Find Alt-code for any character

Solution 1:

The Alt code are system-dependent: they depend on the local of the system. In some situations, it also depends on the application software. An Alt number code works consistently only when number is less than 127.

General info: How to enter Unicode characters in Microsoft Windows.

Solution 2:

You can start "Character map", choose your font, search you character and at the bottom (in the status bar) is the Alt code you need.

(In Windows 7 you can press Start and begin type Character map en choose it at the top.)

The fact that you get a different character with Alt + 227 is probably that you're using a different font. So choosing the right font in "Character map" is important.

BTW nowadays the Alt combinations consists of a 4 digit number to accommodate a wider range of Unicode characters. The three numbers still work but the Alt + 227 is different from Alt + 0227.

Solution 3:

Alt codes only work up to 255. There's a slight trick: adding a lead 0 will give you consistent results. Alt-0227 consistently is ã. But since Alt codes only work up to 0255, it's clear that the thousands of characters needed for Chinese, Korean, Russian, Greek, etc. can't all be supported. The only greek character I found was Alt-0181 µ (mu).