[TriLUG] Compose key (or "How do I make that funky character?")

[Kevin Otte]

In a previous thread someone asked how to make an accented character.  I
thought I'd throw a quick tutorial out here.  These directions are for
GNOME, so they should work in the latest Ubuntu, RHEL, etc.

Main Menu -> System -> Preferences -> Keyboard
Go to the "Layout Options" tab
Expand the "Compose key position"
Check the desired box.
Close.

Now when in nearly any app, press (not hold) the compose key, then type a
digraph.  Digraphs are two key sequences that represent the symbol you want. 
Some examples:

ó = o'
ü = u"
° = 0^
¿ = ??
ß = ss

The full list of digraphs can be found at:
/usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose

Another tutorial I found in this vein:
http://www.linux.org.uk/~telsa/BitsAndPieces/unicode-irc-fun.html

If you are running an older distro, you may run into encoding issues,
especially in your terminal emulators.  You'll want to make sure you are set
up for UTF-8 across the board.

-- 
Kevin Otte, N8VNR
nivex at nivex.net
http://www.nivex.net/

-=-

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." 
-- George Santayana

"It seems no one reads Santayana anymore."
-- Cdr. Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5