Clever s*ds - help required please!!

[Bunnylump]

Ouch. There is also something they have worked out which makes the computer have a "squeaky" key. Which they keep hitting surreptitiously just to annoy the IT teachers. Some of the less intelligent ones think it's a great plan to turn all the gas taps on in the science labs as well. They haven't quite worked out that the teacher has access to the main gas tap for the whole classroom.

[LAT]

I remember a friend telling me once about his trick with the chairs in the hall. They were of the tubular metal type with the canvas seats and backs. He connected them all together and then connected the end one to the electricity supply!

[Bunnylump]

Blimey, that's a bit drastic!! Although I do remember our physics teacher when I was at school getting the whole class to join hands and then making one person at the end touch the Van der Graaf generator!! They aren't allowed to do that any more in case someone has a dodgy heart.

[giraffe]

Following my recent computer woes I think I am back in the land of the connected.

I even now have office 2010, which should mean I'll be able to open spreadsheets and word documents. It's all a bit high tech compared to what I'm used to.

Does anyone know how to get it to do symbols? My name has two little dots in it and my previous method of finding them no longer works. I can do it in word, but I cannot workout what I have to type to do the shortcut. (which used to work in just about everything)
it said ctrl+:,o I think in word, but there was also a little chart to point and click which worked. I used to have to hold down alt and type 0246 but that doesn't work anymore. I can always ditch my dots, but after 45 years I've grown attached to them, even if my name was a misprint in the book my mother found it in

[Bunnylump]

You can assign whatever key you want to use. Go onto INSERT - SYMBOL - MORE SYMBOLS - SHORTCUT KEY - PRESS NEW SHORTCUT KEY - press control and type in whatever is easy to remember (I just used CTRL+:) - ASSIGN. So I suppose if you just pressed CTRL + whatever it is you are used to using, that would be easiest.

[giraffe]

I tried that and it didn't work. I was in word at the time, but how do I do it for the whole computer and not just word?

[clvrlad]

is the letter ö the one your after?

[MBH]

Each tool (application) is different, so I'm not sure if you can do a blanket fix on this. One thing I would do is find somewhere that shows it correctly (possibly your personal messages) and use that for copy/paste. Experiment to see if it will show correctly in the places you want it, and keep looking at the special symbols available in each application.

Your ALT-0246 works fine on the computer I'm working on, but you've got operating system version and application version variations that can mess things up.

[SparkOut]

First guess at the reason for Alt+0246 not working for you is to do with using the number pad keys???
If so, make sure the Num Lk (number lock) is set to on when you try. If it's not a simple as that, then it could be lots of things.

[Scurra]

Yes, that was my thought too - check the NumLock setting. If you are using a laptop, then getting the "numpad" feature to work is sometimes a pain in the behind though.

[giraffe]

is the letter ö the one your after?

Yes.

On every computer I have ever used it has be Alt and 0246. On the broken laptop that is waiting to be renovated I had to hold fn key down as well as alt, because the numbers were on the letter keys. On this one they are across the top above qwerty. I don't think I have a numbers lock key.

[clvrlad]

what laptop is it?

[giraffe]

HP

When I click the start icon and type character map into the search box it brings up a grid of weird letters and the o: (rotate) says alt+0246 so why doesn't that work?

[clvrlad]

which one? (cant check the online destructions otherwise)

you need to use the ALT GR(usually the right hand alt)
and the number pad

i you could just copy and past it from the character map then save a blank letter head with it written in all ready

[giraffe]

I can get it in word, that's not a problem.
I can't use it on here and I can't use it in emails

HP Pavilion G6

When I press alt gr 0246 when I get as far as the 4 it does ..... €

What do you mean by number pad. It only has numbers at the top above qwertyuiop

I can't use it on here and I can't use it in emails

[Scurra]

Full sized keyboards have a separate keypad on the side. The ALT + xxx shortcut only works when used with those keys (for instance, if you press shift and 1 on the normal number row you get an ! but that doesn't work with the keypad keys.)

The vast majority of laptops don't have a separate keypad. But many of them do have a NUM LOCK feature which turns some of the other keys on the keyboard into a keypad (on my old Fujitsu it did it with the IOP/JKL/BNM keys which was very annoying sometimes!)

However I am not sure that this feature exists on every laptop, so it is possible that the one you are currently using does not have it.

The € sign comes from the regular number keys (if you press SHIFT 4 you get $, if you press ALT GR 4 you get €) As the only key that (usually!) does anything with ALT GR is the 4, when you type 0246 it was triggered when you reached the 4.

[giraffe]

It doesn't have a separate number section and the previous dead one didn't, but there I used the numbers that were on the letters in a 3x3 formation a bit like a keypad, but this one doesn't seem to have that.

[clvrlad]

it doesnt include the hidden numberpad
link to pic of keys

looking at lots of tech support boards
with this same problem comes back with a shrug and a dunno
and a suggestion of buying an external numberpad :-/

other than copying off "charmap" im doubtful you'll find a simple way

[giraffe]

What do you mean by hidden numberpad?

[clvrlad]

the feature mentioned by scurra above