Creating superscript numbers in Word

Q I want to use superscripted numbers in a Word document. I’ve noticed that although most fonts include these as separate characters, Word 2003 seems to do this by using an ordinary numeral, raised and made smaller. I only need 2 and 3, which I can see from the Windows Character map are present in the font (Times New Roman). Is there a way of getting Word to use these, rather than the ‘botched’ version?

Ken Pearson

A It seems a shame Word doesn’t use the glyphs kindly provided by the font designer, but there are ways round this.

One is to use the Ansi codes for the symbols. With Numlock on, hold down the Alt key and type 0178 or 0179 on the numeric keypad. This should work in any text-entering situation.

For a more elegant solution, go to Insert, Symbol. Find and select the proper superscript 2 and click on the Shortcut Key button. In the ‘Press new shortcut key’ box type a suitable combination ­ Control & Shift & 2 should be available. Next, click the Assign button, then the Close button.

Repeat the process for the true superscripted 3 and you will have the two symbols permanently assigned to the chosen shortcut keys.