Symbols

 
ShortKeys offers support for a variety of international symbols and other characters. Clicking on the Symbols button from the Modify Keys window opens a display of all symbols available, as shown below.
 

 
Modify Keys > Replacement Text > Symbols

 
Take the following steps to insert a symbol into the replacement text:
 

•Place the text cursor where the symbol should appear in the replacement text.

•Click on the Symbol button to activate the Insert Symbol window as shown above.

•Highlight the symbol desired and click on the OK Button or double click on the symbol.

•The symbol is inserted into the replacement text and the program returns to the Modify Keys window.

Click on the Cancel button to return to the Input Window without inserting any symbols.
 

Alt-Key Sequence

Use this option to embed an Alt-Key Sequence directly into a macro. The Alt-Key Sequence is a method for inserting symbols into most Windows applications and is done by holding the ALT key down and pressing digits on the keypad. Clicking on the "Alt-Key Sequence" button presents a window asking for the numeric digits that are typically typed via the numeric keypad.

Use this functionality to enter characters that may not be present on your keyboard, such as á, Ô, ©, ¾, ¿ or π, or not found in the symbols list represented above.

There are three ways to enter special characters using the Alt-Key sequence:

1. Alt + 1 to 3 digits

Do not type a leading 0 for this method.

Modify Keys > Replacement Text > Symbols > Alt-Key Sequence

•   For example  Alt  1  5  4 will insert the Ü character.

2. Alt  0 + 3 digits

This method requires that the first digit typed must be 0.

Modify Keys > Replacement Text > Symbols > Alt-Key Sequence

•   For example Alt  0  1  9  7 will insert the Å character.

üNote: Be mindful of when to include a leading zero, because it may produce different results. For example, Alt  2  4  7 will insert the ≈ character but Alt  0  2  4  7 inserts the ÷ character.

3. Alt  + plus hexadecimal value for the character

Use this method to have ShortKeys type Unicode characters into your application. The first digit input in the edit field must be the + character.

Modify Keys > Replacement Text > Symbols > Alt-Key Sequence

•   For example Alt  +  0  0  e  7  will insert the ç character.
 

üNote: To use the hex input method you need to set or create the REG_SZ registry value HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method\EnableHexNumpad and give it a value of 1. You will need to log off and back on or reboot the computer before this setting takes effect.

For those unfamiliar with this process, the steps to create the value are listed below.
 

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor - from the Windows Start menu search for regedit.exe.

2. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER and then Control panel.

3. Right mouse click on Input Method and select New and then String Value from the menu.

4. Rename the NewValue#1 entry to EnableHexNumpad.

5. Right click on the EnableHexNumpad entry you just created and select Modify from the menu.

6. In the Value Data Field enter the number 1 and click OK.

7. The entry should show EnableHexNumpad as the Name, REG_SZ as the Type, and 1 in the Data column.

8. Log off and back on or reboot for the new setting to take effect.

Below is a sample of various characters generated via the three Alt Keypad methods and their associated codes. A quick Internet search will provide the codes and resulting character values for each of these methods.