The language of type
The typical computer font includes 256 characters. Upper and lowercase letters, numbers, computer codes, and a variety of characters for composing non-English text take up the majority of the available slots. But have you ever wondered what the rest of the characters are for?
Did you know that the ellipsis, the three dots used to indicate the omission of information within a passage, has its own special font character. Do you know the meaning of @ in e-mail addresses? Or the difference between a quotation mark and a double prime?
Even the experts disagree on the proper use of some characters. Some are similar looking and easily confused, some have multiple uses, others have very specific uses in categories such as finance, mathematics, or reference. Below, we'll sort through the maze, define some typical categories and uses, and show you how to tap the hidden language of type.
About the chart
Following are many of the marks, signs, and symbols available set in Adobe Minion> Special characters in another typeface will look a little different because they are designed to match the style of that face.
Each listing includes the name of the character, one or more possible uses, and Macintosh (Mac) and Windows (PC) key combination used to access the characters from your keyboard. Your system and software may vary. The letter “E” is added to some listings to show the orientation of the special characters to the baseline. Some fonts do not include special characters—in that event, you will get a blank or a square box when you enter the number.
This is not meant to be a legally definitive guide. The reader takes full responsibility for their own interpretation of information.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PC USERS
On the Macintosh and in various word processing and desktop publishing programs on the PC there is a special utility or pull down menu option for inserting special characters. In Windows, you'll probably find it easiest to add characters using the numeric keypad. With the Num Lock enabled, you simply hold down the Alt-key and type the character number on the numeric keypad.
