Find and keep characters that don't appear on a standard keyboard

Rather than opening the Character Map to insert a fraction symbol, I use the Sticky Notes utility to create a list I can quickly access.

Click on the Start button, point to All Programs, followed by Accessories, then System Tools and click Character Map. Go back to the Start menu, search for sticky notes and click on it when it appears in the Start menu.

Return to the Character Map. Choose a font and click on the character you need. You can either copy and paste it to the sticky note or type the keystroke number into the sticky note window: hold down Alt and enter the number on the numerical keyboard to insert the character.

Noting the Keystroke number alongside the symbol means you don’t have to switch to the sticky note to copy and paste the character to your document – just use the Alt key and the code.

For easy access, right-click the Sticky Note icon in the Taskbar and select ‘Pin this program to the taskbar’ so it is always close to hand.
Peter Croxton