Can't enter alpha character in text

[Combs, Richard]

Fred Ridder wrote:
 
> The table that contains the ANSI 097 <-> lower-case alpha mapping is in the
> section titled "Symbol and ZapfDingbats character sets" and the lower-case
> alpha character and character name are in the column of the table headed
> "Symbol set: graphic and name". What this tells you is that this character
> mapping applies *only* to the Symbol font. This method--relying on the
> character mapping of a specific font--is the old, pre-Unicode way of
> implementing special characters. The rightmost columns of the same table tell
> you that the same ANSI code will produce an outlined, 8-petal floral dingbat
> if the character is formatted as ZapfDingbats.
> 
> Unless you have a specific requirement to avoid Unicode (e.g., a need to
> produce MIF files that are compatible with FM versions prior to v8), it is
> generally better to reference special characters by their Unicode hex code,
> which is (theoretically, at least) universal in any Unicode font that supports
> the codepage that contains the character.

In fact, if you read "FrameMaker 9 character sets" on page 4 of that PDF instead of jumping to the tables in the "Support for FrameMaker 7.x character set" section, you'll see information about how to enter Unicode characters, and it mirrors what Fred posted earlier. 

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-903-6372
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