Character Map (charmap)

What is character map (charmap)?
Character Map is a free utility available in all Windows operating systems for inserting special symbols, accented letters, or foreign language characters into any Windows-based application. Character Map is a useful utility, especially if you are using word processors such as Microsoft Word.

Because keys are not assigned for certain special characters, the Character Map serves as an important utility for inserting special symbols into applications. The character map can be accessed in Windows by typing charmap at the command prompt or by navigating to System Tools and then clicking Character Map or double-clicking the charpmap.exe from its location on the system. In addition, many applications that use the character map have an 'Insert Symbol' function that opens the character map.

When you select a character in the Character Map, it is enlarged so that the user can see it more closely. Microsoft Windows has also provided keyboard shortcuts for the characters in the character map. In the event that a user frequently uses a particular character, he / she can learn the keystroke assigned to the character available in the status bar of the character table. Hold down the Alt key and the corresponding letter or number key on the keyboard, the character will be placed in the application.

The character map is useful in many ways. For one thing, most of the special characters don't need to be assigned on the keyboard and can be found in the character table. A special keyboard is therefore not necessary. The character map is particularly useful for foreign languages and certain symbols used in math or word processing.