Microsoft KB Archive/131263

PPT4: Help Topic Incorrect for Inserting Special Characters

PSS ID Number: Q131263 Article last modified on 05-16-1998

windows:4.0,4.0a,4.0c; macintosh:4.0

MACINTOSH WINDOWS

================================================================ ==

The information in this article applies to:

 Microsoft PowerPoint for the Macintosh, version 4.0 == Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a and 4.0c == 

= SUMMARY =

Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 Help (Windows and Macintosh versions) suggests a method to insert a special character onto a slide. The suggestion for the Macintosh version is incorrect. The Help file suggests that you choose Copy from the Edit menu while the Bullet dialog box is on the screen. This can’t be done, as this is not a function of the Bullet dialog box.

Note also that the similar suggestion for the Windows version could use some clarification.

For correct information about inserting a special character into a PowerPoint 4.x presentation, see the appropriate section for your version of PowerPoint in the “More Information” section of this article.

= MORE INFORMATION =

If You Are Using PowerPoint for the Macintosh
There are two ways to insert a special character into your presentation: use the Apple Key Caps program or copy the character from another document. To use the Apple Key Caps program:


 * 1) On the Apple menu, click Key Caps.
 * 2) On the Key Caps menu, click the font that contains the character you want.
 * 3) Press different combinations of the OPTION and SHIFT keys until the desired character appears on the keyboard layout. For example, you can get an upside-down question mark by pressing SHIFT+OPTION+/.
 * 4) Click the desired character, and it will be placed in the Key Caps window. Highlight the character then copy it, either by clicking Copy on the Edit menu or by pressing COMMAND+C.
 * 5) Close Key Caps, then paste the character into your text frame. You may have to highlight the character and change its font if the font of the text frame is different than that of the desired character.

NOTE: You can also memorize the keystrokes you need to get the desired symbol. Thus, anytime you want to have an upside down question mark you can press SHIFT+OPTION+/.

If You Are Using PowerPoint for Windows

 * 1) From the Help menu, choose About Microsoft PowerPoint.
 * 2) In the About Microsoft PowerPoint dialog box, choose the System Info Button.
 * 3) In the Microsoft System Info dialog box, choose the Run button.
 * 4) In the Run Application dialog, box choose the Other button, and then type CHARMAP and then choose the OK button to start the character map utility.
 * 5) Select the symbol you want by double-clicking it, and then choose the Copy button.
 * 6) Return to PowerPoint, and, from the Edit menu, choose Paste to insert the symbol into your presentation.

A note of caution concerning step 6: the font selected for the special character has to match the font selected in PowerPoint during the Paste procedure. One shortcut to copying and pasting is to note the keystroke combination at the bottom-right corner of the character map’s interface while selecting the special character. You can then apply that same character by simply selecting the font and typing in the keystroke combination.

For more information on special character keystroke combinations, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q136663 TITLE : PPT: How to Add Accented Characters to PowerPoint Slides

= Additional query words: 4.00 4.00a 4.00c macsys macppt =

Keywords : kbdocerr kbhelpfile kbdta Version : windows:4.0,4.0a,4.0c; macintosh:4.0 Platform : MACINTOSH WINDOWS Hardware : MAC x86 Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.