Inserting Unicode characters and glyphs

The Insert Symbol dialog (accessible from Symbol>Other… on the Insert menu) does a great job of adding symbols (Unicode characters and glyphs). However, you may prefer to quickly insert some Unicode characters or glyphs directly to your text if they are frequently used or easy to remember.

This is possible by insertion of characters/glyphs using a combination of a typed-in hexadecimal code and Alt+X. The Alt+X keyboard operation toggles between the displayed character (e.g., @) and its Hex code (e.g., U+0040) equivalent.

  • Both Unicode characters and glyphs are only available if the font supports them.

  • Glyphs of the same hexadecimal character code may be different between fonts.

To insert a Unicode character or glyph:

  1. Create an insertion point in your text.

  2. Either:

  • For a Unicode character: Type “U” then the Hex code, e.g. “0040″, “040″, or “40″.
    OR

  • For glyphs: Type “G” then the Hex code, e.g. “02F5″ or “2F5″.

  1. Select Alt+X to toggle. The cursor must be at the end of the Hex code, or the code must be highlighted.

  2. Once entered, the character code will always display in full (U+0040).

  3. If you want to verify your Hex code you can enter it into the Character Code box of the Insert Symbol dialog.

Inserting Unicode characters and glyphs