Questions tagged [special-characters]
If a character has a meaning beyond its literal meaning, a meta-meaning, then we refer to it as a special character.
170
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How do I insert an umlaut on the u in ubuntu?
I have already activated the compose key (left CTRL). According to all the forums I've read, I have to punch in Compose, followed by "u. This is what I get as a result: ´u'
I am really stuck here. ...
35
votes
3
answers
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Why do *nix folk like to use ``...'' rather than the " character?
At the risk of being flamed, I'd like to understand why some people prefer to use a ``construction'' of accent and single quote characters rather than the "double-quote" character when quoting things? ...
33
votes
7
answers
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How to type the Indian Rupee Symbol?
I want to type the Indian Rupee Symbol. So I went to System Settings >> Keyboard Layout and clicked on the Options button. Under the Adding Currency signs to keys sections, I checked the Rupee on 4 ...
20
votes
2
answers
1k
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How do I use filenames that start with a dash "-" as command arguments?
This may be a simple question, but how do I use files starting with "-" with command line programs?
For example, I am trying to use pdfgrep on a file named -2013-01-01.pdf but it complains that ...
17
votes
1
answer
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How do I produce a É character in the tty login prompt?
TL;DR : How can I produce a É character in the tty login prompt ?
Long story : Ok so I was playing with the application "Unity Tweak Tool" to discover some nice features but at some point the whole ...
15
votes
4
answers
42k
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Apt-get update with an @ in password error
I want to update ubuntu 11.04 throught apt-get.
So I added the following lines in apt.conf
export http_proxy=http://username:[email protected]:port/
export ftp_proxy=http://username:password@...
14
votes
1
answer
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type French accents with US international keyboard [duplicate]
I am running Lubuntu on my laptop and would like to write French accents with a US keyboard. I find the compose key solution ([Alt]+[accent] at the same time, followed by a [letter]) not that handy...
...
14
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2
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How to type half Hindi character with Hindi (Bolnagri) layout?
I'm using Hindi (Bolnagri) layout to type in Hindi. I'm typing in Hindi for first time.
My problem is, I want to type स्वाद. How do I type that half स?
EDIT 1:
How to type औ with this layout?
EDIT ...
11
votes
1
answer
5k
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How do I force folder view sort order to not ignore special characters?
I have many folders in my home directory that have names that begin with special characters such as _OLD_500GB_HD or !FolderIWantToSeeAtTheTop, but for some reason these folders are sorted according ...
10
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5
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How do I make Cedilla (ç) character available in English USA? [duplicate]
I need the character Cedilla working my English USA Ubuntu Natty but when use the normal combination ' then c I get this ć. In the previous versions I used this solution: [SOLVED] Getting ç cedilla ...
10
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1
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How do I enter the Euro symbol in vim?
I am running vim 7.4:
andrew@athens:~$ vim --version | head -n 2
VIM - Vi IMproved 7.4 (2013 Aug 10, compiled Jun 16 2016 10:50:38)
Included patches: 1-1689
And I need to routinely type in the Euro ...
10
votes
1
answer
377
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ubuntu å vs osx å?
Not sure if this is a ubuntu or osx question, but I'll start here. I'll leave it to the mods to move the question to AskDifferent if more apropriate.
I moved a file from ubuntu to osx using scp on ...
9
votes
3
answers
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Default keys "1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0" to input "! @ # $ % ^ & * ( )"
Doing math homework on a full keyboard. Would like the top row to be the special characters without holding shift.
9
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2
answers
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How do I complete the Gnome Character Map with missing Unicode characters?
I often use the Gnome Character Map accessory to find characters I didn't know, with a view to surprising friends with exclusive drawings. However the program is not complete and lacks some characters ...
9
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2
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1k
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How to type special character on ubuntu
A bit silly, but I can't type this character ಠ, on ubuntu.
Some page say it should be this way
Ctrl+Shift type u0CA0
But it doesnt do anything. Even I find a shortcut for sublime that I didn't know ...
9
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3
answers
19k
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How can I type Japanese characters?
What is the way to be able to type Japanese characters? Could someone make a how-to in order to explain the few steps to get it?
8
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8
answers
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How to insert the interpunct character in Ubuntu?
Does anyone know how I can insert the interpunct character (also known as midline decimal) in Ubuntu? The combination mentioned in the Wikipedia article does not seem to work:
Alt Gr + .
8
votes
3
answers
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Can not delete files containing special characters in the file name
I use Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) and I have a directory with many files, among them these two files:
./baer.jpg
./bär.jpg
I would like to delete bär.jpg but I can't.
If I type rm b and hit TAB, it shows ...
8
votes
1
answer
235
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Understanding this shell statement
I admit it is a homework but I am lost in explaining the following command line:
WARNING: This is a so called FORK BOMB! This command line can and will crash your pc by consuming all RAM and CPU (...
8
votes
5
answers
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Tool to convert accented characters to HTML entities?
Is there a tool (command-line is fine) that can convert accented characters to HTML entities in Ubuntu? Preferably recursively and without also converting html/php tags.
e.g.
from: é
to: é
...
8
votes
2
answers
7k
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How can I input punctuation marks like ellipsis?
In Mac OS X there are ways to input punctuation marks by combination of some keystrokes. For example, Alt + ; inputs a precomposed ellipsis character (…, U+2026). Alt + [ opens a curly double quote ...
8
votes
2
answers
420
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How do I include a comma in an Apt pin definition?
I'd like to create an Apt preference file with a pin definition that matches packages originating from Google, Inc..
The following definition doesn't seem to be doing anything:
Package: *
Pin: ...
7
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1
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How can I type special characters? [duplicate]
I want to type special characters such as □ and ■. The problem is, these aren't on my keyboard. What do I do to type them?
It is understood to press Ctrl + Shift + U, but isn't done to press 25a1 ...
7
votes
1
answer
319
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Right alt works as some kind of shortcut
I don't even know how to properly name this problem. So I use Polish keyboard layout meaning I use ALT GR fairly often to get special characters.
It works normally but when I want to, say, search for ...
6
votes
2
answers
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Ubuntu logo into Unicode table
I was searching something into an Unicode table. Suddenly, I feel astonished cause I saw the Ubuntu logo, at line F200, column 00. A very small one is also available at F0E0, column 1F.
Is it ...
6
votes
1
answer
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Setup 3rd/4th level characters (typographic layout)
When Ubuntu used GNOME, there was support for typographic characters on the third/fourth level, independent of input source (e.g. «English US» or «Russian»). As I've learned, in Ubuntu 15.04 the ...
6
votes
1
answer
1k
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Cedilla no longer working with US Intl. keyboard layout
I'm using Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS with the US Intl. keyboard layout, but when I type ', then c, I'm now getting a ć instead of the regular ç. How can I fix this?
6
votes
2
answers
2k
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Is it possible to type a thin and hair space without entering the Unicode?
Is it possible to type a hair space (u200a) and a thin space (u2009) in Ubuntu without entering the Unicode code? Something with the Compose key?
5
votes
2
answers
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How to print special character? [duplicate]
For example I want to print long dash
I read that it's possible to do with numpad and code of Unicode of character, so I tried doing Alt+Shift+u + code, but without success.
5
votes
2
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Quick insertion of down quotation marks
Is there an easy way to input these quotation marks on Linux: „“ ?
On a Mac, there's a relatively easy compose shortcut, but I couldn't find a shortcut for Linux. There doesn't even seem to be a ...
5
votes
2
answers
2k
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Does gnome-character-map include any math symbols?
I found gnome-character-map very useful application, when I need to construct simple math formula, it has greek letters, therefore I wanted to go further, does gnome-character-map have any other math ...
5
votes
5
answers
3k
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How to type ª in Ubuntu 16.04?
In Brazil, we use ª for feminine ordinal numbers, just like 1st, 2nd, 3rd... in English. So it's a very common need. I just set up the Compose Key, so I can do "Compose Key, o, o" to get the masculine ...
5
votes
4
answers
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bash: populating array with elements containing spaces and special characters
I want to be able to populate elements of an an array with arbitrary strings, i.e. strings that may contain \ and spaces for instance. I wrote this :
#!/bin/bash
function populate_array () {
if [...
5
votes
1
answer
1k
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Combine overline character with number
According to what I've read pressing Ctrl + Shift + u and then enter the Unicode number, here 203E and then entering the character to combine with, i.e. 6 should result in the correct symbol, but I ...
5
votes
2
answers
4k
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On screen keyboard: why does it have no special keys like Esc, Ctrl, Alt, Tab or arrow keys?
There's one issue that is bothering me with Ubuntu on my tablet: why does the default on-screen keyboard not have any special function keys like Esc, Ctrl, Alt, Tab or arrow keys? That makes using e.g....
5
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3
answers
4k
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Combining keys (e.g., " + e = ë) not working in KDE applications (dead keys)
I have been using 'combining keys' such as + e = ë, ~ + a = ã, ^ + <space> = ^ for the longest time in my Kubuntu setup. I do not remember if the system came like that out of the box or if I ...
5
votes
0
answers
238
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BabelMap-like charmap program for Linux?
I've been using Gucharmap and also KDE's equivalent (I'm using Kubuntu 16.04) before, but found that none of them reach the level of sophistication Andrew West's BabelMap program offers, especially in ...
4
votes
5
answers
622
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Use `find` for filename with []
Background: I am trying to find music files that are mentioned in an xml file to organize my music playlists. I'm writing a script to pull out the filenames from the xml tag to automatically find the ...
4
votes
5
answers
18k
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Special Characters for libreoffice
I'm writing a report on statistics and therefore I need to type a lot of special characters in Libre Office. But there's a couple of characters that isn't on the list.
Characters like an X with a ...
4
votes
2
answers
796
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Using grep to search for line that begins with a variable whose value is a dollar sign
I found a lot of very similar problems, but not exactly this.
I have a text file with the following contents (no repeats, fixed 4 characters per line):
A1234
G1234
$1234
M1234
I'm trying to use grep ...
4
votes
2
answers
5k
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How do I remove all single quotes in all files recursively using `rename`?
The title says it all and yes I know there are many questions similar, but the closest I could find was removing " and not '. What I've tried so far is:
find -name "*'*" -type f | rename 's/\'//g'
...
4
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1
answer
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Can't copy, move, rename files that have special character (single quote) in their file names [duplicate]
I have some files that have the special character ' in their file names. I seem to not able to copy, move, rename those files.
For example, when I try to rename grandpa's_pen.mp4 to grandpas_pen.mp4, ...
4
votes
1
answer
2k
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cannot insert backslash with bash, python, works fine with csh, idle
I have a strange problem with inserting backslashes (Ubuntu 10.10 and 11.04,
the upgrade changed nothing).
The key combination on my keyboard (Swedish Thinkpad T400) is AltGr + ?.
However, this seems ...
4
votes
3
answers
17k
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Rename Files & Folders With Special Characters
Struggling with this one and Googling it doesn't seem to be giving me solution that works.
I have a folder named...
file å?? name.txt
for example and to avoid problems, I want to rename it however ...
4
votes
3
answers
889
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What could I use instead of the GNOME panel applet "Character Palette" in unity
As there is nothing like GNOME panel applets in Unity, I would like to ask about some possibility to supercede the "Character Palette", a function that I used a lot for comfortable embedding of ...
4
votes
2
answers
3k
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Quotation marks in Ubuntu Terminal
I'm using Ubuntu 9.04 as a guest in VMWare. When I am using quotations marks in terminal, the first pressing of the key produces nothing, while the second one produces a double quotation mark looking ...
4
votes
1
answer
557
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Special-Characters not working in LibreOffice impress
I opened a document in LibreOffice (7.2.2.2) Impress but somehow the special characters are replaced with an envelope sign. The button that should link to "insert special character" is grey ...
4
votes
1
answer
163
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How can I type special quote/speech marks such as those used in Icelandic?
When writing in English and we quote some one else we use these "double-quotes" which are available on the keyboard.
Some languages require different quoting styles, for example in Icelandic low and ...
4
votes
1
answer
2k
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How do you write a macro for a special character in LibreOffice?
Does anyone know how to write a macro for a special character?
I know LibreOffice currently doesn't have a way to set a special character to a keyboard shortcut. However, I want to work around this ...
4
votes
1
answer
13k
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How I type @ with a Latin American keyboard?
I used to press Ctrl + Alt + Q in Windows. I think I tried every combination in Ubuntu and @ doesn't appear.