Mapping unicode characters to keyboard

Is there a way to map unicode characters to my standard Apple keyboard?


I want to be able to type ♯ and a ♭ sign (these are music sharp and flat characters) more quickly than by pulling up "Character Viewer."

Mac Pro

Posted on Aug 31, 2019 2:33 PM

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Posted on Aug 31, 2019 6:40 PM

Lycoming360 wrote:

Is there a way to map unicode characters to my standard Apple keyboard?


You can make a text replacement shortcut for individual special characters via System Preferences/Keyboard/Text/Replace With.


If you have a lot, you can remap as much of the keyboard as you want via a custom layout using the app Ukelele.



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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 31, 2019 6:40 PM in response to Lycoming360

Lycoming360 wrote:

Is there a way to map unicode characters to my standard Apple keyboard?


You can make a text replacement shortcut for individual special characters via System Preferences/Keyboard/Text/Replace With.


If you have a lot, you can remap as much of the keyboard as you want via a custom layout using the app Ukelele.



Aug 31, 2019 4:33 PM in response to Lycoming360

For readability, you normally use a monospaced font in the Terminal, and not regular fonts. DejaVu Sans Mono and Menlo support your sharp and flat characters, but you won't be able to enter them in the Terminal directly without using the character palette with a double-click on the character, or including the Unicode Hex Input method, added by System Preferences : Keyboard : Input Sources : [+] Others -> Unicode Hex Input. Also, [√] show input menu in menu bar.


In preparation to using Unicode Hex Input, visit System Preferences : Keyboard : Shortcuts : Input Sources, and choose [√] Select next source in input menu, and deselect Show Finder search window in the Spotlight shortcuts. Now, by pressing option+command+Spacebar, you can watch the input source icons change in the menu bar, and when you get to U+ which is the Unicode Hex Input, you can then press option key + unicode value to input the character. So for the music sharp character, it would be option+266f, and for the flat character, option+266d. When done, you cycle through option+command+Spacebar to get back to your preferred keyboard language.

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Mapping unicode characters to keyboard

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