Using special charcters in your post

Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
There are times when instead of writing out certain words, we might want to use special characters. As an example, instead of saying "today's temperature will be 50 degrees", why not just use 50°? Whoa... where did I get that ° symbol?

And, for you electrician guys talking about ohm or impedance, you can use Ω instead of spelling out ohms.

There is a table called the ASCII Character map which assigns numeric value to special characters. As an example...

ALT+248 will equal °
ALT+234 will equal Ω

Now this is on a PC keyboard. I do not know what the Mac version would be. Maybe someone who has a Mac can answer.

Give it a try in the reply box. No need to post unless you want to show your new found skills. The WYSIWYG format of this and many other forums will let you see what will be posted before you post.

Here is a link to the one of the many ASCII tables available. One should take note that not every special character will be usable. It depends on your machine and which ASCII table is embedded in your firmware.

Have fun!
 

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
8,020
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Mac keyboard...
Alt Shift 8 = °
Alt Z = Ω
Alt Shift = ± ( approximate = ) or Alt X = ≈
Alt p = pi = π
OR MOST IMPORTANT...

Alt Shift Cntrl PC = :ass:
Jim...
 
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Likes: Justin_NSA
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
Thanks for the update, Jim. On PCs we also have a CNTRL+Mac key which cause all Macs to crash. Works all the time. :clap:
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,343
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Aren't there enough special characters here already???:deadhorse:

sent from my Windows 7 five year old ex-cheapo laptop...my son has the Mac...:rolleyes:
 
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Likes: quadrille38
Apr 8, 2010
1,606
Frers 33 41426 Westport, CT
Aren't there enough special characters here already???:deadhorse:

sent from my Windows 7 five year old ex-cheapo laptop...my son has the Mac...:rolleyes:
Probably, but hard to tell, never get to see them getting off the school bus to see if it's the long or short one! :D
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
STOP IT! stop it right now...... once the techies (or even one of them) think its alright to start using symbols in their attempt at describing the process of whatever it is they are trying to articulate, it will chase most of us away.

if I wanted symbols and formulas, there is a load of that on the internet already... in all due respect, Maine Sail posts enough of those symbols and stuff here from time to time, that the rest of us dont need to:biggrin:...

the degree symbol is a handy bit of information, but conversations and information shared on this site should be kept simple and not laced with unknown objects, so ALL of us simple people can understand what what we are trying to learn.... and I may not be speaking only of myself;), but there are a lot of newbies here that have less than a clue, and throwing an upside down horseshoe at them wont give them one... words and pictures yes.... technical symbols, NO...

Brian, we love ya, but dont make that suggestion again:kick:

but for those that want to use them elsewhere, see this
 
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capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
5,072
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
There is a table called the ASCII Character map which assigns numeric value to special characters. As an example...
ALT+248 will equal °
ALT+234 will equal Ω
Have fun!
You are a sincerely cruel man!
I am so computer illiterate that I just don't get it. Am I supposed to hold the alt key then the plus and type 248 with my third hand? Even when I did this nothing happened, so I pressed enter and.... nothing but the cursor.
I'm sorry, but for those of us (or maybe only me?) please explain in a bit more depth. I've a PC, by the way.
Thanks
 
Feb 20, 2011
8,062
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Am I supposed to hold the alt key then the plus and type 248 with my third hand?
No, you set your numlock on, press the alt and hold it while typing in the numbers.
Could be done with one hand...;)

Centerline's link is a bit more clear.
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
5,072
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
No, you set your numlock on, press the alt and hold it while typing in the numbers.
Could be done with one hand...;)

Centerline's link is a bit more clear.
Cruel, cruel man. You could have told me to use the number pad! It doesn't work on the numbers above the keys, which are all I ever use. "Dumb, dumb, dumb" he says as he bangs his head into the chart table, again and again. lol .
Give me a boat in a gale ANY day over trying to get along with a computer. lol
Thanks, this is going to save me lots of one finger typing.