OS X: Unicode Input

Question

I think the only thing I like about Windows is the fact that you can easily enter Unicode characters using the Alt key plus the numeric keypad.

I hate using the Show Emoji & Symbols for this sort of thing as it’s very tedious and I can’t find a way of entering a code I already know.

I know that OS X allows Unicode input using the Unicode Hex Input source, but when enabled I can’t use the option key to enter other useful characters. For example the typographical apostrophe (’) now requires the full unicode (2019) rather than the original keyboard combination.

The question is: is there anything which allows me to easily enter unicode without losing the use of the option key for the rest?

Answer 1

The question indicates the OP is not interested in using the Unicode Hex keyboard, but in case that solution does meet your needs, here is how to do it:

On macOS, you first need to add the alternate input "Unicode Hex Input." In the System Preferences >> Keyboard >> Input Sources.

Once that is selected (by clicking that input source on the header bar, all you need to do is type the hex code while holding option.

For example:

å = ⌥ Option00e5

Answer 2

I made a copy of Unicode Hex Input and added something to it that made the Press and Hold feature work with it. So to put a diacritic on a letter, I hold the key down until a popup appears with the choices of accent marks. But I can still use the hex value for glyphs not supported by that.

Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly how and I can't find the SE posts that told me how to do it. But if you want a copy, download https://HappyHobo.net/UHI+.tbz It unpacks to UHI+.bundle which you can place into ~/Library/Keyboard\ Layouts.  To add it to your input menu, you can find it in the English (not in "Others").

Answer 3

I have written a solution which has worked well for some time.

1. Open Automator and create a new workflow. I called mine InputUnicode.
2. Check these settings:
   • Workflow receives no input
   • any application
   • ☑︎ Output replaces selected text
3. Add the Run JavaScript action.

The JavaScript is:

function run(input, parameters) {
    var app = Application.currentApplication()
    app.includeStandardAdditions = true
    
    var input = app.displayDialog('Unicode HEX:', {
        defaultAnswer: '',
        withIcon: 'note',
        buttons: ['Cancel', 'OK'],
        defaultButton: 'OK'
    }).textReturned

    var text='';
    input.split(' ').forEach(i=>{
        text+=String.fromCodePoint(parseInt(i,16)||63);
    });

    return text;
}

I then assigned a universal shortcut ⌥⌘U:

1. System Preferences
2. Keyboard | Shortcuts
3. Services | InputUnicode (Same as above)

The workflow pops up an input box which allows you to enter one or more space-separated hex codes. These codes are converted into unicode characters, or question marks if not possible, and the result is inserted into the text.

I wrote it in JavaScript because I understand it better than AppleScript, though the API documentation is pretty hard to find.

Annoyingly, the only application this doesn’t work with properly is Firefox, which doesn’t seem to handle the shortcut. However, you can still get to it through the Firefox | Services menu.

Update

I have now added this to Github: https://github.com/manngo/input-unicode.

You end up with a simple popup like this:

Answer 4

Because the unicode keyboard uses ⌥a and ⌥e and ⌥c as part of the hex inputs, it can’t use them for the quick access to the accent keys, so there really is not way around this, however, switching keyboards is very simple. the first step is to simply add the Unicode HEX keyboard to your existing keyboard.

You can leave your keyboard in your normal language setting and hit ⌥⌘-space and type ⌥-2318, tr whatever combo you need, then swap back. This means you can still use ⌥e+e to type é, whilst still having rapid access to the full unicode set.

It sounds more complicated than it is, once you do it a few times it will become second nature.

On newer systems and newer keyboards, the keyboard switch may be tied to the 🌐 key.

Another option is to use Typinator (or perhaps some other similar tool) to set a text expansion for something like ;<HEX> or ><HEX> to expand to the character. Since Typinator supports scripting, you should be able to take the <HEX> you enter, process it, and spit out the unicode character.