Microsoft KB Archive/70662

Word 5.00: Creating Custom Characters with Word Information

PSS ID Number: Q70662 Article last modified on 11-02-1994

5.00

MS-DOS

SUMMARY

The following are several ways to superimpose characters to create composite characters (for example, a vowel with an umlaut):

Method 1: The Character Test Method of Finding Extended Characters

1. Load the file called CHARTEST.DOC into Word and use the character_test.mac macro (from MACRO.GLY) to print characters available for each font in the currently selected printer driver (CHARTEST.DOC should be located in the WORD5 subdirectory or on the Utilities disk).
2. If the character exists in one of the available character sets, hold down the ALT key while you type the ASCII code of the character on the numeric keypad.
3. Format the screen character with the font containing the special character.

Method 2: The Nondestructive Backspace Method (Good for Umlauts)

1. Type the first character.
2. Type ALT+8 (on the numeric keypad) for a nondestructive backspace.
3. Type the key code (for example, ALT+128) for the second character.

Note: Formatting (such as subscript or superscript) added to the second character also must be added to the nondestructive backspace character.

Method 3: The Line Spacing Method (Good for Fractions)

1. Set “show non-printing symbols” to All in the Options menu.
2. Type the top character and press ENTER.
3. Type the middle character (underscore for fractions) and press ENTER.
4. Type the bottom character and press ENTER.
5. With the cursor on the middle paragraph line, set the line spacing to 0 (zero).
6. Print the character (fraction) and adjust the line spacing as necessary.

Method 4: Adding Characters to the Printer Driver

1. Use the MakePRD utility to translate the PRD file to a text file, and load the text file into Word.
2. Add the character to the Character Sequence Description (CSD) table. Page 227 of the “Printer Information for Microsoft Word” version 5.00 manual contains information for adding characters to the Character Translation Table.
3. Use MakePRD to translate the revised text file back to a PRD file (give the revised printer driver a unique name in order to retain the original PRD).

Note: For best results, method 4 is recommended.

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