Before you run off to the web to search for a symbol that doesn't appear on your keyboard, why not explore the fonts installed on your system? It's very likely that one of them has exactly what you need. The Character Map in Windows is an essential resource, but there are other similar tools with a more comfortable interface, and the ability to inspect each element more closely. zzAscii is one of them.
Hearts, fractions, musical notes. Accents, alternative currencies, and arrows in all directions. Copyright, registered trademark, square and cube. Most keyboards do not offer these special symbols, but they are all a couple of clicks away. The usual way to access them is by opening the classic Windows Character Map; however, its traditional interface makes it somewhat awkward to use, especially on high-resolution monitors. This is where zzAscii comes in, available through MajorGeeks as the main mirror.
zzAscii: An Alternative to the Character Map
zzAscii is a portable program that doesn't require a traditional installation and works directly from a temporary folder. Once opened, to change the font you click on the gear icon, then on the Font button. This opens the classic list of fonts installed in Windows, including all variants.
On the left side of the interface you'll find a section called Character, which presents additional technical data about each character, from the type of script it belongs to, to the exact number and Unicode version. To select a symbol, first click on it, then click the Select button, and finally click Copy to send it to the clipboard.
Personally, I think the interface of zzAscii is superior to that of the traditional Character Map, but it's true that it doesn't show all options in a font. For example, if you choose SimSun in the Character Map, you can see symbols for Chinese and Japanese, while in zzAscii there's no way to access them. I imagine this can be fixed with a future update.
Download zzAscii: Click here
