How Do I Type That ¶ or ∓ Thingie?

Every once in a while, you need to type a special symbol like § or ¶ or •

Maybe you remember that § is entered by typing Option-6, that ¶ is Option-7, and • is Option-8. Maybe you remember telephone numbers, too. I used to. I don't anymore. I don't know whether it's age, or disuse... I'm hoping the latter. In fact, because I need to use them frequently, I do know ¶ and •, but § took me a little while today, and that's why I want to (re)introduce Mac users to the "Character and Keyboard Viewer."

Language and Text Preferences

Open your System Preferences (Black Apple Menu, Upper left) and choose "Language and Text" from the top row.

Check the box next to "Keyboard & Character Viewer," and at the bottom of the window, check the box for "Show Input in menu bar.

Now, any time you need a special character, or even an emoticon, God forbid, you'll have it at your finger tips.

Character Viewer

When you click on the new icon in your menu bar, you'll be able to choose between the "Keyboard Viewer" and the "Character Viewer."

Open the Character Viewer and you can browse through all the different special characters that are available to you. When you see the one you like, just double click on it, and it will be inserted in your open document.

Keyboard Viewer

If you care to learn how to type it yourself next time, open the Keyboard Viewer. As you hold down the Option, Command, Control and Shift keys, the keyboard on screen will change to show you the characters that can be typed by those key combinations.

(Note: Emoticons probably won't "travel" well. In other words, although you may use them in print documents, chances are they will not show up properly in emails or messages if you are sending them to people in the non-Mac or iDevice world).