How does one use Unicode characters (Win 2K)

Factual Questions
1

…in a document on the Windows 2000 platform? I’ve been wanting to use some foreign language characters in my MS Word documents. But short of going to the Character Map & cutting & pasting characters, I can’t seem to access these characters with the **ALT + ***** device or any other way I know.

How can I get it so that I can just type in Unicode characters? Can it be done as easily as accessing **ALT + ***** characters?

2

I use Windows 98 and all I use the Character Map for is to get the numerical codes. I don’t even bother with copy & paste. Are you saying that Alt+code feature is disabled in Windows 2000?

Excuse me if this is very elementary and you know it already. The numerical codes only work with the numberpad on the right end of the keyboard. Not the row of number keys along the top. To enable the numberpad you have to have the Num Lock turned on with the little light lit up over it. (Some systems are set to boot up with the Num Lock default on, some with it off. I much prefer to have it on all the time.)

The Character Map. All I do is single-click the character I want to type. Its numerical code appears in the lower left of the Character Map window. I look it up as many times as I need to until I’ve memorized it.

I too want to promote Unicode and its full implementation across all platforms. I use a lot of different foreign languages and things would be difficult indeed without Unicode. Americans have been character-illiterate for 200 years and now finally have a chance to get hip to the rest of the world’s language characters. Unicode is what will make that happen. That’s why I started this thread:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60885

3
      • I have Win98 not Win2K, but in Win98 you have to go to keyboard–>enable alternate languages, and pick what you want from the list there. There’s also something about “enabling keyboard mapping” (which substitutes thae alternate characters for the regular keyboard ones, if you use it) and an option for “enable desktop icon” that shows a little two-letter box in the systray indicating which language your system is currenetly set at (the regular system text stays at its default, but you can type in other character sets). After that’s all set, you just click on the systray icon and a list of the alternate character sets pops up with a check next to the currently enabled one. Mine has a number of European languages, but not Japanese, which IIRC requires a special version or something (-in Win98, anyway, maybe not 2K). Then you have to switch to a font that has alternate character sets included, and many don’t: in Windows the main one is Arial. Then the software you are using also has to support alternate character sets, too; a couple freebie programs I have don’t support non-English character sets, but all the Office 2K programs seem to. - MC
4

In another thread in Comments on Cecil’s Columns, Philistine kindly provided me with this link:
http://www.unicode.org
There might be some information there that would help you.