british pound
computer geek
different computer symbols
euro symbol
money symbols
unknown symbols one can use
For Those Who Did Not Know This: A Bit Of A Computer Lesson For Symbols
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
May 5, 2008 1:28am CST
A fellow mylotter friend of mine started a discussion as she was interested in how to be able to use different symbols like monetary ones...She seemed to think that the only monetary symbol on US made keyboards only had the dollar sign $ but thought that only European keyboards could have say the British pound symbol...£ or the Euro symbol €--well as you can see...not so. It surprised me that the responders didn't know how to get symbols other than the most commonly used ones.
Now I have a Mac computer so our keyboard is different anyway...and in my opinion in many ways a heck of a lot easier to use and you'll see what I mean by this little demonstration
For Mac users to get different symbols one hits the Option key + something else
so for instance
Option + 2 gets the trademark symbol ™
Option + 4 gets the cent symbol ¢
Option + Shift + 2 gets the Euro symbol €
Option + 3 gets the British pound symbol £
for a listing of symbols to use on Macs here's a link
http://german.about.com/library/blcharcodes.htm
It has further links for more symbols
Ah...alas do I hear you say..."'But I don't have a Mac"??
All is not lost...but it's more complicated to get the symbols..hehee--nah nah, nah nah nah
For any other symbol other than the traditional ones on your keyboard you have to press the ALT key + a code number
A great website for all the symbols is here
http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html
So for that British pound symbol you have to press the ALT + 0163
And this my friends concludes Computer 101
Okay folks...how many of you knew you could do this? How many did not know...not don't be shy...confess
For any other symbol other than the traditional ones on your keyboard you have to press the ALT key + a code number
A great website for all the symbols is here
http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/international/accents/codealt.html
So for that British pound symbol you have to press the ALT + 0163
And this my friends concludes Computer 101
Okay folks...how many of you knew you could do this? How many did not know...not don't be shy...confess18 people like this
33 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
You're welcome...I was surprised how many people didn't know about this
1 person likes this
@cortjo73 (6498)
• United States
5 May 08
While I can't remember where it is, there is actually a box you can pop up that has all of the symbols too.
As far as the Mac goes...I am a new Mac user. I only just got a Mac about 3 months ago so, this info was very helpful as I am still learning. And, BTW...I love Mac! My hubby loves it too and has already said that the next time we need to replace any computers in our house, it will be with a Mac.
Thank you for the help!
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
Aww nuts didn't come through..it was supposed to be a heart, a few Greek letters, a check mark...did show up when I typed it though..oh, well
1 person likes this
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
5 May 08
I came across the list of all the symbols you could use some 10 years ago... and I printed it.
But I did not memorize it and I keep losing the list amongst my paper work. 
@Aussies2007 (5336)
• Australia
6 May 08
That is what I thought Plooker. I am sure it is somewhere in Windows.
So why don't you be a good myLotter and tell us where to find it.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
5 May 08
Well now you have the listing for the symbols again--still think Macs are easier to use...kind of a nuisance to have to type those codes
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
5 May 08
Hi pyewacket! Alright, I confess! I didn't know anything about it. I usually depend on hubby for all my queries on the PC. I didn't have any use of this before but I think it will come in handy. Thanks for the lesson Teacher Pye! haha..I saved this discussion so I can try my hands on it later. haha..Thanks for sharing this. Take care and have a nice day! 
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
5 May 08
Now you can have fun sort of rediscovering the keyboard all over again...hehe
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
I had first learned computers on a PC type rather than a Mac...this code thing was told to me long time ago, but lost the list too, so was glad it was available on a website
@rhane7315 (5649)
• Philippines
15 May 08
i knew it when i started playing online games. but i only know few of them. thanks for sharing this though 
2 people like this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
6 May 08
Okay! Second time posting a response evidently the first one didn't go through tried to post usingsome of the symbols. But I thank you very much for this very informative information. I have always wondered how to do most of the symbols now I know. Again thanks for this discussion.
1 person likes this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
15 May 08
I have ask everyone I know and saved the link and sent it to them since they didn't know either. I have used them since I learned how to do them and it is great not having to spell things out but being able to use a symbol. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
Glad to be of help here...I'm surprised so many never knew about this
1 person likes this
thats why I will probably never use them@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
I think the Mac computer system is so much easier to use..would drive me daft trying to memorize those code numbers PC users have to do
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
7 May 08
Thank you for the link I made sure to bookmark it for future use. I knew about how to do the copyright symbol © but not on the others. There are times when it would come in handy to have these things. Like earlier I was doing a recipe and typing out one and one half would have made more sense as 1 ½ instead of 1 1/2. It would be clearer is all. I have a feeling I'll be referencing that page a great deal in the future. Thanks again for the information.
I made sure to bookmark it for future use. I knew about how to do the copyright symbol © but not on the others. There are times when it would come in handy to have these things. Like earlier I was doing a recipe and typing out one and one half would have made more sense as 1 ½ instead of 1 1/2. It would be clearer is all. I have a feeling I'll be referencing that page a great deal in the future. Thanks again for the information.@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
9 May 08
I'm glad you found them. I had someone show me once how to make a heart appear but I can't remember what it was and it wasn't on that page you had the link for. Still knowing those things can come in handy at times.1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
8 May 08
I'm almost surprised a lot of people here didn't know about this little trick of using all those symbols...mmm..gee, I'm going to have to find the quarter and half cup thing myself...since I have a Mac it would be different ½¼ ¾ ?
Ah ha found it
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
5 May 08
I checked it out but the instructions do not show how to get the correct results with a laptop. However thanks for sharing.
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
6 May 08
Yes this is what the link says "This page list codes for accented letters and other characters. In order to use these codes, your computer should have a separate numeric keypad on the right. If it does not, then another method of inputting accents is recommended. I know they have that separate numeric keypad on a desktop computer.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
I don't know if that is really true...even though I have a "regular" type keyboard, do you know I've NEVER used the numeric pad on the right? This is a throw back to my typewriting days where one uses the numbers on the top line there (not the F-numbered ones)...maybe give it a shot??
@blackbriar (9075)
• United States
5 May 08
Another link to bookmark for future visits. Never knew we could use different codes for symbols on our puters. You and your MAC. Rather have my Dell anyday.
Rather have my Dell anyday. 2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
Oh yeah? Macs are better...hehee....used to work on PCs though in the library and they are Dells too
@BarBaraPrz (48363)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
5 May 08
¡™£¢8§¶•ªº–?
œ?´®†¥¨ˆøp“‘«
åß?ƒ©??°¬…æ
O˜çv?˜µ==÷
I'm an old typesetter... I know all about ßell codes, as they were called. In fact, there was a saying when things looked dire... "There's always Option-8..."
(That symbol is called a "bullet"...)
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
Hehe--show off...as TheProgrammer pointed out though not all the symbols seem to come out though..that's why one gets the question marks instead
1 person likes this
@JJ4Ever (4693)
• United States
16 May 08
Ok, ok, ok...I admit it! I'm a keyboard symbols novice! (LOL) Thanks for posting this discussion. I think it's a very good and educational experience for all of us. I knew you could do something like this because of all those wonderful computer classes I had to take back in college, but I couldn't remember how. That's what I love about myLot...it allows us to bring to remembrance those wonderful things we learned however many years and decades ago! Ok...so maybe I'm not that old. I graduated college a little over a year ago...but still. The memory slips at times. I have what I call "brain farts" quite often as well. (LOL) Anyway, my question to you is, when did you become a computer genius, Pye? I didn't know you were so knowledgeable in this area! I'd love to pick your brain sometime. Of course, perhaps you also had some excellent Internet resources as well, just as you listed a few in your discussion. I really appreciate your information here. Thanks for a great post! Take care, my friend.
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
15 May 08
I had no idea what the Mac shortcurs were because I have never used a Mac, but I was fully aware of the Windows equivalents.
I have used ASCII codes before, which is what the 0163 for the £ sign is, and also use a few other shortcuts to avoid accessing the Character Map. The most common one for me was the letter á which is typed by holding the Ctrl nad Alt keys while pressing a. I am a great Plácido Domingo fan and use it quite often.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
18 May 08
I use that one accent mark myself a lot but instead of for Spanish words, use it for French, like
sauté or Français
@danishcanadian (28955)
• Canada
18 May 08
Thanks for the tips. A lessin on computers and how things work is always very handy. It's nice when we can find a little bit o extra information here on MyLot. Thanks for sharing this with all o us.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
18 May 08
I'm still learning things about my computer since it's a Mac, a whole different breed of a computer
@Eskimo (2315)
•
16 May 08
I've had to use these symbols with ALT key for years way back to my first pc at work in 1986, using the ALT key with ASCII code numbers.
Earlier computers were quite limited in the number of symbols that could be used (and repeated after reaching number 128), but they have been expanded since then.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
18 May 08
wow..you're an "old timer" with computers..I only taught myself about four years ago..bet you've seen a LOT of changes with computers
@theprogamer (10532)
• United States
5 May 08
Only certain characters will work with the current mylot format and font database. Some characters work fine, and some languages work fine, but some webdings do not.
???? - I am
O - Omega
ß - Beta
?? - Music Notes
? - Heart
¼ - One fourth
Theprogamer™ - My username with "TM" =3
Now if the characters work now, don't expect them to work in an update (my posting of kanji and katakana proves it. I've had them changed to question marks because the server didn't understand or the update didn't understand).
For characters that don't work, arrows don't work and you have to be creative if you do it
??? - Hurricane kick (using the arrows in symbols)
|/
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
Yep--I discovered that too that some symbols don't transfer well here at MyLot..I was trying to do the heart one too, and an arrow..didn't work, oh well c'set la vie
@theprogamer (10532)
• United States
5 May 08
Well now you see it Pye, that some characters work and others don't. Even when they show up properly in preview, they'll not show right when finally posted.
Its likely a spamguard or other program so we don't abuse it.
1 person likes this
@Elixiress (3878)
•
5 May 08
I knew that you had to press alt and a code (windows user) but I can never remember the codes and don't use the symbols enough to bother learning them. My keyboard has the $ and the £ sign, so I only need codes for the euro sign. I tend to just go on Microsoft Word, insert symbol and then find it there and copy and past it over. Learning the code would be quicker, but I don't need it often, so I would just forget it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
6 May 08
Is kind of fun to know that one can do these symbols though right?
@Elixiress (3878)
•
6 May 08
Not really, I always though it was common sense. Well that is until my economics teacher started replacing £ with # because he couldn't find the symbol. Hmm ctrl + 3.
1 person likes this
