Description: Can you add the exclusive-or symbol to the special characters in OpenOffice Writer? The HTML code is ⊕ It looks like a circle with a plus sign in it. Steps to Reproduce: Not applicable. Actual Results: Not applicable. Expected Results: Not applicable. Reproducible: Always User Profile Reset: No Additional Info: The list of special characters does not have the exclusive-or symbol, a circle with a + inside. It also lacks a circle with an x inside ⊗. These symbols are used for addition and multiplication in a mathematical ring. I have had to use the 5-character combination blank-X-O-R-blank which wrecks readability. I have tried copying the symbol from other documents, but that doesn't work.
The Unicode point is U+2295 'CIRCLED PLUS' ⊕ (see notes below) Adding to the Special Symbol dialog's list box of 'Favorites' or 'Recents' requires that you first open the 'More Characters...' pop-up chart dialog, and in the 'Font' droplist select a font that contains the glyph--Open Symbol will work. With Open Symbol font showing, next enter "2295" in the field labeled 'Hexedecimal: U+', you should see the chart reposition to the block holding the operators. Click the 'Add to Favorites' if space is available on the favorites bar (currently just 16 slots). The glyph, from the font it was selected, will be added and available for use from the Special Symbol toolbar split button. =-notes-= It is not included, nor really needed, in Liberation Sans or Liberation Serif fonts. And, the project does deploy the glyphs in the following fonts: OpenSymbol, DejaVu, Linux Libertine G, Linux Biolinum G There likely are other common fonts on your system that provide coverage of 'Mathematical Operators' Unicode block. Its use is defined as a StarMath operator 'oplus' for use in entering formulas as OLE objects.
OUCH!! That's quite a burden you are placing on the users. Not only do we need to know what the different fonts look like, we also need to know which characters are available in which fonts. Isn't there some better way of doing this? Like have a list of all characters and let the computer pick the font when you want an outside character? Or, give the user a choice of fonts when you have to go outside the current set?
(In reply to contestcen from comment #2) > OUCH!! That's quite a burden you are placing on the users. Not only do we > need to know what the different fonts look like, we also need to know which > characters are available in which fonts. Not really, the Special Character chart gives functional font preview scrolling the droplist of fonts, and provides search (by Unicode name, and Unicode functional block). Project also makes it easy to enter a glyph directly from keyboard using its Unicode point. You would for example enter "U+2295" and then toggle it to its ⊕ glyph by entering <Alt>+X Or likewise to reverse that conversion and show the Unicode value, for example "U+2297" CIRCLED TIMES for glyph ⊗ > > Isn't there some better way of doing this? Like have a list of all > characters and let the computer pick the font when you want an outside > character? Or, give the user a choice of fonts when you have to go outside > the current set? Not really. Unicode is enormous but there are a few things that could be done to improve the charts, e.g. restoring the empty chart values to visually show missing glyphs in a font, and labeling the rows and columns of the font chart for easy identification of the glyph's codepoint. Otherwise there are some very good utility programs for working with Unicode chart representations of fonts. BabelMap on Windows or gucharmap on gtk2/3 Linux DE.
So users of LibreOffice need to know the Unicode values for the characters they need? I find scrolling through the LibreOffice dropdown lists of special characters difficult and time consuming. Going through the whole Unicode list in order to find the codes takes hours. I have done it a few times, and would not want to do that again. Is there some way character lookup could be done by typing a description of the character in a search box, for example "math operator exclusive-or" or "French c cedilla" or the like? Or a hierarchic search where I type "math operator" and get a list of categories like algebra, geometry, calculus, logic. Then when I click on one of those I get the actual characters on one page.
(In reply to contestcen from comment #4) > So users of LibreOffice need to know the Unicode values for the characters > they need? Yes, or at the least be familiar with the Unicode subsets, e.g. Mathematical Operators, Miscellaneous Mathematical Symbols-A & B, > I find scrolling through the LibreOffice dropdown lists of > special characters difficult and time consuming. Going through the whole > Unicode list in order to find the codes takes hours. I have done it a few > times, and would not want to do that again. > That is why the UI provide a block of 16 Favorites, and 16 Recents. Each user can control their own list of Favorites, removing an entry and adding from the Recents or from the Chart. That coupled with direct entry in text (using <Atl>+X conversion) or entry by Hex value on the Special Characters dialog allows a user to not have to scroll the charts for regular glyph entry. > Is there some way character lookup could be done by typing a description of > the character in a search box, for example "math operator exclusive-or" or > "French c cedilla" or the like? Or a hierarchic search where I type "math > operator" and get a list of categories like algebra, geometry, calculus, > logic. Then when I click on one of those I get the actual characters on one > page. The search is limited to what is provided by Unicode. User can show the chart by Unicode 'subset' (e.g. Mathematical Operators); or to search against the Unicode glyph name (e.g. in the 'Search:' box enter "CIRCLE"). Note: these are against the Font selected--not a composit font of all Unicode. If the font does not have coverage of the subset or is missing glyphs nothing will appear--select a different font.