How to enter Unicode (or other) symbols in LaTeX within Keynote (iWork)

Solution 1:

Thanks to the tip from tom-gewecke, I have a functioning workaround.

• First, you have to enable the Unicode Hex Input keyboard in your System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources.
• Then, of course, you activate it, for example, by ticking Show Input menu in menu bar, then selecting Unicode Hex Input with your cursor in the menu bar.
• Once this keyboard is enabled, you can enter Unicode characters by holding down the Alt/Option key ⌥ on your keyboard and, while holding it down, typing the code for the Unicode character.
• You can find code for Unicode characters by, for example, from the same keyboard menu bar item, selecting Show Emoji & Symbols, which opens the Character Viewer.

That much was known. The workaround to get a Unicode character directly into a LaTeX formula with an iWork application (eg. Keynote, Pages) is:

• Once you open the editor for equations ( Insert > Equation... or ⌥⌘E ) to enter LaTeX code, you type \text{ }, and when your cursor is between those brackets in the text field, you type the code for the Unicode character as described above.
• Et voila, you have any Unicode character directly in your formula. For example:
  • \text{⌥2642} produces ♂
  • \vec{R}_\text{⌥2642} produces