Sometimes you may wonder if a particular symbol or character can be typed directly from your keyboard or if it must be inserted through PopChar.
PopChar makes this easy! You can check whether a character has a keyboard shortcut (keyboard equivalent) in just a few seconds.
Checking a character’s keyboard shortcut
- Select a character in PopChar.
- Look at the magnifier view (the detailed info area at the bottom of the window).
If the character has a keyboard equivalent, PopChar shows it there.
Example: The Yen Sign (¥)
Let’s look at an example using the Yen sign (¥) in the Apple Symbols font.
When you select this character, PopChar shows:
- Its Unicode code point (U+00A5)
- Its HTML entity (¥)
- And its keyboard equivalent: ⌥Y (on a U.S. keyboard)
So you can type ⌥ + Y to insert the Yen sign directly!
Example: no keyboard shortcut
Now try the “Broken Bar” character (¦), which is right next to the Yen sign.
In the magnifier view, PopChar shows the code point and HTML entity but no keyboard equivalent.
This means there’s no direct key combination for it on your current keyboard.
Different keyboards, different results
Keep in mind that keyboard shortcuts depend on your keyboard layout and language.
A key combination that works on a U.S. keyboard might not work on a French or German keyboard, and vice versa.
PopChar always shows the correct information for the currently active keyboard on your Mac.
Using the “Unicode hex input” keyboard
macOS includes a special keyboard layout called Unicode Hex Input — a variant of the U.S. keyboard.
This layout lets you type any Unicode character by entering its code:
- Enable the Unicode Hex Input keyboard layout in your system settings.
- Hold down the Option (⌥) key.
- Type the four-digit Unicode code of the character.
For example: ⌥ + 00A6 → produces the Broken Bar (¦) character.
This is very handy for occasional use — but it’s designed for people who already use the U.S. keyboard layout.
If you normally use a localized keyboard (for example, French or German), you probably won’t want to keep Unicode Hex Input as your main layout.