I’m writing a work that has a lot of foreign names and vocabulary, so I am using the Edit:Writing Tools:Character Map function to insert the characters (also the shortcut: Win + Alt + Space, which seems to work inconsistently).
Is there any other way to insert these? This way seems quite cumbersome, especially since my protagonist is named Máté!
Thanks for your help!
Mark in Chicago
For redundant words (such as character names), you could use the auto-complete function. (?)
You can build the list either manually:
Project / Project Settings
Or, selecting the word/character name in the editor, right click:
The other option would be to look for an OS keyboard setting that better suits your dual-language use.
For e.g. I write both in French and English. Using the Canadian Multilingual Standard keyboard, it works for both.
(Note that I only mention it as an example. It doesn’t have " á ".)
Else, what I would do is that I would insert all of the special characters I need to a new blank document.
I’d place it in the Research folder, then make it a Project Bookmark.
You could then easily access those special characters, and copy/paste them whenever needed.
→ No need to sort through the character map no more…
You can even carry/duplicate that “special characters” document from one project to another, or have it already set as a project bookmark in a project template, for future projects.
On the Mac, either through System Settings (Keyboards → Text Replacements) or through a third-party app like aText, Typinator, Text Expander, etc., I’d set up an easy to type code for such names which would input the name when you type the following space, so for instance §mate would become Máté when you pressed space.
Any such solutions available on Windows? Autohotkey?
Mark
Comfort Keys (not free)
That’s about the same price as Typinator, I think; I used to have Text Expander but never used it enough to justify their enormous hike in prices a few years back; aText is something like $4.75/year.
Mark
The American International keyboard setting allows entering most special characters by using combinations of two keystrokes.
Ma+ʼte+ʼ
I’ve long used this, very convenient for French, German save for not-so-usual-now S-zed, Spanish…and for others…
But today this turned up which seems excellent to extend this keyboard (its choice available on all Windows machines) for many European languages including Nordic: https://slcr.wsu.edu/help-pages/microsoft-keyboards-us-international/
One caveat seems to be the S-zed is still not available, maybe because I have the multiple-entry-clipboard enabled.
Eastern Europe, Polish etc., unfortunately there you are on your own to find other methods, where some of the above answers may apply…
I ended up using File>Options>Corrections.Autocomplete and setting up completions for character sequences for the foreign names or characters. Works well enough.
