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On personal computers with numeric keypads that use Microsoft operating systems, such as Windows, many characters that do not have a dedicated key combination on the keyboard may nevertheless be entered using the Alt code (the Alt numpad input method). This is done by pressing and holding the Alt key, then typing a number on the keyboard's numeric keypad that identifies the character and then releasing Alt. [1]
On IBM PC compatible personal computers from the 1980s, the BIOS allowed the user to hold down the Alt key and type a decimal number on the keypad. It would place the corresponding code into the keyboard buffer so that it would look (almost) as if the code had been entered by a single keystroke. Applications reading keystrokes from the BIOS would behave according to what action they associate with that code. Some would interpret the code as a command, but often it would be interpreted as an 8-bit character from the current code page that was inserted into the text the user was typing. On the original IBM PC the code page was CP437.
Some Eastern European, Arabic and Asian computers used other hardware code pages, and MS-DOS was able to switch between them at runtime with commands like KEYB, CHCP or MODE . This causes the Alt combinations to produce different characters (as well as changing the display of any previously-entered text in the same manner). A common choice in locales using variants of the Latin alphabet was CP850, which provided more Latin character variants. (There were, however, many more code pages; for a more complete list, see code page ).
PC keyboards designed for non-English use included other methods of inserting these characters, such as national keyboard layouts, the AltGr key or dead keys, but the Alt key was the only method of inserting some characters, and the only method that was the same on all machines, so it remained very popular.[ where? ][ clarification needed ] This input method is emulated by many pieces of software (such as later versions of MS-DOS and Windows) that do not use the BIOS keyboard decoding.
In the ASCII standard, the numbers 0-31 and 127 are assigned to control characters, for instance, code point 7 is typed by Ctrl+G. While some (most?) applications would insert a bullet character • (code point 7 on code page 437), some would treat this identical to Ctrl+G which often was a command for the program.[ citation needed ]
Typing a number greater than 255 produced the character associated with the remainder after the number is divided by 256.[ citation needed ]
The Alt codes had become so well known and memorized by users that Microsoft decided to preserve them, even though it used a new and different set of code pages for Windows, such as CP1252. The old code pages were called OEM code pages; the new ones are called Windows code pages, [lower-alpha 1] The familiar Alt+number combinations produced codes from the OEM code page (for example, CP437 in the United States), matching the results from MS-DOS. But prefixing a leading zero (0) to the number (usually meaning 4 digits) produced the character specified by the newer Windows code page, [lower-alpha 2] allowing them to be typed as well.
For instance, the combination Alt+163 would result in ú (Latin letter u with acute accent) which is at 163 in the OEM code page of CP437 or CP850, while Alt+0163 yields the character £ (symbol for the pound sterling) which is at 163 in CP1252. [2]
The numbers 0 –31 and 127 are control characters in the Windows code pages. Typing these numbers with a leading zero is ignored.[ citation needed ]
Before Unicode was introduced, most Windows software could only create text using the repertoire of characters available in a single Windows code page. Characters that did not exist in that page (such as a line-drawing graphic from the OEM page) could not be inserted, and either were ignored or produced an unexpected character.[ citation needed ]
When Windows later transitioned to Unicode,[ when? ] all the characters from both the OEM and Windows code pages were available, actually improving the emulation of the oldest MSDOS Alt codes.
There was a desire to extend the Alt codes to allow entry of any Unicode code point. Numbers greater or equal to 256 pick the corresponding Unicode code point (lower numbers continue to pick characters from the OEM or ANSI code pages, but if 0 is prefixed the ANSI code page greatly resembles the first 256 characters of Unicode). Some applications (RichEdit-based) like Word 2010, Wordpad, and PSPad operate this way. [3] Other Windows applications, including Notepad, Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge interpret all numbers greater than 255 modulo 256.[ citation needed ]
Because most Unicode documentation and the Character Map accessory show the code points in hex, not decimal, a variation of Alt codes was developed to allow the typing of numbers in hex (using the main keyboard for A–F). To enable it, a user must set or create a string type (REG_SZ) value called EnableHexNumpad in the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method, assign the value data 1 to it, and then reboot or log out/in.[ citation needed ] A leading + then indicates hex input, for example Alt++11B will produce ě (e with caron).
If Num lock is disabled, attempting an Alt code may cause unexpected results in some applications, due to the controls used on the same key. For example, Alt+4 can be taken as Alt+←, causing a web browser to go back one page.
Many laptops do not have a separate numeric keypad, but some may provide numpad input by holding a modifier key (typically labelled "Fn"); thus one must press and hold both Alt and Fn keys while entering the character code.
One limitation of the Alt code feature is that the Alt key and the numpad keys being used to enter the code must both be on the same keyboard device. Users with keyboards that lack a numpad (e.g. tenkeyless designs) cannot use a separate numpad device to enter Alt codes while holding the Alt key on their main keyboard.[ citation needed ]
The Alt key method does not work on ChromeOS, macOS, Linux or other operating systems and there is no readily-accessible evidence of interest in replicating it, due to its including the 1980s IBM PC character encoding as part of its definition. However, numeric entry of Unicode characters is possible in most Unix or Unix-like OSs by typing Ctrl+⇧ Shift+U, (release) then the hex number, then the space bar or enter key. For example,
Alternative systems exist for users to make characters without selecting them by number, for example using a popup window that lets a user choose the desired character by clicking on it. Examples include the Windows Character Map or the Insert Character facility in MsOffice. See Unicode input for more.
| Unicode | CP437 | CP850 | CP1252 | Unicode name | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U+00A0 | 255 | 0160 | NO-BREAK SPACE | ||
| ¡ | U+00A1 | 173 | 0161 | INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK | |
| ¢ | U+00A2 | 155 | 189 | 0162 | CENT SIGN |
| £ | U+00A3 | 156 | 0163 | POUND SIGN | |
| ¤ | U+00A4 | 207 | 0164 | CURRENCY SIGN | |
| ¥ | U+00A5 | 157 | 190 | 0165 | YEN SIGN |
| ¦ | U+00A6 | 221 | 0166 | BROKEN BAR | |
| § | U+00A7 | 21 | 245 | 0167 | SECTION SIGN |
| ¨ | U+00A8 | 249 | 0168 | DIAERESIS | |
| © | U+00A9 | 184 | 0169 | COPYRIGHT SIGN | |
| ª | U+00AA | 166 | 0170 | FEMININE ORDINAL INDICATOR | |
| « | U+00AB | 174 | 0171 | LEFT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK | |
| ¬ | U+00AC | 170 | 0172 | NOT SIGN | |
| [lower-alpha 3] | U+00AD | 240 | 0173 | SOFT HYPHEN | |
| ® | U+00AE | 169 | 0174 | REGISTERED SIGN | |
| ¯ | U+00AF | 238 | 0175 | MACRON | |
| ° | U+00B0 | 248 | 0176 | DEGREE SIGN | |
| ± | U+00B1 | 241 | 0177 | PLUS-MINUS SIGN | |
| 2 | U+00B2 | 253 | 0178 | SUPERSCRIPT TWO | |
| 3 | U+00B3 | 252 | 0179 | SUPERSCRIPT THREE | |
| ´ | U+00B4 | 239 | 0180 | ACUTE ACCENT | |
| μ | U+00B5 | 230 | 0181 | MICRO SIGN | |
| ¶ | U+00B6 | 20 | 244 | 0182 | PILCROW SIGN |
| · | U+00B7 | 250 | 0183 | MIDDLE DOT | |
| ¸ | U+00B8 | 247 | 0184 | CEDILLA | |
| 1 | U+00B9 | 251 | 0185 | SUPERSCRIPT ONE | |
| º | U+00BA | 167 | 0186 | MASCULINE ORDINAL INDICATOR | |
| » | U+00BB | 175 | 0187 | RIGHT-POINTING DOUBLE ANGLE QUOTATION MARK | |
| 1⁄4 | U+00BC | 172 | 0188 | VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER | |
| 1⁄2 | U+00BD | 171 | 0189 | VULGAR FRACTION ONE HALF | |
| 3⁄4 | U+00BE | 243 | 0190 | VULGAR FRACTION THREE QUARTERS | |
| ¿ | U+00BF | 168 | 0191 | INVERTED QUESTION MARK | |
| À | U+00C0 | 183 | 0192 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE | |
| Á | U+00C1 | 181 | 0193 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE | |
| Â | U+00C2 | 182 | 0194 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| Ã | U+00C3 | 199 | 0195 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE | |
| Ä | U+00C4 | 142 | 0196 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS | |
| Å | U+00C5 | 143 | 0197 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE | |
| Æ | U+00C6 | 146 | 0198 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER AE | |
| Ç | U+00C7 | 128 | 0199 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA | |
| È | U+00C8 | 212 | 0200 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH GRAVE | |
| É | U+00C9 | 144 | 0201 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH ACUTE | |
| Ê | U+00CA | 210 | 0202 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| Ë | U+00CB | 211 | 0203 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS | |
| Ì | U+00CC | 222 | 0204 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH GRAVE | |
| Í | U+00CD | 214 | 0205 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH ACUTE | |
| Î | U+00CE | 215 | 0206 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| Ï | U+00CF | 216 | 0207 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS | |
| Ð | U+00D0 | 209 | 0208 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER ETH | |
| Ñ | U+00D1 | 165 | 0209 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N WITH TILDE | |
| Ò | U+00D2 | 227 | 0210 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH GRAVE | |
| Ó | U+00D3 | 224 | 0211 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH ACUTE | |
| Ô | U+00D4 | 226 | 0212 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| Õ | U+00D5 | 229 | 0213 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH TILDE | |
| Ö | U+00D6 | 153 | 0214 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS | |
| × | U+00D7 | 158 | 0215 | MULTIPLICATION SIGN | |
| Ø | U+00D8 | 157 | 0216 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O WITH STROKE | |
| Ù | U+00D9 | 235 | 0217 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH GRAVE | |
| Ú | U+00DA | 233 | 0218 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH ACUTE | |
| Û | U+00DB | 234 | 0219 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| Ü | U+00DC | 154 | 0220 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS | |
| Ý | U+00DD | 237 | 0221 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE | |
| Þ | U+00DE | 232 | 0222 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN | |
| ß | U+00DF | 225 | 0223 | LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S | |
| à | U+00E0 | 133 | 0224 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH GRAVE | |
| á | U+00E1 | 160 | 0225 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE | |
| â | U+00E2 | 131 | 0226 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| ã | U+00E3 | 198 | 0227 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH TILDE | |
| ä | U+00E4 | 132 | 0228 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS | |
| å | U+00E5 | 134 | 0229 | LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE | |
| æ | U+00E6 | 145 | 0230 | LATIN SMALL LETTER AE | |
| ç | U+00E7 | 135 | 0231 | LATIN SMALL LETTER C WITH CEDILLA | |
| è | U+00E8 | 138 | 0232 | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH GRAVE | |
| é | U+00E9 | 130 | 0233 | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH ACUTE | |
| ê | U+00EA | 136 | 0234 | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| ë | U+00EB | 137 | 0235 | LATIN SMALL LETTER E WITH DIAERESIS | |
| ì | U+00EC | 141 | 0236 | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH GRAVE | |
| í | U+00ED | 161 | 0237 | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH ACUTE | |
| î | U+00EE | 140 | 0238 | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| ï | U+00EF | 139 | 0239 | LATIN SMALL LETTER I WITH DIAERESIS | |
| ð | U+00F0 | 208 | 0240 | LATIN SMALL LETTER ETH | |
| ñ | U+00F1 | 164 | 0241 | LATIN SMALL LETTER N WITH TILDE | |
| ò | U+00F2 | 149 | 0242 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH GRAVE | |
| ó | U+00F3 | 162 | 0243 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH ACUTE | |
| ô | U+00F4 | 147 | 0244 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| õ | U+00F5 | 228 | 0245 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH TILDE | |
| ö | U+00F6 | 148 | 0246 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH DIAERESIS | |
| ÷ | U+00F7 | 246 | 0247 | DIVISION SIGN | |
| ø | U+00F8 | 155 | 0248 | LATIN SMALL LETTER O WITH STROKE | |
| ù | U+00F9 | 151 | 0249 | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH GRAVE | |
| ú | U+00FA | 163 | 0250 | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH ACUTE | |
| û | U+00FB | 150 | 0251 | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH CIRCUMFLEX | |
| ü | U+00FC | 129 | 0252 | LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS | |
| ý | U+00FD | 236 | 0253 | LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH ACUTE | |
| þ | U+00FE | 231 | 0254 | LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN | |
| ÿ | U+00FF | 152 | 0255 | LATIN SMALL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS | |
| ı | U+0131 | 213 | LATIN SMALL LETTER DOTLESS I | ||
| Π| U+0152 | 0140 | LATIN CAPITAL LIGATURE OE | ||
| œ | U+0153 | 0156 | LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE | ||
| Š | U+0160 | 0138 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S WITH CARON | ||
| š | U+0161 | 0154 | LATIN SMALL LETTER S WITH CARON | ||
| Ÿ | U+0178 | 0159 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y WITH DIAERESIS | ||
| Ž | U+017D | 0142 | LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH CARON | ||
| ž | U+017E | 0158 | LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH CARON | ||
| ƒ | U+0192 | 159 | 0131 | LATIN SMALL LETTER F WITH HOOK | |
| ˆ | U+02C6 | 0136 | MODIFIER LETTER CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT | ||
| ˜ | U+02DC | 0152 | SMALL TILDE | ||
| Γ | U+0393 | 226 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER GAMMA | ||
| Θ | U+0398 | 233 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER THETA | ||
| Σ | U+03A3 | 228 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA | ||
| Φ | U+03A6 | 232 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PHI | ||
| Ω | U+03A9 | 234 | GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMEGA | ||
| α | U+03B1 | 224 | GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA | ||
| δ | U+03B4 | 235 | GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA | ||
| ε | U+03B5 | 238 | GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON | ||
| π | U+03C0 | 227 | GREEK SMALL LETTER PI | ||
| σ | U+03C3 | 229 | GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA | ||
| τ | U+03C4 | 231 | GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU | ||
| φ | U+03C6 | 237 | GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI | ||
| – | U+2013 | 0150 | EN DASH | ||
| — | U+2014 | 0151 | EM DASH | ||
| ‗ | U+2017 | 242 | DOUBLE LOW LINE | ||
| ‘ | U+2018 | 0145 | LEFT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK | ||
| ’ | U+2019 | 0146 | RIGHT SINGLE QUOTATION MARK | ||
| ‚ | U+201A | 0130 | SINGLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK | ||
| “ | U+201C | 0147 | LEFT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK | ||
| ” | U+201D | 0148 | RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK | ||
| „ | U+201E | 0132 | DOUBLE LOW-9 QUOTATION MARK | ||
| † | U+2020 | 0134 | DAGGER | ||
| ‡ | U+2021 | 0135 | DOUBLE DAGGER | ||
| • | U+2022 | 7 | 0149 | BULLET | |
| ... | U+2026 | 0133 | HORIZONTAL ELLIPSIS | ||
| ‰ | U+2030 | 0137 | PER MILLE SIGN | ||
| ‹ | U+2039 | 0139 | SINGLE LEFT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK | ||
| › | U+203A | 0155 | SINGLE RIGHT-POINTING ANGLE QUOTATION MARK | ||
| ‼ | U+203C | 19 | DOUBLE EXCLAMATION MARK | ||
| n | U+207F | 252 | SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER N | ||
| ₧ | U+20A7 | 158 | PESETA SIGN | ||
| € | U+20AC | 0128 | EURO SIGN | ||
| ™ | U+2122 | 0153 | TRADE MARK SIGN | ||
| ← | U+2190 | 27 | LEFTWARDS ARROW | ||
| ↑ | U+2191 | 24 | UPWARDS ARROW | ||
| → | U+2192 | 26 | RIGHTWARDS ARROW | ||
| ↓ | U+2193 | 25 | DOWNWARDS ARROW | ||
| ↔ | U+2194 | 29 | LEFT RIGHT ARROW | ||
| ↕ | U+2195 | 18 | UP DOWN ARROW | ||
| ↨ | U+21A8 | 23 | UP DOWN ARROW WITH BASE | ||
| ∙ | U+2219 | 249 | BULLET OPERATOR | ||
| √ | U+221A | 251 | SQUARE ROOT | ||
| ∞ | U+221E | 236 | INFINITY | ||
| ∟ | U+221F | 28 | RIGHT ANGLE | ||
| ∩ | U+2229 | 239 | INTERSECTION | ||
| ≈ | U+2248 | 247 | ALMOST EQUAL TO | ||
| ≤ | U+2264 | 243 | LESS-THAN OR EQUAL TO | ||
| ≡ | U+2261 | 240 | IDENTICAL TO | ||
| ≥ | U+2265 | 242 | GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO | ||
| ⌂ | U+2302 | 127 | HOUSE | ||
| ⌐ | U+2310 | 169 | REVERSED NOT SIGN | ||
| ⌠ | U+2320 | 244 | TOP HALF INTEGRAL | ||
| ⌡ | U+2321 | 245 | BOTTOM HALF INTEGRAL | ||
| ─ | U+2500 | 196 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT HORIZONTAL | ||
| │ | U+2502 | 179 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL | ||
| ┌ | U+250C | 218 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND RIGHT | ||
| ┐ | U+2510 | 191 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND LEFT | ||
| └ | U+2514 | 192 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND RIGHT | ||
| ┘ | U+2518 | 217 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND LEFT | ||
| ├ | U+251C | 195 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND RIGHT | ||
| ┤ | U+2524 | 180 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND LEFT | ||
| ┬ | U+252C | 194 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT DOWN AND HORIZONTAL | ||
| ┴ | U+2534 | 193 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT UP AND HORIZONTAL | ||
| ┼ | U+253C | 197 | BOX DRAWINGS LIGHT VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL | ||
| ═ | U+2550 | 205 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE HORIZONTAL | ||
| ║ | U+2551 | 186 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL | ||
| ╒ | U+2552 | 213 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN SINGLE AND RIGHT DOUBLE | ||
| ╓ | U+2553 | 214 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN DOUBLE AND RIGHT SINGLE | ||
| ╔ | U+2554 | 201 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE DOWN AND RIGHT | ||
| ╕ | U+2555 | 184 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN SINGLE AND LEFT DOUBLE | ||
| ╖ | U+2556 | 183 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN DOUBLE AND LEFT SINGLE | ||
| ╗ | U+2557 | 187 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE DOWN AND LEFT | ||
| ╘ | U+2558 | 212 | BOX DRAWINGS UP SINGLE AND RIGHT DOUBLE | ||
| ╙ | U+2559 | 211 | BOX DRAWINGS UP DOUBLE AND RIGHT SINGLE | ||
| ╚ | U+255A | 200 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE UP AND RIGHT | ||
| ╛ | U+255B | 190 | BOX DRAWINGS UP SINGLE AND LEFT DOUBLE | ||
| ╜ | U+255C | 189 | BOX DRAWINGS UP DOUBLE AND LEFT SINGLE | ||
| ╝ | U+255D | 188 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE UP AND LEFT | ||
| ╞ | U+255E | 198 | BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL SINGLE AND RIGHT DOUBLE | ||
| ╟ | U+255F | 199 | BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL DOUBLE AND RIGHT SINGLE | ||
| ╠ | U+2560 | 204 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL AND RIGHT | ||
| ╢ | U+2562 | 182 | BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL DOUBLE AND LEFT SINGLE | ||
| ╣ | U+2563 | 185 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL AND LEFT | ||
| ╤ | U+2564 | 209 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN SINGLE AND HORIZONTAL DOUBLE | ||
| ╥ | U+2565 | 210 | BOX DRAWINGS DOWN DOUBLE AND HORIZONTAL SINGLE | ||
| ╦ | U+2566 | 203 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE DOWN AND HORIZONTAL | ||
| ╧ | U+2567 | 207 | BOX DRAWINGS UP SINGLE AND HORIZONTAL DOUBLE | ||
| ╨ | U+2568 | 208 | BOX DRAWINGS UP DOUBLE AND HORIZONTAL SINGLE | ||
| ╩ | U+2569 | 202 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE UP AND HORIZONTAL | ||
| ╪ | U+256A | 216 | BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL SINGLE AND HORIZONTAL DOUBLE | ||
| ╫ | U+256B | 215 | BOX DRAWINGS VERTICAL DOUBLE AND HORIZONTAL SINGLE | ||
| ╬ | U+256C | 206 | BOX DRAWINGS DOUBLE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL | ||
| ▀ | U+2580 | 223 | UPPER HALF BLOCK | ||
| ▄ | U+2584 | 220 | LOWER HALF BLOCK | ||
| █ | U+2588 | 219 | FULL BLOCK | ||
| ▌ | U+258C | 221 | LEFT HALF BLOCK | ||
| ▐ | U+2590 | 222 | RIGHT HALF BLOCK | ||
| ░ | U+2591 | 176 | LIGHT SHADE | ||
| ▒ | U+2592 | 177 | MEDIUM SHADE | ||
| ▓ | U+2593 | 178 | DARK SHADE | ||
| ■ | U+25A0 | 254 | BLACK SQUARE | ||
| ▬ | U+25AC | 22 | BLACK RECTANGLE | ||
| ▲ | U+25B2 | 30 | BLACK UP-POINTING TRIANGLE | ||
| ► | U+25BA | 16 | BLACK RIGHT-POINTING POINTER | ||
| ▼ | U+25BC | 31 | BLACK DOWN-POINTING TRIANGLE | ||
| ◄ | U+25C4 | 17 | BLACK LEFT-POINTING POINTER | ||
| ○ | U+25CB | 9 | WHITE CIRCLE | ||
| ◘ | U+25D8 | 8 | INVERSE BULLET | ||
| ◙ | U+25D9 | 10 | INVERSE WHITE CIRCLE | ||
| ☺ | U+263A | 1 | WHITE SMILING FACE | ||
| ☻ | U+263B | 2 | BLACK SMILING FACE | ||
| ☼ | U+263C | 15 | WHITE SUN WITH RAYS | ||
| ♀ | U+2640 | 12 | FEMALE SIGN | ||
| ♂ | U+2642 | 11 | MALE SIGN | ||
| ♠ | U+2660 | 6 | BLACK SPADE SUIT | ||
| ♣ | U+2663 | 5 | BLACK CLUB SUIT | ||
| ♥ | U+2665 | 3 | BLACK HEART SUIT | ||
| ♦ | U+2666 | 4 | BLACK DIAMOND SUIT | ||
| ♪ | U+266A | 13 | EIGHTH NOTE | ||
| ♫ | U+266B | 14 | BEAMED EIGHTH NOTES | ||
The keyboard for IBM PC-compatible computers is standardized. However, during the more than 30 years of PC architecture being frequently updated, many keyboard layout variations have been developed.
QWERTY is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top letter row of the keyboard. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to E. Remington and Sons in 1873. It became popular with the success of the Remington No. 2 of 1878, and remains in ubiquitous use.
Scroll Lock is a lock key on most IBM-compatible computer keyboards.
Ü is a Latin script character composed of the letter U and the diaeresis diacritical mark. In some alphabets such as those of a number of Romance languages or Guarani it denotes an instance of regular U to be construed in isolation from adjacent characters with which it would usually form a larger unit; other alphabets like the Azerbaijani, Estonian, German, Hungarian and Turkish ones treat it as a letter in its own right. In those cases it typically represents a close front rounded vowel.
A dead key is a special kind of modifier key on a mechanical typewriter, or computer keyboard, that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a (complete) character by itself, but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after. Thus, a dedicated key is not needed for each possible combination of a diacritic and a letter, but rather only one dead key for each diacritic is needed, in addition to the normal base letter keys.
An input method is an operating system component or program that enables users to generate characters not natively available on their input devices by using sequences of characters that are available to them. Using an input method is usually necessary for languages that have more graphemes than there are keys on the keyboard.
The Alt keyAlt on a computer keyboard is used to change (alternate) the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing A will type the letter 'a', but holding down the Alt key while pressing A will cause the computer to perform an Alt+A function, which varies from program to program. The international standard ISO/IEC 9995-2 calls it Alternate key. The key is located on either side of the space bar, but in non-US PC keyboard layouts, rather than a second Alt key, there is an 'Alt Gr' key to the right of the space bar. Both placements are in accordance with ISO/IEC 9995-2. With some keyboard mappings, the right Alt key can be reconfigured to function as an AltGr key although not engraved as such.
In word processing and digital typesetting, a non-breaking space, also called NBSP, required space, hard space, or fixed space, is a space character that prevents an automatic line break at its position. In some formats, including HTML, it also prevents consecutive whitespace characters from collapsing into a single space. Non-breaking space characters with other widths also exist.
Code page 437 is the character set of the original IBM PC. It is also known as CP437, OEM-US, OEM 437, PC-8, or DOS Latin US. The set includes all printable ASCII characters as well as some accented letters (diacritics), Greek letters, icons, and line-drawing symbols. It is sometimes referred to as the "OEM font" or "high ASCII", or as "extended ASCII".
The degree symbol or degree sign, °, is a glyph or symbol that is used, among other things, to represent degrees of arc, hours, degrees of temperature or alcohol proof. The symbol consists of a small superscript circle.
A compose key is a key on a computer keyboard that indicates that the following keystrokes trigger the insertion of an alternate character, typically a precomposed character or a symbol.
On computer keyboards, the enter key⌅ Enter and return key↵ Return are two closely related keys with overlapping and distinct functions dependent on operating system and application.
On computer keyboards, the Esc keyEsc is a key used to generate the escape character. The escape character, when sent from the keyboard to a computer, often is interpreted by software as "stop", "cancel" or "exit", and when sent from the computer to an external device marks the beginning of an escape sequence to specify operating modes or characteristics generally.
Diacritical marks of two dots¨, placed side-by-side over or under a letter, are used in a number of languages for several different purposes. The most familiar to English-language speakers are the diaeresis and the umlaut, though there are numerous others. For example, in Albanian, ë represents a schwa. Such diacritics are also sometimes used for stylistic reasons.
A Hebrew keyboard comes in two different keyboard layouts. Most Hebrew keyboards are bilingual, with Latin characters, usually in a US Qwerty layout. Trilingual keyboard options also exist, with the third script being Arabic or Russian, due to the sizable Arabic- and Russian-speaking populations in Israel.
VNI Software Company is a developer of various education, entertainment, office, and utility software packages. They are known for developing an encoding and a popular input method for Vietnamese on for computers. VNI is often available on computer systems to type Vietnamese, alongside TELEX input method as well. The most common pairing is the use of VNI on keyboard and computers, whilst TELEX is more common on phones or touchscreens.
Unicode input is the insertion of a specific Unicode character on a computer by a user; it is a common way to input characters not directly supported by a physical keyboard. Unicode characters can be produced either by selecting them from a display or by typing a certain sequence of keys on a physical keyboard. In addition, a character produced by one of these methods in one web page or document can be copied into another. In contrast to ASCII's 96 element character set, Unicode encodes hundreds of thousands of graphemes (characters) from almost all of the world's written languages and many other signs and symbols besides.
A computer keyboard is a peripheral input device modeled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. Replacing early punched cards and paper tape technology, interaction via teleprinter-style keyboards have been the main input method for computers since the 1970s, supplemented by the computer mouse since the 1980s.
A keyboard layout is any specific physical, visual or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key-meaning associations (respectively) of a computer keyboard, mobile phone, or other computer-controlled typographic keyboard.
A numeric keypad, number pad, numpad, or ten key, is the palm-sized, usually-17-key section of a standard computer keyboard, usually on the far right. It provides calculator-style efficiency for entering numbers. The idea of a 10-key number pad cluster was originally introduced by Tadao Kashio, the developer of Casio electronic calculators.