Unicode input

Unicode input is method to add a specific <a href="/facts/Universal_Character_Set_characters/yCoMRHqx">Unicode character</a> to a <a href="/facts/Computer_file/FjFH3Ufm">computer file</a>; it is a common way to input characters not directly supported by a physical <a href="/facts/Keyboard_(computing)/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a>. Characters can be entered either by selecting them from a display, by typing a certain sequence of keys on a physical keyboard, or by drawing the symbol by hand on <a href="/facts/Touch-sensitive_screen/zpSKDFpe">touch-sensitive screen</a>. In contrast to <a href="/facts/ASCII/vGUI33Qu">ASCII</a>'s 96 element <a href="/facts/Character_set/ShJHIMoA">character set</a> (which it contains), Unicode encodes hundreds of thousands of <a href="/facts/Grapheme/uzXGIsAr">graphemes</a> (characters) from almost all of the world's written languages and many other signs and symbols.[better source needed]
A Unicode input system must provide for a large repertoire of characters, ideally all valid Unicode code points. This is different from a <a href="/facts/Keyboard_layout/6aYkBXuK">keyboard layout</a> which defines keys and their combinations only for a limited number of characters appropriate for a certain <a href="/facts/Locale_(computer_software)/Hwbtpj4e">locale</a>.

Unicode input open-in-new

Unicode input