Help:Special characters

Entering special characters

You can usually type or paste Unicode characters directly into the edit box, such as é, × or −. Your operating system, keyboard and browser determine the easiest input method. Some editors offer an insert-character menu, but its availability varies.

HTML character references can be useful when a character is hard to enter or could be interpreted as markup. A named reference begins with & and ends with a semicolon, for example   for a non-breaking space. A numeric reference can use decimal or hexadecimal notation, for example © or ©. In actual wikitext, write one ampersand at the start of each reference; the examples in code show the literal form.

Choose readable text

Use special characters only where they are part of an official name, source quotation, scientific notation or clear typography. Do not substitute look-alike characters from another script to evade search or create deceptive text. Use ordinary spaces except where a non-breaking space prevents an undesirable line break. Preview the result and check that search, links and screen readers remain usable.