Win XP--Trying to create a hotkey for all programs

[Nerys Ghemor]

I'm not sure if I'm in the right section of the forum for this, but I'm trying to create some kind of hotkey that I can use in all programs, not just in Word, to let me write the "ă" symbol easily. I need this because it's part of the spelling system I'm using for my conlang (Cardăsda), and it's a MAJOR pain in the butt to have to copy and paste from Word every time I want to use this symbol here, on other forums, or on Star Trek Expanded Universe wiki.

I've got it set up in Word where I can just do Ctrl + Alt + a and it comes right up. Is there any way to set up a "global" hotkey in Windows XP that will let me type this symbol in any program without having to go to a non-English keyboard format?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[B.J.]

You could just type the Unicode value for the letter. First hold down the "Alt" key, then type "+0103" on the keypad, then release the "Alt" key. If your registry is set up right, it will type "ă" in just about any application, if not, a "g" will probably appear.

If the latter happens, you need to edit your registry if you're comfortable doing so. (Many people will tell you to back up the registry or set a restore point before editing it.) Do the following:
1. Use the Start menu to run RegEdit.exe.
2. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER to /Control Panel/Input Method. Find the key (or create a new string value) called EnableHexNumpad. If you create this string value, it should have the REG_SZ type.
3. Right-click and modify EnableHexNumpad to give it a value of 1. This is how it will look:

4. Exit regedit

After that, you probably have to restart before the "Alt" + "+0103" will work.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Try AutoHotKey.