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Character Code Table in Windows

The table of character codes in modern computers can be used by any user. What it is? And where to find a similar element? How to use it and for what purposes? Next, we will try to give answers to all these questions. Typically, character tables allow you to print unique characters in text documents. The main thing is to know what they are, as well as where to look for relevant information. Everything is much simpler than it seems.

Definition

What is a character code table ? This is, as you might guess, a database. In it, users can see a combination of numerical values, during the processing of which a symbol is inserted at a specified place in the text. For example, the sign ♥ or ♫. There are no and cannot be such characters on the keyboard.

Character Code Tables




A character table helps users embed unique characters in text documents. Here you can see the encoding of the element and how to interpret it.

What are

Character encodings - a type of combination of letters, numbers and signs that, after processing by the operating system, are converted to a sign. They are different.

Today you can come across such encodings:

  1. ASCII is a method of printing special characters whose unique codes are represented by numbers. This is the most common type of encoding. It was developed in 1963 in the United States. The encoding is seven-bit.
  2. Windows-1251 is the standard encoding for the Russian-language Windows. It is not too extensive and almost not in demand among users.
  3. Unicode - 16-bit encoding for modern operating systems. It serves to represent characters and letters in any language. Used by modern users along with ASCII.

Now it’s clear what encodings are. Let us focus on the first and last option. They are most in demand among modern PC users.





Where to search in Windows

Symbol code tables are mounted by default on the Windows operating system. With their help, the user will be able to print letters and special characters in any text editor or document.

Character Table in Windows




In order to find the character table in "Windows", you need:

  1. Open the Start menu item.
  2. Expand the "All Programs" section.
  3. Select the "Standard" folder
  4. Click on the words "Service".
  5. Take a look at the "Character Table" application.

It is done. Now you can study all the possible signs that can only be perceived by the operating system. If you double-click on the thumbnail of a character, and then click on the "Copy" button, the corresponding character will be transferred to the clipboard. From it you can upload data to a text document.

Important: at the bottom of the window on the right you can see a keyboard shortcut for quickly printing the selected item, and on the left - "Unicode" for typing in the text.

In MS Word

The character code table can even be found in text editors. Consider the algorithm of actions in MS Word. This is the most popular and common document management tool in Windows.

Opening the table of character codes is as follows:





  1. Go to Word on your computer. You can open either an empty document or with text.
  2. Click on the "Insert" item at the top. It is advisable to expand the entire list of options.
  3. Move the cursor and click LMB on the inscription "Special character ...".

That's all. A symbol table appears in the center of the screen. Here you can see the ASCII table, Unicode and more. To do this, in the bottom of the window in the drop-down list you need to select the appropriate encoding after the inscription "from ...".

Inserting a character can be done by double-clicking on an element in the table or by activating the "Insert" button.

Character table in Word




Code Processing Methods

As we already said, the table of character codes helps to study the alphanumeric code of a particular character. How can one be transformed?

Typically, Unicode is processed as follows:

  1. The user writes a unique code for a suitable character. It usually starts with U + ....
  2. The user presses the key combination Alt + X in a text editor.
  3. The operating system reads the code, after which a special character appears at the recording location.

Codes are processed one at a time. This is extremely important. ASCII are handled in a similar way.

Some characters can be printed using the Alt button. Usually you need to pinch it, and then type the appropriate code on the numeric panel of the keyboard. In this case, you will have to activate Num Lock mode in advance.



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