Entering Latin Characters in Ubuntu With The Multi_Key

Wow. You learn something everyday huh? Since I killed a bunch of the keys on my keyboard recently I've been stuck without being able to easily enter Latin characters. Today I found out about the Compose key, or in Ubuntu terminology - the Multi Key.

The Multi Key lets you enter special characters by typing a combination of two keys. For example:

• Á is Multi A '
• « is Multi < <
• ½ is Multi 1 2
• ¿ is Multi ? ?

Pretty neat huh? Except my keyboard doesn't have a Compose key. Apparently you can set up Shift and Alt to be the compose key under keyboard options somewhere, but I preferred to use xmodmap to onvert my Windows key to a Compose key:

$ xmodmap -e "keycode 133 = Multi_key"

Voila! Now I can put in any Latin characters without resorting to the Character Map.

Check this list of common compose sequences to find the characters you want to enter.

About Roger Keays

Roger Keays is an artist, an engineer, and a student of life. He has no fixed address and has left footprints on 40-something different countries around the world. Roger is addicted to surfing. His other interests are music, psychology, languages, the proper use of semicolons, and finding good food.