In Windows ALT+8494

"ALT+8494"

Really?! Man, you had better have all your fingers and no arthritis for that one!

ChrisL

Thanks for your help Simon. I forgot to mention I am on a Mac.

Anyone know the key command for the Estimated Symbol (funny-looking European e) on a Mac?

google it.

>Really?! Man, you had better have all your fingers and no arthritis for that one!

It's worse as you need to use the numeric keypad to type the number - so if you have a laptop - ouch. An alternative in Office apps is to type the Unicode code point 212E and then hit ALT X and it converts it into the character.

>I forgot to mention I am on a Mac.

I'd be interested in how you get to it on the Mac - esp. if they let you do it in less than five/six keystrokes - that would be clever.

I don't think there is a way to type it on a Mac. If you are running OS X, you can use the Character Palette (which can be enabled via the International control panel) to insert it. Note, this only will work in more recent applications. If you have the Adobe CS apps, you can use the Glyph palette in a similar way. Vis: ℮

"you can use the Character Palette"

Better that than playing fifty-finger Yoga like the Windows command Si posted.

ChrisL

Don't be mean. Windows has had a character palette a lot longer than the Mac has.

Please No! not another Mac/PC pisssing contest:-)

ChrisL

Thanks Mark,
I will give that a go in AICS.

John S

Please No! not another Mac/PC pisssing contest:-)

Wait--I'm a Mac guy! Who's side do you think I'm on, anyway? :-) Different 'strokes for different folks...

The chap specifically asked "what keys" - saying CharMap wouldn't have answered the question.

I wasn't trying to be clever or start something! Honest!

Si

Sullivan J, you can also just copy the estimated symbol from Mark's post, or this one: ℮
Then go and paste it in your CS app, and switch the font. Note that very few fonts will have the symbol; only certain OpenType fonts contain it. The System fonts should have it, for example.

I agree with Si: Let's please avoid another salvo in the Mac v Windows war. They're both good. They're both bad. They're both wonderful. They're both frustrating. They're both imperfect, because only Allah is perfect...

All of Adobe's OpenType fonts have the estimated symbol, fwiw. (Well, not counting dingbat/pi fonts.)

T

Si,

Some widescreen laptops have a numererical keypad, like my HP. :-)

> Some widescreen laptops have a numererical keypad, like my HP. :-)

Please, please we shouldn't be using this forum to promote particular brands ;-)

Si

Si,

Good point, who is it that you work for again? ;-)

There's probably other manufacturers that have laptops with numeric keypads; this was a deciding factor when I was shopping around.

Thanks for your help guys. Finally got the estimated symbol after copying and pasting from your post here.

John S

I've had the same frustration since upgrading to OSX 10.8.4. I copied the symbol from a Wikipedia website and paste it into my documents as needed: ≈
From my own keyboard, best substitute I've found is the isomorphism symbol, a single wavy line over an equal sign that can be accomplished in the font 'Symbol" by striking the @ sign (capital 2). Second option is the equivalent symbol, a single wavy line on the capital key under your esc key upper left on your keyboard.

You could always create a text substitution shortcut for ℮: