On 23/02/07, M Henri Day <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
2007/2/23, John Jason Jordan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > > On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 21:11:31 -0500 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] dijo: <snip> There are different ways of doing this between Windows and Linux. > > Windows: Hold down Ctrl+Alt and type 0 (zero) plus the decimal code for > the character. In some applications you must have the numeric keypad > button on. > > Ubuntu Linux up to and including OOo 2.0.2 on Dapper: Hold down Ctrl > +Shift and type the hex code for the character. > Ubuntu Linux after the above: Hold down Ctrl+Shift and type u; release > Ctrl+Shift and type the hex code; hit spacebar. > > If your version of Linux/OOo is right around the time Dapper went to > Edgy (last fall) you may have one or the other of the above. The > switchover was necessary in order to access all of the Unicode > characters; previously there were a few that we couldn't do with the > keyboard. John Jason, my version of Linux/OO.o is that which is supplied with Edgy, i e, 2.0.4. I've tried to produce an «ƒ» in OO.o using both of the above methods, i e, Ctrl + Shift + 0083 (on the numeric keys with Num Lock on), and Ctrl + Shift + u, release, then typing 0083 and hitting the space bar. The first method produces nothing at all, the second a symbol which I cannot reproduce here, but which resembles something which might be found in an Indic alphabet (of interest is the fact that the second method on my text editor or here on Gmail - i e, in Edgy itself, produces a «» !). Have I missed a step ? It would be handy to have access to all the Unicode glyphs (a good place to find them is at http://unicode.coeurlumiere.com/), over and above the ones I can produce using various Alt Gr + and Alt Gr + Shift + combinations.... Harold, my intention in suggesting an investigation of Alt Gr + Shift was not to enter into a dispute with you concerning the semiotics of the concept «many». You first mentioned that you could only produce an accent aigu ; upon further investigation you found four more presumably useful diacritics. Is that not a positive development ? Perhaps still more investigation would turn up a few others ; as I am using, as you know, a different keyboard set-up, I am unable to investigate the matter myself. As for my pointing out to Pradeep that the Microsoft Word operations don't work on a Linux machine like my own, that was, no doubt, gilding the lily, but then again, sometimes we overlook the obvious. When I first went over to Ubuntu, I tried the Alt + (0+decimal code on numeric keys with Num Lock on) that I had used previously on Windows, just to see if it also worked on Ubuntu. Not unsurprisingly, it did not, but I didn't feel myself stupid for having tried, quite the contrary. This may however, simply be an expression of an, in my case, unfortunately typical lack of self-knowledge.... Henri
I don't and didn't intend a dispute. I don't even understand where the word dispute came from. When someone says "you can do ...." something in which I'm interested, but gives no reference or explanation I usually ask for details. I don't consider that to be a dispute. The web site I originally quoted, which is just a normal web site requiring nothing more than a web browser to access, detailed a very elegant scheme, implemented in MS Office, for achieving a host of accented and other non-English characters. My original request was for the OO implementers to give us a similar scheme. Using a standard UK keyboard I have not found it possible to achieve more than the 5 accented vowels *other than* by using the numeric keyboard and having to remember the hex codes for the required characters. Sorry, but I don't consider that to be a "short cut". We didn't invent computers to be obliged to remember a whole bunch of hex codes. In theory we could do without DNS by remembering IP addresses ;-) Since then I have found, courtesy of this mail list (thank you, Larry Gusaas) details of the US International keyboard which allows many accented and other international characters. User Guide at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306560. I have also found a "UK/Gaelic Extended" keyboard layout for Windows ( http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~oduibhin/mearchlar/gaelicuk.htm<http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/%7Eoduibhin/mearchlar/gaelicuk.htm>) which also gives access to many of these characters. I think the US International scheme is more comprehensive and also more logical/mnemonic but if you use a real UK keyboard, as I do, it's a bit confusing because some of the keys it uses are in "the wrong" place. I guess the same remark applies to users of any keyboard, like French or German or ... that doesn't use the same physical layout as the US one. But for someone using, say, a French keyboard and who wants occasionally to achieve, say, Scandinavian ligatures, the US International scheme is much better than having to remember Hex codes -- Harold Fuchs London, England Please reply *only* to [email protected]
