility there is a trick here with general applicability. Normally Caps Lock is on or off and stays on or off untill the key is pressed again. This can be changed to act like a typewriter at Start - Control Panel - Regional And Language Options - Languages - Details - Key Settings and one can select whether another Caps Lock press will turn off Caps Lock or if pressing the Shift key will turn it off like on a typewriter.

Run Language Dialog then click Key Settings button.

[Back to International Contents]

[Back to Contents]

 

[Guest]

My character map is gone and cannot be found.....how come I can't find a
place to download etc...I had a total reformat done a few weeks ago and
wonder if that is what happened...

 

[Andy I.]

Hi Chas,

That's strange. I too have WIN XP Home v. 2002 (SP 2), and my System Tools
has neither Backup nor Security Center, but it *does* have Character Map.
It might be worthwhile to check again: START | ALL PROGRAMS | ACCESSORIES |
SYSTEM TOOLS | CHARACTER MAP .
Just a thought.
Good Luck.

Andy I.


: My character map is gone and cannot be found.....how come I can't find a
: place to download etc...I had a total reformat done a few weeks ago and
: wonder if that is what happened...
:
: "Chas." wrote:
:
: > according to an XP page i've found, there is supposed to be a Character
Map
: > to copy and paste special characters from. Page says it's in System
Tools but
: > the only thing in my System Tools is Backup and Security Center.
: >
: > I have XP Home v2002 on Gateway 450 laptop. Any one know where the Map
is?

 

[Nepatsfan]

Let's start with the easy one first.

Windows Backup will not be installed in XP Home Edition. You
have to go to the VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP folder on your XP
installation CD and run ntbackup.msi to install the program.
Take a look here for more info,

HOW TO: Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home
Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

If your system did not come with an installation CD, you can
download the file from here,

Installing the Backup Program on the Home Version
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#backup_home

Direct download of ntbackup.msi.
http://home.comcast.net/~cerelli/ntbackup.msi

As for your missing shortcuts, the first thing to do is make
sure Character Map is installed. Go to Control Panel and double
click Add or Remove Programs.
In the left hand column, click on Add/Remove Windows
Components.
In the Windows Component Wizard, make sure "Accessories and
Utilities" is highlighted.
Hit the Details button.
In the box that appears, make sure Accessories is highlighted
and hit the Details button.
Make sure that there's a check mark in the box next to
Character Map.
Note: Don't uncheck anything. If you do, those programs will be
uninstalled.
Hit OK twice.
Hit the Next button in the Windows Component Wizard to install
any missing programs.

If the programs are already installed, you may need to recreate
the missing shortcuts. Take a look here for one solution.

Courtesy of Ramesh Srinivasan, MS-MVP
Restore shortcuts to the Accessories group
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Accessories.htm

If you prefer, you can manually recreate the missing shortcuts.
Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the following folder.

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start
Menu\Programs\Accessories\System Tools

In the right hand pane, right click and select New -> Shortcut
from the menu.
Enter this in the location box,

%SystemRoot%\System32\wscui.cpl

Hit the Next button and name your new shortcut Security Center.
Right click your new shortcut and select Properties from the
menu.
Hit the Change Icon button on the Shortcut page.
Hit the Browse button.
Navigate to this file,

system32\xpsp2res.dll

Click on the icon for Security Center.
Click OK twice.

You can do the same for Character Map.
Put this in the location box,

%SystemRoot%\System32\charmap.exe

You should see the correct icon for this shortcut
automatically.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

%[email protected],

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Click Start, Run and type:

CHARMAP.EXE

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


My character map is gone and cannot be found.....how come I can't find a
place to download etc...I had a total reformat done a few weeks ago and
wonder if that is what happened...

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Make sure it's installed.

Go to Control Panel - Add/remove programs - Add/remove Windows Components -
Accessories and Utilities - Details button - Accessories - Details button and
make sure Character Map is checked. If not, check it and click OK three times to
save the settings.

 

[Carl F]

My character map is gone and cannot be found.....how come I can't find a
place to download etc...I had a total reformat done a few weeks ago and
wonder if that is what happened...

If you are interested in a good freeware alternative, do an internet
search on "allchars"

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

If you are interested in a good freeware alternative, do an internet
search on "allchars"

Second the motion. It's much more than a "good freeware alternative." It's a
much easier way to get most of the common special characters people want. Go
to http://allchars.zwolnet.com/