The average user types only a small set of Unicode characters each day, but the standard is far more extensive than we imagine. With 149,186 symbols registered so far, Unicode is a universe of ideas, odd objects, expressions, error messages, and emojis. The Codepoints portal serves as a gateway to explore the Unicode standard, whether you start from the most popular characters or use its search function.

Codepoints: All the Characters of the Unicode Standard in One Place
Unicode standard

Did you know that the QWERTY keyboard lost a key during its evolution? Almost 150 years later, we still aren't sure what it was for... but we know it existed. Even stranger, the opposite also happened: today we have symbols that once appeared in the official character tables, and no one remembers when or how they got there. The word inheritance is repeated a lot, but that's about it.

Our only defense against such chaos is the Unicode standard. 149,186 characters and counting, including format codes, non-visual elements... and almost 4,000 emojis. Any user interested in a basic exploration of Unicode will find a great ally in Windows Character Map, but if you want to understand its essence, you need to visit the Codepoints portal.

Codepoints: The Unicode Standard at Your Fingertips

Codepoints: All the Characters of the Unicode Standard in One Place
The site presents a Top 20, but I recommend using the Random button.

One of the most interesting technical details Codepoints shares is the structure of Unicode: the standard was designed to organize characters into 17 planes of 65,536 code points each. That gives a ceiling of 1,114,112 characters, but we've filled just over 10 percent so far, so we're far from an "IPv4 situation." The planes also have multiple blocks, something we can verify by entering plane 0, home of the Latin alphabet and its main supplements (e.g., ñ and accented vowels).

Codepoints: All the Characters of the Unicode Standard in One Place
17 planes, supplements, blocks... there's a lot to see.
Codepoints: All the Characters of the Unicode Standard in One Place
Yes, we can express technical elements, and much more.

Another striking case is Letterlike Symbols, a block that stores characters for expressing degrees Celsius and Fahrenheit (℃ and ℉). Then we have a block focused on mathematical operators, Miscellaneous Technical, where the command key symbol on Macs appears, and basically all the arrows you can imagine.

Codepoints: All the Characters of the Unicode Standard in One Place
Or alternatively, "Obese man with mustache and fabulous hairstyle."

Besides offering a huge amount of information, Codepoints also works as a character map, with buttons that make it easy to copy symbols to the clipboard. I'm sure you'll spend a good time on Codepoints exploring its content, but if you don't know where to start, use the "Random" button. It's definitely worth it.

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