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Preserving Special Characters from One Computer to Another by Cindy O'Hora

I received this plea for assistance.

>i desparately need to find the dingbats char 43 which is a little hand shaped like a pistol with the index finger pointed like a revolver - i am having a problem with my mac printer cable to hp 1120c, so i'm using appleworks from my mac to my husband's hp(!) ...>

The problem is that when she moves the document to the new computer, it does not have the correct font installed (dingbats char 43), so the character changes.

I have a similar problem when I create lessons for the web. The font I use may not be available in the reader's System font folder. Consequently, when they view my page, the character will change or be lost entirely and replaced with an upright rectangle.

My solution is to convert the letter (character) to a clip art image. That is how I preserved the command key symbol command key symbol on my web pages.

Convert it to an image:

Step 1: Open a drawing page in AppleWorks/ClarisWorks.

Step 2: Create a text frame. Click on the A in the tool bar. Drag the cursor on the page. Enter only the character(s) you want. In this case, it is the pointing hand.

Step 3: Click one time on the document to turn the square black handles off.

Step 4: Take a Screen Shot of the character. Hold down the shift and command key symbol command keys and type a 4. You will get a crosshair cursor. Drag across the character. You'll hear a clicking sound like a camera shutter when you stop dragging.

See Screen Shot hacks for OS X

Step 5: Go to the Hard Drive window and look for the screen shot document. It is probably labeled Picture 1 if you have never done screen shots before.

Step 6: Open the screen shot file by double clicking on it.

Step 7: Go Edit ... Select All. Then Edit ... Copy.

Step 8: Go to the document in which you want to preserve the character. Click in the text where you want the image to appear. Go Edit ...Paste.

 

What we have done is make a single character picture of the symbol. It is now like any clip art. It will not change from one computer to another. You do not need the font to be installed in the printing computer to have the character appear.

It takes a bit of practice to get an optimal size for the character's image. Be sure you have it in the font size of the rest of the document. Make every effort to keep the white space around the character to a minimum.

I put a copy of my command key picture in my Scrapbook so it is handy as I write. You might also consider making a special library of your favorite converted text characters. Either plan spares your rooting through documents looking for the one you made last week or making it again. (Of course, I've never done that!)

Can you only do this for single letters or symbols?

Heavens, no. You can make titles in fun fonts and then preserve them this way for electronic document distribution or for web publishing. In fact, that is exactly how I made the special titles for this site.

Complacency in the presence of miracles is like opening the door to your own tomb. -- Rod Steiger


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©2000 Cynthia O'Hora All rights reserved. Posted 1/2000 by Cindy O'Hora

All the material in this site is copyrighted and may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Cynthia O'Hora. These restrictions include the use of the materials in an educational setting. This site is an entirely volunteer effort. I am not associated with Apple Computers or any of its subsidiaries.

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