| ▲ | fao_ 4 days ago |
| On Linux I just type (in sequence): compose - - and it makes an em dash, it takes a quarter of a second longer to produce this. I don't know why the compose key isn't used more often. |
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| ▲ | crabmusket 4 days ago | parent | next [-] |
| [As an English typer] Where is this compose key on my keyboard? (This is a vaguely Socratic answer to the question of why the compose key is not more often used.) |
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| ▲ | fao_ 3 days ago | parent | next [-] | | As per the wiki article someone else listed — the compose key was available on keyboards back in the 1980s (notably it was invented only 5 years after the Space Cadet keyboard was invented!). Some DOS applications did have support for it. The reason it wasn't included is baffling, and it's especially baffling to me that other operating systems never adopted it, simply because compose a '
is VASTLY more user friendly to type than: alt-+
1F600
which I have met some windows users who memorize that combo for things like the copyright symbol (which is simply:) compose o c
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| ▲ | WhyNotHugo 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | It’s not mapped to any key by default. A common choice is the right alt key. I wrote a short guide about it last year: https://whynothugo.nl/journal/2024/07/12/typing-non-english-... | | | |
| ▲ | layer8 4 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | In Vim it's Ctrl+K. ;) |
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| ▲ | whilenot-dev 4 days ago | parent | prev [-] |
| The compose key feels mandatory for anyone who wants to type their native langauge on an US-english layout. The combination[0] is "Compose--." though: – [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key#Common_compose_com... |
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| ▲ | teddyh 4 days ago | parent [-] | | “Compose--.” produces an en dash, not an em dash. An em dash is produced by “Compose---”. Source: grep -e DASH /usr/share/X11/locale/*/Compose
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| ▲ | mock-possum 4 days ago | parent | next [-] | | As it should be. I wish this convention were present across more software, “-“ “- -“ and “- - -“ should be the UI norm for entering proper dashes in text input controls. | | |
| ▲ | WhyNotHugo 4 days ago | parent [-] | | Most software handles this fine if you configure your compositor to use a compose key. |
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| ▲ | fao_ 3 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Whoops, yep that's the one |
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