Typing capital delta using ALT code in Windows [duplicate]
Solution 1:
By default, the numeric keypad way of entering characters by code can only access the first 256 characters. (I believe these are defined by your system's code page for non-Unicode programs.) Codes bigger than 256 get wrapped around, so code 257 actually gets you character 1.
To enable the entry of all Unicode characters by code, create a string registry value in Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method called EnableHexNumpad with the value of 1. Then you'll be able to enter any character by holding down the right Alt key, pressing the + button on the numeric keypad, entering the hex code (2, 7, 1, 3 in your case), and releasing the Alt key. You may need to log off and back on before this input type is enabled.
Note that the non-+ method of entering ASCII characters by code will continue to wrap around even after you enable this mode.
Solution 2:
Instead of trying to remember that ✓ is U+2713 (which I am unable to), I can suggest trying a piece of software I maintain called WinCompose. It inserts itself in the keyboard input chain and when using the default Right Alt as a compose key, lets you enter combinations such as:
- Right Alt @ / for ✓
- Right Alt @ X for ✗
- Right Alt [ Space ] for ☐
- Right Alt [ / ] for ☑
- Right Alt [ x ] for ☒
- … and thousands more
There is a GUI that lets you search for sequences and characters. Of course if you only know the Unicode codepoint for a given character and not the (supposedly intuitive) combination, you can still activate Unicode input in WinCompose and do the following:
- Right Alt u 2 7 1 3 for ✓
Finally, note that Windows doesn’t let you enter Unicode characters beyond U+FFFF with the EnableHexNumpad key, so you won’t be able to enter e.g. U+1F4A9, but WinCompose lets you do this:
- Right Alt u 1 f 4 a 9 for 💩