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Typing in random Unicode code points

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MSDN Blogs > Sorting it all Out > Typing in random Unicode code points

Typing in random Unicode code points

18 May 2005 10:00 AM
  • Comments 27

People ask all the time how they can type in random Unicode data.

Some people point out the vast array of supported Keyboard Layouts on Windows.

Others point out how you can create your own keyboards with MSKLC.

Still others talk about fancy things you can do with the numeric keypad.

And then still others like to go on about typing a code point value in Word, highlighting it, and then hitting <Alt+X>.

Personally, I like to just install the Unicode IME, first added for Traditional Chinese in Windows 2000 and available in every version of Windows since then. Just install it:

and then it will be on your list of available input languages....

Simple to use -- just switch to it with <Left Alt+ Shift> and start typing hex numbers in any application....

and then when you type a full Unicode code point, it will commit the character automatically!

A very cool stealth feature available in all even moderately recent versions of Windows! :-)

 

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  • KJK::Hyperion
    18 May 2005 12:32 PM
    Hmmm, can't see it in Windows 2000. The "Chinese (Traditional)" layout doesn't even appear to be an IME
  • Eusebio Rufian-Zilbermann
    18 May 2005 2:33 PM
    Cool! With this and http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U16A0.pdf I can type Runic in Word 2006!

    Jokes aside, this may be a very useful tip for our QA people. Thank you very much.
  • 18 May 2005 8:57 PM
    On Win2000, when I choose Chinese - Taiwan in the first dropdown, I have "Unicode IME" for Chinese - Traditional in the 2nd.
  • 19 May 2005 3:51 AM
    How do we type in random Unicode code points in Windows 98?
    I know this OS is old, but there are still many using it. And your execelent MSLU makes Unicode Applications possible.
  • BobH
    19 May 2005 6:00 AM
    Very cool -- thx for the tip.

    A minor issue is that if you use this to input non-Chinese characters (e.g., Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew) in apps that keep track of language info (e.g., Word), all non-Chinese text seems to be identified as English -- not very helpful in a lot of cases. Thinking of workarounds to this lead to the following:

    Question: I thought I'd try adding Hebrew input language but use this Unicode layout IME -- but Windows XP doesn't offer this layout for Hebrew (or Arabic or English or probably lots of other languages). Why not?
  • 19 May 2005 11:14 AM
    I will cover the Language Bar in a special posting all of it own, soon. :-)
  • 19 May 2005 11:16 AM
    Regarding win98, I do not really have an answer for there -- not even MSLU really helps there much since almlost every API converts out of Unicode and calls the OS version....
  • KJK::Hyperion
    19 May 2005 5:55 PM
    Ok, it looks like the elusive IME only appears if you choose Chinese as a language. Not an optimal solution :-|
  • 19 May 2005 6:09 PM
    It may be possible to use an unattend file with intl.cpl to install it under other languages, as described in http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=289125 (this interface has more flexibility than the Language Bar UI).
  • Sorting It All Out
    29 May 2006 3:06 AM
    I have mentioned the ALT+X mechanism for entering Unicode code points in passing previously, e.g. in...
  • Sorting It All Out
    20 Jul 2006 4:03 AM
    I have previously (like in Typing in random Unicode code points) talked about using the Unicode IME as...
  • Sorting It All Out
    29 Nov 2007 11:29 AM

    I have a regular reader who is kind of fond of the blog. She admits to skimming it regularly, kind of

  • Harold Fuchs
    4 Jan 2008 1:28 PM

    I'm on Win XP Pro SP2 + all updates. There is no version of Chinese in the list of available languages. What am I doing wrong, please?

    [e-mail address removed]

  • 4 Jan 2008 1:55 PM

    Sounds like somethng for the Suggestion Box (link over on the right side)?

  • Harold Fuchs
    4 Jan 2008 2:36 PM

    Well, I found out how to install Chinese on my XP system but, having done so and rebooted the thing simply doesn't work in any application I have: IE7, Wordpad, Outlook Express etc.

    Also, how do you hold down the Alt key and type an "E" *without* invoking the current program's Edit menu? (See the examples where the hex value 00E is entered)

    Please, is this an April Fool or what?

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MSDN Blogs > Sorting it all Out > Typing in random Unicode code points