How do I insert a phi character in word 2007 using keyboard short

[Erick]

I would like to know how can I insert a phi character using the unicode list
of 03A6. I know that ñ can be inserted by holding the Alt key while typing
164. How can I do the phi symbol or any other. Word has it listed as:
Shortcut key: 03A6, Alt+X but it does not work. Please help.

Erick

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can assign your own shortcut key for any given character, which is
usually more convenient than using the Alt+X shortcuts.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

For the Alt 164 kind of code, you use the numeric keypad; but for the
Unicode codes like 03A6, Alt-X, you use the regular number keys. (Just
type the four characters, then Alt-X.) Does that make it work?

You assign your own shortcut to any character by going to Insert
Symbol, choose the character you want, and at the bottom is a
"Shortcut" button. Click that, type the code you want to use, click
Assign (and a panel opens where you can check whether that code is
used for something else), and then Close. (If the dropdown at the top
left is set to a particular font instead of "(normal font)" at the top
of the list, your shortcut will always insert the character in that
particular font, no matter what font the surrounding text is.)

To find the Greek letters, be sure the code type is set to Unicode
near the bottom right, and at the top right choose Greek from the
dropdown. To avoid conflicts with existing keyboard shortcuts, I'd
recommend using Ctrl-Alt-G, f for Phi (and Ctrl-Alt-G, Shift-F for
capital Phi). You could then do any other Greek letters you might need
with Ctrl-Alt-G as the "prefix."

 

[Character]

I would like to know how can I insert a phi character using the unicode list
of 03A6. I know that ñ can be inserted by holding the Alt key while typing
164. How can I do the phi symbol or any other. Word has it listed as:
Shortcut key: 03A6, Alt+X but it does not work. Please help.

Erick

The font that you're using must have the characters available that you
want to use. Different fonts have different sets of characters. To see
what characters are available, Start/Run/Charmap. Charmap will also
let you copy and paste any given character string from the selected
font, and will display the alt-key combination for each available
character.

- Character

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

The font that you're using must have the characters available that you
want to use. Different fonts have different sets of characters. To see
what characters are available, Start/Run/Charmap. Charmap will also
let you copy and paste any given character string from the selected
font, and will display the alt-key combination for each available
character.

Why would you go to Character Map instead of to Insert Symbol within
Word?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Why would you go to Character Map instead of to Insert Symbol within
Word?

One reason would be that you can leave it running as a point of reference.
One key to reactivate rather than at least three to access the Insert Symbol
function.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Greg Maxey]

Graham,

So if I understand you correctly, you live in the universe where using one
key is easier than 3?

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

One reason would be that you can leave it running as a point of reference..
One key to reactivate rather than at least three to access the Insert Symbol
function.

CharMap displays the characters at a much smaller size than Insert
Symbol, and provides no quick way to locate a specific character in
its display. And its display is likely to be covered by a document
window, whereas Insert Symbol always appears on top (and reopens, if
you've closed it, displaying your last access point, and has the last
dozen or so characters inserted lined up at the bottom).

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Moreover, it can also be kept open, although you might want to resize it to
push it out of the way. Another tremendous advantage of the Symbol dialog
(in recent versions) is that it *can* be resized (so that more characters
are displayed); you can even maximize it by double-clicking the title bar
(though doing so with Calibri will demonstrate how miserably limited the
character set is compared to TNR, Arial, etc.).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

One reason would be that you can leave it running as a point of reference.
One key to reactivate rather than at least three to access the Insert
Symbol
function.

CharMap displays the characters at a much smaller size than Insert
Symbol, and provides no quick way to locate a specific character in
its display. And its display is likely to be covered by a document
window, whereas Insert Symbol always appears on top (and reopens, if
you've closed it, displaying your last access point, and has the last
dozen or so characters inserted lined up at the bottom).

 

[Greg Maxey]

This was interesting and also a bombshell. Now that the symbols dialog is
maximized (double clicked) it stays maximized with no apparent way to change
it back to a smaller size. There is no "_" on the Caption bar only the "?"
and "X"

Even worse it seems to be stuck maximized. Closing and reopening Word
doesn't fix it. Now the Symbols dialog always opens maximized. I deleted
the and rebuilt the registry. No joy. I haven't tried rebooting,
reinstalling Word, or a repair.

How are you getting your Symbols dialog set back to a smaller size?

 

[Greg Maxey]

Bomb difused. The maximized dialog can be restored to its previous state by
dbl-cliciking again on the dialog caption bar.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Do I feel like a dolt? Yes.

Moreover, it can also be kept open, although you might want to resize
it to push it out of the way. Another tremendous advantage of the
Symbol dialog (in recent versions) is that it *can* be resized (so
that more characters are displayed); you can even maximize it by
double-clicking the title bar (though doing so with Calibri will
demonstrate how miserably limited the character set is compared to
TNR, Arial, etc.).



CharMap displays the characters at a much smaller size than Insert
Symbol, and provides no quick way to locate a specific character in
its display. And its display is likely to be covered by a document
window, whereas Insert Symbol always appears on top (and reopens, if
you've closed it, displaying your last access point, and has the last
dozen or so characters inserted lined up at the bottom).

 

[Stefan Blom]

I believe this works the same with all dialog boxes that can be resized.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Stephan,

It it becoming very evident that I am out of my range. This embarrassing
admission reminds me of the cartoon charcter Kyle suborningly pushing on the
door clearly marked pull ;-)

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, I would have mentioned that if I hadn't assumed it was already known
that you can maximize/restore many dialogs in this way (as Stefan mentions).
I routinely do it with the Select Recipients dialog in Mail Merge.

This is a relatively new development in Word. I don't remember which version
it was that began to allow some dialogs (Open, Save) to be resized--maybe
Word 2002. If you've used Word through many versions without this
enhancement, it's easy to miss the little diagonal bars at the bottom right
corner that indicate that a dialog is resizable. I don't remember how I came
by the information, but I do recall how delighted I was to discover it!

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

We all have that feeling occasionally. That's why the expression "D'oh!" was
invented. <g>

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

The person posting as Character generally has good information on font-
related stuff, and presumably has good reasons for the recommendation!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I think the primary advantage of CharMap is that it can be used in any
Windows application, not just Word.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

The person posting as Character generally has good information on font-
related stuff, and presumably has good reasons for the recommendation!

 

[Stefan Blom]

My thoughts exactly.