Special Character

What is a Special Character?

A special character is any character that is not a letter or number. In this context, a character refers to an element of writing that’s used to represent information.

In written communication, special characters can be used to represent a concept, action, or command without the need for a lengthy explanation.

Techopedia Explains a Special Character Meaning

Special characters can be printable or non-printable. Printable special characters (like punctuation marks or emojis) can be seen on a computer screen and printed on paper.

Non-printable special characters, on the other hand, are used to control formats or actions within a computer system. They will never be seen on a computer screen, but they can be seen in source code.

ASCII and Unicode are two encoding standards that play an important role in how printable and non-printable special characters are represented, stored, and processed in digital systems.

What is the Purpose of Special Character?

The purpose of a special character is to enrich written communication by conveying a specific idea, emotion, or function in a concise manner. The effectiveness of a special character’s meaning depends on its context and the reader’s understanding of a particular symbol.

ASCII Special Characters

ASCII special characters were developed in the 1960s through a collaborative effort led by the American Standards Association, which is now known as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Essentially, the association standardized the way 128 English letters, numerical digits, and special characters were represented in digital text files. (ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.)

The table below contains ASCII special characters that are printable and used in a wide variety of programming and formatting contexts.

The following table contains ASCII special characters that are non-printable. These special characters are used for controlling the formatting, flow, and behavior of data and digital devices to ensure smooth operation and communication within and between computer systems.

Unicode Special Characters

Unicode, which was developed in the 1990s by a consortium of technology companies and organizations, increased the number of special characters that ASCII encoded to accommodate a wider range of alphabets, languages, and symbols.

Today, the Unicode Consortium provides guidance for encoding over 144,000 alphabetical letters, numbers, and special characters.

The consortium reviews its Universal Character Set (UCS) on a regular basis and adds new characters and symbols as needed to accommodate the evolving needs of global communication.

The table below contains a list of printable Unicode special characters that showcase the standard’s diversity.

The following table contains a selection of non-printable Unicode special characters used for control and formatting purposes. They are similar to their ASCII counterparts, but they have a broader range of uses.

Special Characters and Passwords

Best practices for strong passwords recommend using a mix of special characters, numbers, and case-sensitive letters to add an extra layer of complexity and significantly increase the number of possibilities for each character in a password sequence.

A strong password that combines uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and standard ASCII symbols can provide a good balance between security and convenience for most end users.

While the inclusion of Unicode special characters can enhance password strength in theory, most websites, apps, and point of sale (PoS) terminals do not have a built-in character map utility that allows users to browse and select Unicode’s Universal Character Set characters.

Special Characters List for IoT Devices

Many Internet of Things (IoT) devices in use today have limitations that affect their ability to use Unicode special characters or accommodate the full range of ASCII special characters

The table below contains a truncated list (subset) of the ASCII special characters that a  point of sale (PoS) terminal might use.

Special character limits can prevent errors and inconsistencies in data entry, reduce the risk of injection attacks, and ensure compatibility across different data storage systems and databases. These are important concerns for edge devices that have to process data locally and/or interface with other IoT devices.

Some of the best POS systems and IoT devices for both consumer and business use are increasingly supporting Unicode in special character symbol subsets to accommodate a wider range of languages and special characters.

This change is being driven by globalization and the need to support diverse linguistic requirements.

Unfortunately, specific character subsets can vary depending on the individual IoT device, its intended use, and the device’s manufacturer. This means that even devices designed for similar purposes might not support the same range of characters.

How to Type Special Characters

Many ASCII characters can be typed directly into electronic documents and web forms.

That’s because the shift key can activate special characters on a computer keyboard. For example, the special character # can be typed by pressing and holding the shift key while typing the number 3.

Numeric keypads on standard Windows keyboards can also be used to type special characters – but you need to know the numeric code for the character you want to type. For example, if you press and hold the keyboard’s Alt key and Caps Lock key at the same time and then type 35 on the numeric keypad, you will type this: #

How Can You Insert a Special Character?

The easiest way to insert a special character is to copy it from an operating system’s character map and paste it where you want it.

A character map is a utility program that allows you to view and select a wide range of special characters that are installed in an operating system (OS).

How to Access a Windows Character Map

• Press the Windows key.
• Type “character map” in the search box.
• Click on the “Character Map” app from the search results.

How to Access a MacOS Character Map

• In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click on the “Edit” menu
• Select “Emoji & Symbols.”

Most Linux operating systems have character map utilities as well. In GNOME-based environments, it may be known as “Gucharmap” (GNOME Character Map). In KDE environments, it’s called “KCharSelect.”

How to Access the Character Map in GNOME Environments

• Open the Activities overview by clicking on the Activities at the top left of the screen or pressing the Super key (Windows key).
• Start typing “Character Map” or “Gucharmap” and press Enter when the application appears in the results.

How to Access the Character Map in KDE Desktop Environments

• Open the Application Launcher by clicking on the application menu at the bottom left of the screen or pressing the Super (Windows) key.
• Search for “KCharSelect” or “Character Selector” and open the application.

Special Character Generators

Special character generators and special character maps serve similar purposes, but there are nuances in their functionality and usage.

Special character generators are web-based tools or software application features that facilitate the insertion of special characters into documents, websites, or software projects.

For special characters that are not available through a generator or operating system, users may need to copy and paste them from a web source or use a third-party app.

Special Character Software

Special character software applications have more options than OS character maps. Typically, this type of app has a large library of special characters and advanced search options. This can be particularly valuable for professionals in fields like graphic design, web development, and typography. 

PopChar (Windows/Mac) and BabelMap (Windows) are two of the most well-known third-party character map apps.

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