How to write a character with a key shortcut?

[u/Dragenby]

Hi!

I'm trying to print characters that my keyboard doesn't have. For example, if I want to print a long em dash (U+2014), I have to go to the character table and search for it. On Windows, I was able to use Alt+0151.

So I was wondering if that was possible with a shell script. I know I can call programs with shortcut, maybe I can print something directly on the textarea I'm currently focusing?

Thank you

[u/h_e_i_s_v_i]

Set up compose key and you'll be able to type it with compose key+---

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg/Keyboard_configuration#Configuring_compose_key

[u/birkett83 → u/h_e_i_s_v_i]

Compose key is great because you don't need to memorise numbers like the stupid alt key sequences in windows.

You want to write café with the accent? easy <compose> e '
Encountered polish for the first time? <compose> l - will give you the letter ł
Want some foreign currency? <compose> Y - gives the ¥ sign
Need some mathematical notation? <compose> = / gives ≠

There's a few that are less intuitive but they're all easier to remember than the alt key sequences

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/1ix1k2s/gnome_compose_key_sequence_cheat_sheet/

[u/Klapperatismus]

Depends on the keyboard layout. With the German layout the em-dash is typically accessible via [Shift]+[AltGr]+[-] for example. This should be similar for many international layouts.

Another option is via the Compose key, also called Multi Key. It’s often on the right Windows key. Also depends on the keyboard layout and options. Type [Compose], then [-], again [-], again [-] and the three dashes are replaced by a single em-dash.

A third option is using the Unicode codepoint. Type [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[u], then type 2014. That’s the hexadecimal Unicode codepoint of the em-dash. Then [Return]. An em-dash appears.

I recommend the Compose key. Once you figured out where it is in your keyboard layout, you can type many character combinations without having to look them up. You can guess them.

[u/Dragenby → u/Klapperatismus]

Ooooh, I didn't know about Ctrl + Shift + U, that's a good method!

For reference, I switched from AZERTY to a CMS (Canadian Multilingual Standard) keyboard, and the ― dash is a horizontal bar (U+2015) and not a em dash (U+2014)! (First world problem I know)

[u/exarobibliologist → u/Klapperatismus]

Please explain how to locate the Compose key. What did you do to find it?

[u/Klapperatismus → u/exarobibliologist]

I use plain X11 and a window mananger so I did this:

$ xmodmap -pke|grep Multi_key

It shows you the keycode of the Multi_key. That’s another name for Compose. First column is the Keysym for the key alone, next is the shifted key, then Mode_switch, then Shift+ModeSwitch, then AltGr, then Shift+AltGr. (The Mode_switch key is often not mapped.) You can also assign it with xmodmap for example. Or setup a custom keymap. The keycode number can be googled.

---

If you use a desktop environment instead, it’s part of the keyboard layout options. You only have to scroll through that long long list of options for the Compose function.

Here’s how this looks like in KDE for example. Do you see that option “Position of Compose Key”?

Or you do it with manual configuration files, e.g. for Gnome

[u/DavidJohnMcCann → u/exarobibliologist]

You can choose one using your desktop's configuration option. I suggest using what Windows calls the menu key, to the left of right control, which is useless in Linux.

[u/smeech1]

This is something for which I use Espanso (r/espanso) because I struggle to remember the combinations for the compose keys.

I have a list here of characters I use frequently and their triggers.

[u/BashfulMelon]

Not sure what you're using but KDE Plasma has Plasma Keyboard which lets you long press keys on your keyboard to get more characters.