jarvi@plains.UUCP (Trent Jarvi) (07/06/90)
I am trying to type the mu character on word 5.0 and cant find a clue as how I am supposed to do this. I assume one must type a character code in but I cant figure out how (not easy to find in manual). If someone has dealt with this in the past could they please e-mail the solution? Thanks in advance (let me know if this is the wrong group) Trent Jarvi :: UUCP: !uunet!plains!jarvi :: Fargo, ND ))))) North Dakota :: BITNET: jarvi@plains.bitnet :: 58105 )):)) State Univ. :: INTERNET: jarvi@plains.NoDak.edu :: 701-234-0354 )))))
goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com (Fred R. Goldstein) (07/06/90)
In article <5215@plains.UUCP>, jarvi@plains.UUCP (Trent Jarvi) writes... >I am trying to type the mu character on word 5.0 and cant find a clue >as how I am supposed to do this. I assume one must type a character code >in but I cant figure out how (not easy to find in manual). To type any arbitrary character in Word, hold down the Alt key while typing the three-digit value (i.e., 088, 196, 254) on the numeric keypad; then release the Alt key and the character mystically appears! This is real handy for doing things like "bulleted lists", since there's no key for bullet either. (It's 254 or something like that; I don't have it in front of me.) BTW I'm using Word 4.0 but it's still in 5.0. --- Fred R. Goldstein goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com or goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com voice: +1 508 486 7388
bank@lea.ncsu.edu (Dave The DM) (07/10/90)
In article <13155@shlump.nac.dec.com> goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com (Fred R. Goldstein) writes: > >In article <5215@plains.UUCP>, jarvi@plains.UUCP (Trent Jarvi) writes... >>I am trying to type the mu character on word 5.0 and cant find a clue >>as how I am supposed to do this. I assume one must type a character code >>in but I cant figure out how (not easy to find in manual). > >To type any arbitrary character in Word, hold down the Alt key while >typing the three-digit value (i.e., 088, 196, 254) on the numeric >keypad; then release the Alt key and the character mystically appears! > >This is real handy for doing things like "bulleted lists", since there's >no key for bullet either. (It's 254 or something like that; I don't >have it in front of me.) BTW I'm using Word 4.0 but it's still in 5.0. >--- >Fred R. Goldstein goldstein@carafe.enet.dec.com > or goldstein@delni.enet.dec.com > voice: +1 508 486 7388 The function (ALT key + number sequence) Fred mentions here is not specific to Word or WordPerfect or any other WP program. It is a function of the IBM BIOS, INT 9, I think. Works with just about any program that doesn't revector the keyboard input (as an example, it doesn't work with Hayes' Smartcom II, which grabs the keyboard interrupt). If you want to see what numbers to type to get what characters, get ahold of an ASCII table. Mind you, only the 1st 128 codes are truly standard - codes 128 thru 255 are manufacturer specific (altho many adhere to IBM's). Also, type in the decimal and not hex value of what you want. Octal won't work either. (I know, it's difficult to generate "1Bh" on the numeric keypad...but someone would figure it out! :-) Dave the DM
dsampson@x102a.harris-atd.com (sampson david 58163) (07/10/90)
>I am trying to type the mu character on word 5.0 and cant find a clue >as how I am supposed to do this. I assume one must type a character >code in but I cant figure out how (not easy to find in manual). If >someone has dealt with this in the past could they please e-mail the >solution? Here's some background on character representation and a general purpose solution to your problem. BACKGROUND: The special characters are mapped to your keyboard, but you don't just hit one key to get to them like you do for a normal alphabet character. The normal typewriter keys are mapped to the ASCII character set (remember that each key has a number associated with it) between 32 and 127. Keys below 32 are special things like line feeds, bell rings, etc, that are hold overs from the old teletype days. The IBM PC allows characters above 127, ranging from 128 - 223 (My Postscript printer actually goes up to 250, but the official ASCII/IBM PC table stops at 223). These higher number characters show up as graphics characters and foreign language characters. You get one of these characters on the screen by holding down the ALT key, typing the number of the ascii character on the numeric keypad, then releasing the ALT key. Word doesn't necessarily print the character that you see in an ASCII table (it does sometimes, but not always). It turns out that the font you've chosen affects what is printed. For example, if I'm in Word and hold down the ALT key, type 130, then release the ALT key, I'll see a character that looks like a capital C with a squiggle under it. If I highlight that character and choose a Times Roman font, the Postscript printer (I use one of these at work) will print the character as you see it on the screen. However, if I highlight the character and choose a SYMBOL font, I'll still see the capital C with a tail character on screen, but the printer will print out an upsidedown U (which is one of the mathematical set operators). So you see, the font you choose for a character affects what is printed. SOLUTION: I wanted to find out what kind of characters my Postscript printer would print and how they're mapped to the keyboard. So I created a "template" file to test each of the fonts. I set up the template file like this: Font Name that I'm testing (like Times Roman 12 pt.) Lower Case Letters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = q w e r t y u i o p [ ] ` a s d f g h j k l ; ' z x c v b n m , . / Upper Case Letters: ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + Q W E R T Y U I O P { } ~ A S D F G H J K L : " Z X C V B N M < > ? Extended Character Set: I just mapped out my terminal keyboard at work to show you what I mean, so don't try to cut and paste this to Word. The Extended Character Set is the stuff above ASCII 127 that I mentioned already. When you put the cursor under the Extended Character Set title line, do what I told you before. Hold down the ALT key, type 128 on the numeric keypad, release the ALT key. A character will appear. Hit the space bar a couple of times then repeate it for ALT 129, ALT 130 and so on. I generally put about 10 characters per line so that I have ALT 131 - ALT 140 on one line and so on. Then off to the side I type in "ALT 128 - 139" or whatever so that I know what numbers correspond to the characters that I'll see printed. Repeat this process until you get to ALT 150. Then select the entire document and choose the font you want to test in the Format-Character menu. Then save the doc and/or print it. Now you'll have a keyboard map for that particular font. You can repeat this for each font your printer supports. Remember to save each font/keyboard template under a new name each time. If you have a special font like SYMBOL, don't select the whole document and format it in symbol. If you make a mistake and do that, your titles such as the font name, 'Upper Case', 'Lower Case', etc will be unreadable. Just select the characters you want to apply the font to. Once you map out your fonts and keyboard, if you want a mu and you're using a Postscript printer for example, you can easily look it up and see that a mu is available in Times Roman at ALT 230. And away you go. Good luck, David -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Sampson Harris Corporation dsampson@x102a.ess.harris.com Gov't Aerospace Systems Divison uunet!x102a!dsampson Melbourne, Florida -------------------------------------------------------------------------------