How do I type Unicode characters in Windows 7?

[dev]

How do I type in unicode characters such as "☑"?

In XP you could add a "hexnumpad" key to the registry and then type "Alt +2611", but this doesn't seem to be working. I can still type regular ASCII Characters using the numpad, however.

Thanks

 

[whs]

Individual characters you can copy from All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character map. But if you need whole strings, that is a little cumbersome.

 

[dev]

Individual characters you can copy from All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character map. But if you need whole strings, that is a little cumbersome.

Is there no way to type them manually, without having to open up the character map?

 

[carioca]

Apparently the combination now is U+number, e.g. U+0029 should give you e with accent aigu

 

[mitchell65]

When you use Charater map, from what I understand the code at the bottom left is not the Keyboard stroke. If a keyboard stroke is available for the particular symbol you want it will be shown on the right as Alt+089 or similar. those characters that don't have an Alt number showing, I don't think are available through the keyboard. That's my understanding anyway, might be wrong though.

 

[Dwarf]

That is correct. Only those characters which display a Keystroke combination are able to be directly entered from the keyboard. All other characters will need to be entered from within Character Map.

 

[mitchell65]

That is correct. Only those characters which display a Keystroke combination are able to be directly entered from the keyboard. All other characters will need to be entered from within Character Map.

Thanks for the confirmation. I don't have the need to use it that much but I use vulgar fractions a lot and have always just used the Alt and numeric keyboard. I have committed to memory the codes for the few I need so don't go that often to Character map.

 

[Dwarf]

How about creating a simple Notebook (.txt) file for these characters? You can then copy and paste from there, and can quite easily add new characters as and when required.

 

[mitchell65]

How about creating a simple Notebook (.txt) file for these characters? You can then copy and paste from there, and can quite easily add new characters as and when required.

Good thinking - nice simple solution!

 

[carioca]

My apologies - belatedly: I couldn't find the thread yesterday! - I was wrong with my suggestion re the U+xxxxxx code, and in addition gave the wrong Unicode for accent aigu! Mea culpa...

On the other hand, for the limited use I would make of it, the character map is quite handy, and it even allows you to enter strings of characters by selecting them, then copying to the clipboard and pasting them into your document. Thanks for pointing me towards this utensil!

Cheers,

LMH

NB: You could then make up a string of the characters you will require, copy the string into your document and copy from there the individual bit you need. Don't forget to delete that 'nonsens' string before saving the document LOL

 

[azathoth]

I agree. Character Map makes a notepad document unnecessary. But I'm still peeved about not being able to produce many of the characters. Wasn't there a registry setting in XP where you changed something like "HexNumber" or whatever (a string value) from 0 to 1? Did that actually allow you to make those characters with only the keyboard? And if so, how did it work? Anybody know?

-az

 

[essenbe]

You can also right click it and pin it to the taskbar. That way it will be easy to find.

 

[James Colbert]

You could always find a macro utility and create keyboard macros (shortcuts) for the characters/strings you use regularly (although it's likely that you found a working solution for this months ago).

James

 

[Anamon]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but the information given in it is actually incorrect. It is in fact possible to type any Unicode character directly from the keyboard in Windows 7. Azathoth remembered correctly about the registry key. Here is how to activate it:

1. Open regedit
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Input Method
3. If it doesn't exist, create a new string value named EnableHexNumpad
4. Set its value to 1
5. Log out and back in to apply the configuration

Now you can type any Unicode character by pressing and holding Alt, then typing a + followed by the hexadecimal Unicode (as displayed in Character Map as 'U+....', just leave out the U). Note that while for entering ASCII characters you must use the number pad keys, you must not use them for entering Unicode characters. It only works if you use the number keys above the letters. You can use the + key on the number pad though.

 

[Claudiu Balanea]

You may generate unicode characters on GTK applications (Pidgin e.g.) as follows CTRL+SHIFT+u, release all keys + type the unicode + type space. Example: Pi = ctrl+shift+u+03C0+space

 

[bernhardh]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but the information given in it is actually incorrect. It is in fact possible to type any Unicode character directly from the keyboard in Windows 7. Azathoth remembered correctly about the registry key. Here is how to activate it:

1. Open regedit
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Input Method
3. If it doesn't exist, create a new string value named EnableHexNumpad
4. Set its value to 1
5. Log out and back in to apply the configuration

Now you can type any Unicode character by pressing and holding Alt, then typing a + followed by the hexadecimal Unicode (as displayed in Character Map as 'U+....', just leave out the U). Note that while for entering ASCII characters you must use the number pad keys, you must not use them for entering Unicode characters. It only works if you use the number keys above the letters. You can use the + key on the number pad though.

Anamon I set the registry value as above, logged off, logged on. However, when I type the code, I don't get the intended character. For example, I want to type the "thinking face emoji" (Thinking Face Emoji ), whose code-point is U+1F914, so I do the following:
Hold Alt, type numpad +, 1, f, 9, 1, 4, release Alt (typing digits on the top row; not on the numpad).
Instead of the intended emoji I get a strange Chinese symbol 樂.
Any ideas?

 

[bernhardh]

Ok, apparently this is not an issue with Windows 7 specifically, but even with Windows 10!
It turns out you can’t type 5-digit unicode characters in Windows . See Unicode input - Wikipedia

My personal objective was to create some macros for my keyboard for typing some common emojis. I ended up using AutoHotKey, which can type all emojis without limitations. I set up some macros on my keyboard to type F13, F14, etc. AutoHotKey listens for that key and then types the corresponding emoji