# How do you make this punctuation sign? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293 "2002-06-27T23:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diff\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@Diff\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diff_T)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293/1 "2002-06-27T23:45:55Z")
I am making a user name for a bulletin board that’s design is a lot like this board’s. I want my name to be “TUBE,” But I want to scrap the “E” and put a line over the “U” to make it long. Can you do this when making a screen name? I looked ALL over for directions on how to do this. No luck. Can anyone help? ---
**Author:** ![nikjohns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/53a042/32.png) [@nikjohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikjohns)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293/2 "2002-06-27T23:53:21Z")
Start --\> Programs --\> Accessories --\> System Tools --\> Character Map I found it in there, with the command “U+016B” to type it in - make of this what you will. When I copy and paste it, I only get a ?. Make of this useless information what you will, and I guarantee somebody has snuck in with the correct answer while I was typing this. - n ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293/3 "2002-06-28T05:09:20Z")
What **nikjohns** pointed out is a Unicode character, which may not be supported on all web browsers. I have no idea how to enter a Unicode character into a computer, but a Google search turned up [this page](http://webtips.dantobias.com/char.html) that, from a quick glance, appears useful. Another option you may want to consider is to use U-umlaut rather than U-bar. As I recall from my high school German classes, the characters t-ü-b should be pronounced like “tube.” This character is part of the Windows character set (Alt-0220 for **Ü** and Alt-0252 for **ü** ), so I don’t know how it’ll display on Macs. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293/4 "2002-06-28T05:35:14Z")
I know of no _common_ font that makes use of the overscore-on-a-vowel-to-make-it-long characters (probably because so few of us type in Latin any more). That being the case, even if you actually found such a character, it is unlikely that it would appear on the screens of your audience the way that you keyed it–hence **nikjohns** ’s question mark. The umlaut may be your best bet: TÜB ALT + 0220 or tüb ALT + 0252. Alternatively, you could try the U with a circumflex: TÛB ALT + 0219 or Tûb ALT + 0251. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293/5 "2002-06-28T06:12:12Z")
The Unicode code for lowercase u with a macron is: ū The Unicode code for uppercase U with a macron is: Ū **tomndebb** is correct - these characters will not display reliably. Netscape displays them properly, and I believe that Mozilla probably does. Other than that, don’t expect it to work. Here are the characters. If you see them, then your browser should display them right: ū Ū I am 99% sure that this is the best way, and I would not suggest it. Someone tried to use Unicode characters in their username here on SDMB before. It didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-this-punctuation-sign/116293/6 "2002-06-28T06:13:37Z")
Also: Ü =\> Ü ü =\> ü Û =\> Û û =\> û But these won’t work in screen names. Just posts and html. The upper and lower case u with a bar over it are Unicode characters 016A and 016B. To display this in a browser that has the character available: Ū =\> Ū ū =\> ū If you see that character, you’ve got that bit of Unicode. For example, I can see it correctly. I don’t think you can use Unicode in screen names here, though. [This page](http://www.hclrss.demon.co.uk/unicode/#links) will show you which Unicode characters you can see on your browser. The one you are looking for is in the group “Latin Extended A”