BarIfxInsertSymbol The Symbol Picker button is an InstaButton, so it follows the principles of operation of all InstaButtons.

 

The Symbol Picker dropdown dialog is depicted below.

 

Most of the dropdown is occupied by a matrix of symbols. You can select the desired Character Set and Font in the combo boxes in the top/left corner of the dialog. Since the main goal of the Symbol Picker is to select a symbol, the Character Set always takes precedence over the Font, i.e., the Font combo box always displays only the fonts that support the selected Character Set, so you may want to start by properly setting the latter.

 

Symbols you pick from the symbol matrix are added to the line of Most Recently Used Symbols above it. If the selected symbol is already there, it is not re-added.

 

The Character # box displays the ASCII number of the symbol as you pass the mouse over the matrix.

The Keyboard Shortcut displays the shortcut you can use to enter the symbol under the mouse directly via the keyboard. The numbers you may see after the Alt- prefix must be entered on the numeric keypad.

InstaButtonsSymbolPicker1A

 

Mode. The Single mode will enter the symbol you select into the destination text and dismiss the Symbol Picker. The Multi mode will send the symbol into the destination text but will leave the Symbol Picker open. This allows you to enter more than one symbol in sequence, thus turning the Symbol Picker into a "virtual keyboard". This can be quite useful to "type" a word in a foreign language, for example. You can dismiss the Symbol Picker once you are done as you would any other InstaButton dropdown dialog: just click outside it or hit Escape.

 

The last symbol you select is always assigned to the invoking InstaButton, so re-using the last symbol is as easy as simply clicking the InstaButton. You can have as many Symbol Picker InstaButtons as you like of course – each with its own "favorite" symbol.

 

Finally, there's just one "twist" to the Alventis Symbol Picker: it is resizable. If you ever had trouble making out the tiny symbols in other applications' symbol pickers, you will appreciate this feature.