How to create special characters with overstrike in Word (211642)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Word 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2000

This article was previously published under Q211642

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Word, you may want to use a character that is not supported by the ANSI character set or by your printer. You can create such characters by combining two characters, using the overstrike capabilities of the Equation (EQ) field.

MORE INFORMATION

How to Use an EQ Field

To insert the field characters (braces) from the keyboard, press CTRL+F9.

The field {eq \o(o,-)} produces an "o" with a line through it.
   This part of the field  Does this
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   eq                      Tells Word it is an equation field

   \o                      Is the code for overstrike

   (o,-)                   Tells Word to overstrike the "o" with the "-"
				
You must apply formatting to the '-' character to raise it above the "o". To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Select the '-' character.
  2. On the Format menu, click Font.
  3. Click the Character Spacing tab.
  4. In the Position list, click Raised. Click OK.
You can also use horizontal lines of different sizes and vertical positions to supplement the dash and underline characters found on the keyboard. Other line styles include the Times Roman characters 150 (em dash) and 151 (en dash) and the Symbol characters 45 (similar to a keyboard dash, but longer) and 190. The em and en dashes are also available in most standard fonts. The Symbol character 190 is the longest available horizontal line character.

Another Example--European "S" with a Superscript Dash (-)

Use the following EQ field to create this character:

{eq S\d\ba5()\s\up8(-)}

This example takes the uppercase "S" character, moves the (-) character back by 5 points, and then moves it up 8 points.

Note If the overstrike characters do not appear as expected, you may have a country other than the United States selected in the International dialog box. To change the country configuration, point to Settings on the Windows Start menu, and click Control Panel. Double-click the Regional Settings icon, and select English (United States) in the list on the Regional Settings tab.

The overstrike characters should be positioned correctly.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/21/2004
Keywords:kbinfo kbprint KB211642