Help:Special characters

Help:Special characters is a guide on how to use special characters in MediaWiki software, which powers many wikis across the internet, including the well-known Wikipedia. Special characters are characters that are not readily available on standard keyboards or have specific uses in markup languages and programming.

Overview

Special characters include a wide range of symbols such as currency symbols (e.g., €, £, $), mathematical symbols (e.g., ±, ÷, ≥), diacritical marks used in various languages (e.g., é, ö, ç), and other typographical symbols (e.g., ©, ™, °). In the context of a wiki, these characters are often necessary for proper representation of information, especially in articles related to languages, mathematics, science, and copyrighted material.

Usage in MediaWiki

In MediaWiki, special characters can be inserted into pages using several methods:

• Character Map: Many wikis have a character map tool located above the editing window, which allows users to click on special characters to insert them into the text.
• HTML Entities: Characters can also be inserted using HTML character entities. For example, the copyright symbol © can be inserted using `©`.
• Unicode: Directly typing the Unicode value of the character, if the user's keyboard supports it.

Challenges

Using special characters can present challenges, particularly in terms of accessibility and display issues. Not all devices and fonts support all Unicode characters, which can lead to display problems such as missing symbols or boxes appearing in their place. Additionally, screen readers may not correctly interpret some special characters, which can hinder accessibility for users with visual impairments.

Best Practices

To ensure proper use and display of special characters, follow these best practices:

• Use standard HTML entities for common special characters to ensure maximum compatibility.
• When using less common characters, check the display across different devices and browsers.
• Provide alternative text descriptions for special characters where possible, especially in mathematical or scientific content, to improve accessibility.

See Also

• Help:Editing
• Wikipedia:Manual of Style
• Help:HTML in wikitext