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UnicodeInputUsingCtrl-Shift-U

It may not be possible with certain flavours of Linux to enter unicode characters in LyX using Ctrl-Shift-U then the character code point.

Unicode input using Ctrl-Shift-U

There are a variety of means for entering characters other than those shown on the keycaps of your keyboard. Linux machines running GTK-powered desktop environments (e.g. Gnome, Cinnamon, MATE) typically allow any unicode character to be quickly entered by first pressing Ctrl-Shift-U, which typically causes a u prompt to be displayed, then entering the four hexadecimal digits that form the code point for the character of interest.

On Ubuntu Linux 13.10 and potentially other versions of Ubuntu/Linux you may find that Ctrl-Shift-U does not allow unicode characters to be entered in LyX. This is most likely due to LyX using the Qt rather than GTK library for its interface and Ctrl-Shift-U not typically being mapped to unicode input in Qt applications.

One method for enabling Ctrl-Shift-U in LyX on Ubuntu Linux 13.10

Note that this method worked for the author but may include extraneous steps and has not been widely tested.

1. Install packages relating to the ibus framework for multi-lingual input
   sudo apt-get install ibus-qt4 ibus ibus-gtk ibus-gtk3 ibus-table ibus-gtk3nibus-clutter ibus-m177
2. Update the X Windows input method configuration for the current user so that ibus is used:
   im-config -n ibus
3. Restart the machine
4. Configure ibus using the graphical application ibus-setup:
   • On the 'Input Method' tab click 'Select an input method', select 'Other' -> 'unicode (m17n)' then click 'add'
   • You may also wish to add other input methods here e.g. 'English UK Winkeys'
5. Restart the ibus daemon:
   ibus-daemon --daemonize --replace
6. Test whether you can now enter unicode characters in LyX:
   Place the cursor in a Lyx document, press Ctrl-Shift-u, type 03b2 and β (the Greek character 'beta') should be displayed

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Category: Tips