When we're blogging, it's easy to bold, underline or italicize a word or phrase because those buttons are right on top of the blog entry window. But how to insert a symbol?
When we use a registered trademark, it's important to use the ® symbol, because we don't want "Realtor" or "Cyberstar" to be used by an agent or public person who just wants to use that word. So, you can use the Alt system.
Hold down the Alt key while pressing in sequence 0174 on your numeric keypad, and suddenly ® appears. So do this at the end of each word that needs the symbol.
Here are some symbols/signs I frequently use:
® Alt + 0174 Registered sign
© Alt + 0169 Copyright sign
° Alt + 0176 Degree sign (for when we're talking about Denver or Florida weather)
± Alt + 0177 Plus or Minus sign
½ Alt + 0189 Fraction 1/2
¼ Alt + 0188 Fraction 1/4
£ Alt + 0163 Pound sign
If you have the Word program, anywhere in the text you can click Insert, then Symbol and a whole list (more than one list, in fact) will pop out and you can choose the one you like. The ones you use frequently are automatically saved at the bottom of the window. If you don't have Word, try this site, which categorizes the symbols. You may want to save the list on your computer.
For those of you who use notebooks or laptops without a numeric keypad, you can go to another page, which will give you an alternative for entering symbols.
- Note, added 7-11-07 There's a really simple way to do this on a notebook that Brad Andersohn blogged about today. Check his post then try it out.
For more sites and information, just google "Alt +" or "Alt symbols".
Sharon, this is an excellent post. So many people do not use any alt or shortcut keys. I'm bookmarking this one!
Last night I was sitting at a computer with someone that uses a mouse. It was like watching paint dry while they were typing and entering information. Everything takes 5 x's longer without shortcuts! Stress!
Sharon,
This post is sooo helpful. I can never find this kind of stuff on websites or in virtual manuals. Thanks so much for the reminder.
I had no clue. Whoops, I just tried it and it doesn't work. HMMM I'll try google to figure it out.
OK, I'm back. I googled it and found out that I need to have a numeric keypad for the alt system to work. But I still found out how to do it on my laptop. It's a little harder. You go to Start-All Programs-Accessories-system tools-character map and there they are. Then you have to cut and paste.
Takes a lot more time but at least I won't feel guilty when writing the Realtor® symbol without the ®
Sharon - you've been Bookmarked! Thanks for this valuable info.
Sharon ~ Thanks for the cheat sheet. I think Denver is 32° today. Now I can copyright© all of my comments. Brilliant!
Thank you!
kk©
Sharon..wonderful post! ® Wow it worked! I have wondered for a long time how people have managed to do this...Please post this on Realtors as well-it is a wonderful tool which will be useful in the future to ± most of the blogger to some °. Again thank you for sharing this with us!
Allison © 2007 All rights reserved.
Marty - thanks for your post. I have gone back and bolded and underlined the part about the numeric keypad.
Cynthia - try the link I posted in the blog to see alternate ways that will work on a notebook. Marty already tried that solution and was successful. Not as easy, but doable.
Kristal - glad I found a new toy for you!
Allison - I'll go back and all a link to Realtors® as well.
Hope you all enjoy!
Sharon,
Thank you this is really helpful.
Thanks Sharon - very helpful post.
Jarrett - Your Toronto Realtor ®
Jarrett Hunter REALTOR ®
www.Jarrett.ca
REALTOR® is a copyrighted trademark, and it is all CAPS.
Great shortcuts!
Sharon, Wow! I learned something today. Thank you so much! Now I've got to try it! 5 Stars!
Sharon thanks for sharing-very concise list. I have cut and pastd it into word and printed for my office staff and agents. (Your name and website on the bottom "compliments of".) It was a great summit, wasn't it?
Your St. Clair and Macomb Conty Michigan connection
Thanks for the list. There are a couple of new ones on there for me that will come in handy to make things look a little bit more professional.
Shannon - 1) hold down the alt key while you press 0 then 1 then 7 then 4
2) must be on the numeric keypad. If you're using a notebook that doesn't have a numeric keypad, you'll need to follow the link above and then follow those instructions.
Hope you can get it working.
I was looking for this information. Thanks so much.
Best regards,
Frank Rubi, e-PRO
Broker Associate, REALTOR®
Destrehan - Kenner, La. Real Estate
The Key to Buying and Selling your Property
Serving: Laplace, Kenner, Metairie, Slidell, New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge Real Estate
http://www.7824.com/
http://www.frankrubi.com/
i have a laptop therefor i cannot use these symbols please put up ways so i can use them.
Jack - Brad Andersohn posted recently about how to use symbols on a laptop. Here's the link.
Frank - glad it helped.
Good 'ol ASCII. Talking machine language usually takes multiple keystrokes. It reminds me of WordStar where it took 3 keys to make something bold.
By the way, for those of you with a numeric keypad embedded in your laptop keyboard, find the key that toggles you between the keypad and keyboard (e.g., mine is the Fn key) and hold that down while pressing the Alt key and number sequence. It just keeps you toggled on the numeric keypad while using the otherwise alpha keys. For ®, it would be this key combo: Fn + Alt + 0174. You have to hold down the Fn and Alt keys while typing the numbers.
Margaret - often times an old post will come up if someone makes a new link to it, exposing it to new readers.
Terry - thanks for the comment, and for adding me to your reading list.
Jay - that's a good idea. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks!
I know that this symbols will come in handy but the formula is not practical with my Lap. I will talk with my computer admin to get some feedback. Thank nyou for your post.
Troy - you're welcome.
Jim - the easier they are to use and the more frequently you use them. the less likely you are to forget them.
Dionne - they ARE more difficult on some laptops.
This is great information! I love learning new things
Sharon Thank you so much for your awesome help! It works Perfect...
What a great Post! Thanks so much!!!
You're welcome!
HI Sharon - thanks much - was looking how to do this, google'd it, and your post came up!! Many thanks!