How to Insert Special Characters in Apple Pages – Guide
Have you ever imagined how to typing in some of those special characters that don’t seem to appear anywhere on the Mac keyboard? For example, the Apple symbol or the copyright symbol ©. Anyone using apps like Pages is probably familiar with the Special Characters section of the Edit menu (covered later in this guide), but first we’ll describe some easy-to-remember keyboard shortcuts that can save you a lot of time.
Add emojis and special characters
When editing a document, you may encounter a situation where you need to add a copyright symbol, a Celsius character, a different currency or a simple mathematical symbol. You can simply go to Edit> Emojis and symbols and choose a relevant symbol or emoji from the long list. Alternatively, you can tap the character viewer for a simplified menu. It is categorized by arrows, Latin words, Pictograms, punctuation and more. It is easier to find a symbol in this menu. This functionality is integrated with macOS. Therefore, it works in all applications, including Apple Pages, Microsoft Word, Apple Notes and more. Memorize the keyboard shortcut Control + Command + Space to access the menu quickly.
Long-Press on Single Words for suggestions
This is also part of the standard macOS package. When writing, when you want to add a special character, you can keep the keyboard pressed words to open suggestions of relevant symbols. For example, you can press and hold the word ‘C’ to see the symbol options. Likewise, holding down the word ‘A’ will display a long list of suggestions. If you want to add them to the document, use the numeric shortcuts below the character.
Set automatic replacement
If there are certain symbols or special characters that you use frequently, you should consider setting up an automatic replacement for these symbols. Let me show you how to put them up on Apple Pages. Go to Pages> Preferences (Command +,)> Automatic correction. Here you will see a replacement section with two menus. For example, if you normally need the copyright symbol, type (C) and it will replace it with a copyright symbol. I often need to use the Euro currency symbol, so I set it up for the shortcut (e). Surprisingly, the newly added shortcuts worked in all applications, including Word and OneNote.
Add Mathematical Equation
As I said before, Apple Pages is a perfect word processing document for anyone who lives in the Apple ecosystem. It is popular in the education sector as well. Apple added the ability to insert mathematical equations into the Pages application. You can go to Insert> Equation (keyboard shortcut> Option + Command + E) and open the dialog box for adding formulas. Now type the formula and it will convert it into a friendly mathematical version of it. Select Insert and the equation will be added to the document.
Insert graphics
Apple Pages is just as powerful as Microsoft Word when it comes to displaying statistics and numbers by means of graphs. Go to Insert> Chart and choose from the long list of 2D, 3D and interactive charts. My only problem is that it doesn’t show a preview of a chart before inserting it into the document.
Custom Toolbar
Apple Pages comes with a standard toolbar for editing and customizing a document. However, you can change them according to your preference. In Apple Pages, go to View> Customize toolbar and use the drag and drop function according to your preference. It is also possible to configure the software to show text and icons.
Add an iPhone subscription
We always talk about how Apple integrated its hardware offerings with software tweaks. The same applies to a MacBook and iPhone. IPhone users can add a signature or any outline of the phone directly to Apple pages. I use it to sign a document. Here it is how to do it. Open the document in Apple Pages, tap the Image icon on the toolbar and select add sketch. This will cause the iPhone to open a clipboard. You can draw a sketch or create a sign to add it to the document. You can also insert an image from iPhone and scan a document using a phone camera on Apple pages.
Enable speech to text
Did you know that someone can type entire sentences into Apple Pages using the built-in speech detection function? Go to Apple Pages, open a document and select Edit> Start Dictation. The software will ask for permission and accept it to start typing by voice. In my experience, it worked very well with the English language.
Save a document style as a template
This is useful for professionals. You can create a pad of paper with your company symbol, address, email, website and more on Apple pages. You can now save this standard document as a template in Apple Pages. So you don’t have to create it from scratch every time. After making the necessary changes, go to File> Save a template and give it a relevant name.
Final note
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