Input method

The input method is a method of entering characters into a computer even when the character is not present on the keyboard . This occurs when there are many more characters than keys (such as in Chinese or Japanese ) or when the character is from a foreign language, such as Cyrillic letters or German umlauts with an English keyboard layout .

Input methods are often described as “entering special characters ” (on web pages with the title “special characters”), often using the Danish lowercase letter ø as an example. The latter in particular stands in contrast to the traditional understanding (in typography / typometry and digital data processing ) of special characters , according to which special characters are differentiated from letters (and digits) (see punch card coding ).

Keyboard shortcuts or shortcuts

Code entry

If a character coding is known , the corresponding code value for the character to be generated can be entered using a key combination.

Characters encoded in 7 bits as in ASCII are generally all on the keys and do not require this method.
An 8-bit coding can be manufacturer-specific, see code page (e.g. Windows-1252 ) - see the manual or try it out.
In the 21st century, mainly Unicode is supported - also Unicode # use on computer systems (sometimes more detailed).

Alt key and digits on the numeric keypad

Input under Microsoft Windows as well as in Linux - Console on computers i386 architecture: Alt key ( Althold) code at the keypad decimal type (eg. 64), Alt key release (coming in as @). If the number is entered as a four-digit number, it is interpreted as a Unicode character; if the number is three or less, it is interpreted as a character from the extended ASCII. z. B. gives Alt + 177 ▒, but Alt + 0177 ±.

This applies, for example, to text editors (NotePad, TextPad, WordPad, kate), to DOS command line input, partly to the free Office package OpenOffice.org , the Microsoft Office components Excel, Access and PowerPoint, as well as to activated NumLock also for Microsoft Word.

With laptops and small keyboards, the numeric keypad can be simulated with a function key if it is not available. E.g. Fn + 7 (7), 8 (8), 9 (9), U (4), I (5), O (6), J (1), K (2), L (3), M ( 0). It is also possible to retrofit the numeric keypad as a USB device.

Shift key and Ctrl key

With GNOME , a graphical user interface of Unix-like systems: Hold down Strgand Shift(the shift key), enter the code in hexadecimal (example: 40 for @), release Ctrl and Shift. From GNOME Version 2.15 onwards, Ctrl and Shift must be held down, whereby a 'U' must be entered before the hexadecimal code (example: u40 for @). It works on both the numeric keypad and the alphanumeric block.

In MS Word and LibreOffice: Alt key and "C"

There is only one other option in Microsoft Word. The hexadecimal value of the character is used here, in both directions. After entering this value, e.g. B. 00B1 or U + 00B1 with the number keys above the letter keys and the keys A to F, the insertion point (the cursor) is positioned immediately afterwards and Alt + C (in dialog boxes: Alt + X) is pressed; the string is replaced, in the example by ±.

The key combination Alt + C (Alt + X no longer from Word 2007) can also be used to generate the character code ( codepoint ) of a character, even if it can not be displayed by the font used. The insertion mark must be positioned immediately to the right of the character / character string. By pressing Alt + C again, the initial state can be restored, so you can switch back and forth. For example: 611B ↔ 愛.

From version 5.1 this input method is also offered in LibreOffice .

Pressing several keys at the same time

Already on the mechanical typewriter (with jack ) the letter and number keys were assigned twice, the second assignment is achieved by simultaneously holding down one of the two shift keys ( ⇧; or Tab). In the case of the letter keys, these are the capital letters; in the case of the number keys , these are various special characters with which these keys are also labeled. Computer keyboards have adopted this system. In a reasonably intuitive way, additional characters can be reached through additional assignments (including additional keys), to which the Option key ( ) on Apple keyboards , otherwise the Alt ( ) and on German keyboards also the Alt-Gr key ( ) lead. Under Linux , for example, + gives the typographical ellipsis (...) in Unicode, to the left of it + the centered point ( · , in some contexts it replaces the comma or the slash or acts as a painting point ), with an additional key the cross ×. ⌥AltAlt GrAlt Gr.Alt Gr,⇧

Keyboard layout

It can also be useful to adapt the keyboard layout to your own needs.

Graphical input methods

Operating systems also offer character tables that can be searched for a desired character. Once you have found it, you can click on it to insert it into the text to be edited. Some editors ( front ends for markup languages , word processing and desktop publishing ) also offer toolbars with similar functionality.

With a special input program (Input Method Editor, IME)

Input method for Chinese

Especially when entering text in Japanese and Chinese , it is advisable to use special input programs , because several words or characters usually fit on the same sequence of letters, such as the Pinyin transcription. After entering the sequence of letters, you can select the desired character from a menu that then appears (see illustration).

Web links

schoenitzer.de: Encodings. Retrieved February 6, 2016 . - Character encodings including their historical development as well as instructions for entering and saving specially encoded characters on Linux and Windows

typografie.info: Enter special characters. November 3, 2010, accessed February 6, 2016 . - Quite complete display of different input options under Windows, Mac OS and Linux

WERTA Software: CJKV input method editor for MS Word - VBA macros for entering East Asian characters and for text conversion (download and instructions, English)

wiki.ubuntuusers.de: Special characters. September 20, 2015, accessed February 7, 2016 . - Keyboard layouts (with Alt Gr) under Linux

Individual evidence

↑ Wolfgang Beinert: special characters. In: typolexikon.de. August 22, 2006, accessed February 7, 2016 .
^ Jo Appel, Manfred Leubner, Wolfgang Manekeller, Ute Mielow, Helga Rühling, Annelore Shliz, Annemarie Weighardt: Gabler Büro Lexikon . Springer-Verlag, 2013, p. 259 f . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
↑ LibreOffice: Entry of Unicode characters with ALT + C. October 13, 2016, accessed January 10, 2018 .

[1] Wolfgang Beinert: special characters. In: typolexikon.de. August 22, 2006, accessed February 7, 2016 .

[2] Jo Appel, Manfred Leubner, Wolfgang Manekeller, Ute Mielow, Helga Rühling, Annelore Shliz, Annemarie Weighardt: Gabler Büro Lexikon . Springer-Verlag, 2013, p. 259 f . ( limited preview in Google Book search).

[3] LibreOffice: Entry of Unicode characters with ALT + C. October 13, 2016, accessed January 10, 2018 .