Libre Writer - special characters

users
#1

In MS Word the prescription symbol is 211E.

In special characters I typed in 211E in the Decimal box but did not get
the prescription symbol.

Aren’t hexicodes standard so Libre Writer should match MS Word?

Is there a quick way when you’re in a document you can type something like
hold down the Alt key and type in 211 on the numeric pad and get the
prescription symbol?

Not using a search engine (Google, Yahoo), is there a way in Libre Writer
to type in the words “prescription symbol” and it will find the symbol?

Or when you’re looking for an unusual symbol, you must Google it to
ascertain it’s hexicode unicode, etc.?

Otherwise, you’d had to scroll through every symbol chart to find it.

Thanks.

Charles.

#2

Ctrl-shift-u then four hex numbers. I've created a list I paste by my computer. Memorize the most common. You can also create your own desktop shortcuts for ones you use a lot. There's probably an easier way, but this works for me. It works in lots of places on my Linux install, not just in LO.

U + 00A9 ©

U + 00B0 °

U + 2122 ™

U + 2018 ‘

U + 2019 ’

U + 201C “

U + 201D ”

U + 00b1 ±

U + 00a7 §

U + 2014 — em dash

U + 2938 ⤸

U + 2936 ⤶

U + 21a9 :leftwards_arrow_with_hook:

U + 20a4 ₤

U + 00e4 ä

U + 00e7 ç

U + 00e8 è

U + 00e9 é

U + 00eb ë

U + 00f1 ñ

U + 00fc ü

U + 00dc Ü

U + 00f6 ö

U + 00a2 ¢

#3

See the answer to your question here:
https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=87787

Basically, Writer (just like Word) uses the fonts installed on your
system. If the font you are using contains the required character,
Writer will display the 211E symbol in exactly the same way as Word.

Regards
Dave

#4

The hexidecimal unicodes can also be used in Windows with a registry edit:
   Add HKEY_Current_User/Control Panel/Input Method, set EnableHexNumpad to
"1"
   If adding use New > String Value, Type = REG_SZ.

After the registry change
   Press & hold Alt; Press '+' on number pad; enter code; release Alt.

Probably a web search would provide a better explanation.
The main thing is that the same codes can be used on both platforms.

#5

In special characters I typed in 211E in the Decimal box but did not get
the prescription symbol.

211E is hexadecimal, not decimal. As such, when using the decimal box,
the E from 211E will be discarded. For the decimal box, use 271.

Aren’t hexcodes standard so Libre Writer should match MS Word?

Yes.

LibO is, for all practical purposes, Unicode 9.0 conformant:
* The major exception being the bicoloured emoji;
* The minor exceptions being issues with the font rendering engine;
* The most common reason for LibO appearing to not be Unicode 9.0
conformant, is that the font is crafted for Unicode 5.0, not Unicode 9.0;

However, the font designer has the final say:
* Most fonts are designed for Unicode 5.0 specifications;
* It is par for CJKV fonts to display the wrong glyph, because it is
designed for another language;
* The less said about Indus Valley Writing Systems, the better;

Otherwise, you’d had to scroll through every symbol chart to find it.

LibO assumes that one has at least a general idea of which sub-set of
the Unicode 9.0 Character Code set the glyph to be used is in.

Individual fonts, and typefaces include or exclude specific glyphs on
whim. As such, one might have to scroll several different fonts and
typefaces to find the specific glyph.

jonathon

#6

Input the character via its Unicode value, and toggle.

So, here enter "U+211e" and then use <l-Alt>+X to toggle.

A <l-Alt>+X anywhere in a document will show the Unicode value for that
character.

Of the fonts installed with LibreOffice, just DejaVu Sans includes the ℞
(U+211E - Prescription Take) glyph.

In addition to the Unicode toggle mechanism, LibreOffice provides the
Special Character dialog picker. For any given font it will show the
"coverage" of the font. Enhancement at some point should also include
composite font, and identification of font containing a glyph--just not
there yet. 'Til then use another character map program like BableMap to
display coverage and identify fonts with Unicode glyphs.

=-ref-=
http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Software/BabelMap.html

#7

Thank you Stuart for the key to the toggle. I've wondered how to enter
unicode characters for a long time. And have tried all the ctrl-shift +U
stuff suggested so often but with absolutely no success.

Yours is the first time I've seen mention of <left-alt>+X and it works
for me a treat. I don't even have to enter the U+ part of the unicode.
It works with just 211e <leftAlt>+X.

#8

That's interesting. If I try every possible combination of this method
with Writer under Win 7, all I get is a lower case x. It this something
peculiar to Linux or OSX?

Dave

#9

Dave-3 wrote

That's interesting. If I try every possible combination of this method
with Writer under Win 7, all I get is a lower case x. It this something
peculiar to Linux or OSX?

Added for the 5.1.0 release. It works with all OS, see tdf#73691
<https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=73691> , with some
adjustments for locale.

Just verified the <alt>+x functions as intended on Windows 7 sp1 (a Right
Alt key, will end up as AltGr on some keyboard mappings for some locals, but
the l-Alt should always work).

Try with a reset user profile.

#10

Hi Stuart,

Win 7 Ult SP1 - Fully updated.
LO Version: 5.3.2.2 (x64)
Build ID: 6cd4f1ef626f15116896b1d8e1398b56da0d0ee1
CPU Threads: 8; OS Version: Windows 6.1; UI Render: default; Layout
Engine: new;
Locale: en-AU (en_AU); Calc: group
Logitech K320/550 keyboard. No special mappings.

New user profile. Same lower case x result with Right Alt + x

However, for both original and new profiles _LEFT_ Alt + x works.

In other software Right Alt works as expected. Go figure?

Thanks anyway,
Dave

#11

I am a little late in this post but. . . .

I tend to not remember the "alt" command. I use the "Insert Special Character" option. I did check out several non Unicode fonts. Many of them do not show the "Rx" symbol shaded in the character window, when I type in the hex code of "211E".

So it is helpful to have a good, full, Unicode font. I use Arial Unicode. If you know of a free Unicode font that has near Arial's number of symbols and glyphs, I would really like to know. It would be nice to have both a Serif and San-Serif versions.

#12

V Stuart Foote <VStuart.Foote@utsa.edu> writes:

Dave-3 wrote

That's interesting. If I try every possible combination of this method
with Writer under Win 7, all I get is a lower case x. It this something
peculiar to Linux or OSX?

Added for the 5.1.0 release. It works with all OS, see tdf#73691
<https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=73691> , with some
adjustments for locale.

Just verified the <alt>+x functions as intended on Windows 7 sp1 (a Right
Alt key, will end up as AltGr on some keyboard mappings for some locals, but
the l-Alt should always work).

Try with a reset user profile.

On MacOS it is ALT+CMD+X

#13

DejaVu Sans has the Rx symbol among 5371 entries in its character
map. DejaVu Serif - which I find to be gloriously readable both on
screen and on paper - has a paltry (!?) 3340 characters, none of which
are Rx. Linux Biolinum and Linux Libertine are in the 2000s.

#14

If you know of a free Unicode font that has near Ariel's number of symbols and glyphs, I would really like to know.

NoTo Sans * from Google.

It is meant as a web only font, but it works OK for printing.
The entire set takes up somewhere between ten and fifteen megabytes.

Unicode 9.0 is the current version. The last time I looked, Google was
at either Unicode 5.0, or 6.0.

I have no idea why, but font foundries continue to create fonts for
Unicode 4.0 or 5.0, acting as if those were the most recent versions of
the Unicode standard.

It would be nice to have both Serif and San-Serif versions.

For some languages, NoTo is available in both Serif, and San-Serif versions.

jonathon