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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Dirty Bint on Mon, 05 April 2010, 08:26:02

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: Dirty Bint on Mon, 05 April 2010, 08:26:02

Hi,

Is it possible to generate a Euro currency symbol on a model M keyboard or a Unicomp keyboard with Windows as O/S?

I can create this on my modern UK keyboard with Ctrl-Alt-4 but before I purchase a UK layout model M or Unicomp I would like to know if a Euro symbol is possible as I use it a lot?

Thx
Dirty Bint

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: ch_123 on Mon, 05 April 2010, 08:27:42

It will. I used to have a UK layout Unicomp many moons ago and it worked fine.

Keyboard layouts are handled by the computer, not by the keyboard. The fact that the keyboard has no euro symbol on it will not affect it.

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: Dirty Bint on Mon, 05 April 2010, 08:28:44

ch_123,

Thx for the reassurance.


Rgds
Dirty Bint

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: keyb_gr on Mon, 05 April 2010, 09:04:24

Yep, the keyboard only sends of a bunch of scancodes. The mapping to actual characters or whatnot is entirely done in software. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to swap keyboard layouts on the fly either.

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: Nonmouse on Mon, 05 April 2010, 14:11:35

ALT+0128 (on the numberpad) will also do it.

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: ch_123 on Mon, 05 April 2010, 14:41:19

If you're in a country that uses the Euro as it's currency, that gets a little bit cumbersome. I switched from UK/Irish to US Int, which uses Alt-Gr + 5.

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: DreymaR on Tue, 06 April 2010, 05:56:24

Using the free Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator you can open up any existing layout you want and add any Unicode symbol* to a position of your choice. Then compile, install and switch to your souped-up layout. It's mind-expanding fun. Also remember to add the degree symbol while you're at it.  :)

*: Know that not all fonts support all Unicode symbols (by far!) so even if you can type it that doesn't guarantee it being actually displayed! The Euro symbol is safe in practically any font though.

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: quadibloc on Tue, 06 April 2010, 10:51:21

Quote from: Dirty Bint;169647

I can create this on my modern UK keyboard with Ctrl-Alt-4 but before I purchase a UK layout model M or Unicomp I would like to know if a Euro symbol is possible as I use it a lot?

Definitely, as the keyboard isn't responsible for creating the Euro symbol with newer keyboards. The "scan codes", which tell the computer which key was pressed, were not changed when the Euro symbol was added: only a keyboard layout table in the computer, which it uses to convert scan codes to ASCII (or ISO 8859-1 or Unicode) characters was changed.

Some U.S. layout keyboards have a Euro symbol printed on the number 5 key, but whether you have one of those or a Model M, you would not be able, normally, to use Ctrl-(Right) Alt-5 to generate it; there, you have to select the "U. S. International" keyboard layout. Once you do that, again, it works equally well whether you have an old keyboard without the symbol on the key, or a new one.

Title: Generating Euro Symbol € On Model M or Unicomp
Post by: ch_123 on Tue, 06 April 2010, 12:12:46

And by "newer keyboard" - anything later than the late 1970s...