Font Character Question in Corel

[Steve Clarkson]

Is there a way to see the entire character set of a font and know what keystroke each one is?

Here's my issue.....I know and have the corrrect font but I need a character and don't know which keystoke will produce it.

For reference, I'm looking at the font called EngraversOldEnglish BD BT and I want to get the lowercase e with the two dots above it. Now I went to Text:Insert Symbol Character and brought up the docker.......and I can see the one I want......and I can insert it into my page......but it inserts as a curve, not as text......so it's not like I can change the font to ariel and see what the real character is......

So are there any text/font experts out there?

[Bill Overturf]

In X5 when you have the insert character screen open if you select what you want at the bottom it will tell you what the key stroke is. In the case you are talking about it is hold down alt and type 0235 hope this helps
Here is also a blog post that goes into more detail http://www.unleash.com/articles/specialcharacters/

[Bill Overturf]

My engraver just showed me another way to do it as well. Say you type Test in Old English highlight just the e open your insert character docker select the character you want and click insert it will change the regular e to the one with the e with 2 dots over it

[William Adams]

To get an ``e'' w/ an umlaut accent (or other special characters) you can do a couple of things:

- use charmap.exe and/or memorize alt codes (the code will be indicated in the bottom right corner, 0235 as Bill noted)
- install a keyboard which supports accents via ``dead'' keys
- use a keyboard utility such as AllChars http://allchars.zwolnet.com/

Your application will need to support the appropriate code page --- if it doesn't, use one which does, and save out as a vector graphic after converting to paths.

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Can't you use character map in Windows??

[Chuck Stone]

Can't you use character map in Windows??

I can't live without charmap if I'm doing foreign languages.
Windows key / Run / charmap.exe .. select your font and the
characters for that set are displayed. You can even copy/paste
the character without having to use the alt codes.

[Michael Hunter]

I've been so used to using Windows character map that I had not even realised that Corel had a similar function built in.
Probably keep using character map - getting too old to learn new tricks.

[Tony Lenkic]

Steve,

Print this chart for your referance.........

[Steve Clarkson]

Thanks everyone......Bill the highlight tip worked.

However, two things.......first, I tried Alt + 0235 but nothing happened.....I just got a dinging sound when I tried it. What am I doing wrong?

Second, I still don't know which keyboard key represents the e with the two dots over it......let's say I wanted to type some paragraph text and didn't want to use Bill's technique of highlighting and inserting 30 times......how can I find out which keystroke (ie. Ctl + 7) represents the e with two dots?

[Bill Overturf]

Steve you are just getting a ding its cause you are on a laptop. Guess it depends on your laptop but on mine I had to turn on the number lock and use the number keys that are tied in with the letters on my keyboard not the row of numbers across the top

[Chuck Stone]

charmap will allow you to copy the character to the clipboard.
Also, not all characters are available for all fonts, so that might
be an issue. I tried that in Corel (where I don't normally use it)
and it didn't like it AT ALL!! It told me I was importing text that
contained formatting, gave choices to keep or discard the font
and formatting, inserted paragraph text, took a long time and
then gave me the wrong character anyway. Plus it changed fonts.

Then I noticed the NumLock key was still on. I shut it off and the
character (Alt 0235, Engravers Old English) pasted just fine.
So I guess you could load it in the clipboard and then just
Ctrl+V wherever you put the cursor.

ps.. Edit / Find and Replace / Replace Text will work with
the Alt characters in Corel. I suppose you could just type
your text using "e" instead of "ë" and then go back using
Replace Text. It will go through the e's and allow you to
replace them on a case by case basis.

[Steve Clarkson]

ARG....I give up.....I turned off the num lock and it did work.....the only problem was that it was inserting "#" in ariel instead of the e with two dots.

I was only curious anyway.....it's not important.

[Mike Null]

From the text menu select "insert symbol character". Highlight the character to be replaced and drag the new one from the chart of characters.

Be sure the correct font is selected or the font you want to use.

[Steve Clarkson]

That works Mike.......but it inserts the character as a curve.....not text. I was trying to find out if there was a way to tell what keystroke corresponds to the character. For example, to get an uppercase "A", you hit Shift "A".......so what keystroke would you use to to get that e with the two dots? And I wasn't really asking just to get that specific e.....I was wondering what keystrokes correspond to the character set using any font.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Steve, are you selecting the text tool, then selecting the text you want to change before you click and drag a symbol from the Insert Character docker? You should even be able to click on the word, without highlighting a character you want to change, and while the text cursor is flashing somewhere in that word, click and drag the character you need from the docker and into the word. That should insert that character as real text and not a curve. If you are using the pick tool to click and drag a symbol into the word, then it will insert as a curve instead of text.

When it comes to knowing what keystrokes to type, most of the time while using the pick tool you can select the character you want in the Insert Character docker. Once that character is selected, you will see the code you need to type in the "Kestroke" section inside the docker. Using Wingdings for example, if I scroll down to the bottom of the characters, there is a check mark inside a box. If I select that using the pick tool, the KeyStroke section shows I need to hold down the Alt key while I type 0254. So, I would then select the Text Tool, click on the workspace, change the font to Wingdings, then hold down the Alt key and then type 0254 using my number pad. After I type the 4, I then release the Alt key and the symbol I wanted will appear. This can be difficult to do on some laptops because you need to use the Function Key to activate the 10-key numbers located somewhere in the alphabet. Even then, some laptops and funky desktop keyboards just don't work with ASCII codes very easily.

[Steve Clarkson]

Thanks Mike.....that works.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I just discovered a shortcut for inserting non-standard characters. While using the Insert Character function described earlier in this thread, instead of clicking and dragging the character you want on to your workspace, double-click on it. Corel will then insert the character in the spot where your "text curser" is flashing. (I am using X6, so your results may vary!)

In my case, I was using a TrueType font that had a "r" that had a swash on it. While the r looked nice in Alexander, it was "too much swash" for Martha. I placed my text curser over the r and highlighted it, and then double-clicked on a plain r in my Insert Character docker. Corel replaced a plain r as text for me.

[Aaron Koehl]

ARG....I give up.....I turned off the num lock and it did work.....the only problem was that it was inserting "#" in ariel instead of the e with two dots.

I was only curious anyway.....it's not important.

In case nobody has mentioned it, you must use the numeric keypad (not the single row of numbers) to use the ALT + Number.

[AL Ursich]

I would have never thought of that..... As I look at the little blue Fn keyboard with the numbers in the letter area.... Pretty Slick...

Thanks,

AL