InstantUnicode | Insert Characters by Typing their Codepoint
March 12, 2020 | Snippets | en | fr
Many fonts offer a wide range of Unicode characters. Does your text require a 'Ű'? Minion Pro has it. Go to U+0170 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DOUBLE ACUTE
. Or do you need an umbrella glyph? Segoe UI Emoji supports U+2602
… Of course you can access any element from the Glyphs panel, but when you already know the codepoint to be rendered, why not just ask InDesign to parse the code you've just entered?…
InstantUnicode is a “responsive script” for Indesign CS6-CC. Run the script once—to activate the listener—then go into your text and type the desired codepoint using the format uHHHH. For example, u0170
will be instantly changed into the character 'Ű'. Here is a quick demo:
As shown in the screencast, you can also deal with codepoints greater than U+FFFF. To do so, use the syntax UHHHHH (uppercase U), e.g. U1F4A1
. InstantUnicode then inserts the corresponding character in your text, U+1F4A1 ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB
, assuming your font supports it.
Notes:
• InstantUnicode is intended to run in InDesign CS6 and CC.
• How to install the script in InDesign.
• This script can be installed in a “startup scripts” folder (in case you want to make it active by default.)
Bugs and feedback?
Please, let me know what you think about this script via Twitter.