How to Insert Unicode Symbols in Twitter
September 22nd, 2008
I was surprised to see some top Twitter users display cool symbols in their tweets and impress their followers. Here is the little secret about how to insert those special characters and unicode symbols into your twitter posts too.
The guys at the Next Web created a simple tool called TwitterKeys, available as this bookmarklet (which you can drag to your browser bookmark toolbar, and click to use), which provides you with a floating window with all these funny symbols you can use in Twitter.
This is possible because Twitter is UTF8 compatible and these symbols are part of your operating system (Character Palette on Mac, Character Map on Windows), but TwitterKeys just makes it easier to grab them.
Once you click the bookmarklet on a Twitter screen, a big pop window appears with all these unicode symbols. Double click on the desired symbol, copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V) in the Twitter post form. That’s it. Amuse your readers.
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So Cool!
Yeah, this is so so cool :D
I prefer the one at http://panmental.de/symbols/
Does the same thing but a bit more sophisticated, with auto-select etc.
Awesome tip. I wonder why I didn’t think of using symbols before…
I like many, and I mean MANY cannot figure out how to use this tool. I am well aware of codes for making symbols, but most ppl I know have no clue about how any of this works. Now this tool comes along and no one seems to be able to figure it out including myself. Drag it? drag what? where? it doesn’t work. I use windows home premium, others on same, or xp or even a mac- they/i cannot figure this out-
i started at main website for directions and they have a dead link plsu very unspecific directions- so i went to google and ended up here with more confusion.
I don’t who the “many” are who can’t follow simple instructions. Click-and-hold the link and drag it to your toolbar (or right-click for Windows or Control-click for Mac, then add it to your bookmark toolbar – there’s always two ways to do these things). Then click the new toolbar link for the pop-up screen of symbols. The pop-up tells you how to double-click a symbol, copy it and then paste it into your Twitter message. Very simple, very cool – thanks for the article!
I had previously downloaded it, but there was no ‘heart’, just a vertical line.