XML Unicode

XML Unicode provides some convenience methods for inserting Unicode characters. When it started, the focus was on characters that were traditionally inserted with named character entities, things like é.

In practice, and in the age of UTF-8, the “insert unicode character” function, especially the Helm-enabled version, is much more broadly useful.

You're most likely going to want to bind some or all of them to keys.

xmlunicode-character-insert

Insert a Unicode character by character name. If a prefix is given, the character will be inserted regardless of whether or not it has a displayable glyph; otherwise, a numeric character reference is inserted if the codepoint is in the xmlunicode-missing-list.

This function is somewhat obsoleted by new methods in Emacs 24 and beyond for inserting Unicode. But the numeric character reference support still adds some value.

xmlunicode-character-insert-helm

A Helm version of xmlunicode-character-insert. It supports searching for the characters by Unicode name or ISO entity name as well as by code point.

I bind this to “C-t u”

xmlunicode-iso8879-character-insert

Insert a Unicode character by ISO 8879 entity name. If a prefix is given, the character will be inserted regardless of whether or not it has a displayable glyph; otherwise, a numeric character reference is inserted if the codepoint is in the xmlunicode-missing-list.

I bind this to “C-t i”

xmlunicode-character-menu-insert

Pops up a menu of special characters. Configure xmlunicode-character-menu-alist to change the list.

I bind this to “C-t c” but I hardly ever use it. Instead, I create a proper menu bar pulldown:

(define-key nxml-mode-map [menu-bar unichar]
  (cons "UniChar" xmlunicode-character-menu-map))

xmlunicode-character-shortcut-insert

This function provides access to all the ISO Latin 1 accented characters. It reads two more keystrokes and composes the approprate character that way. Configure xmlunicode-character-shortcut-alist to change the mappings.

I bind this to “C-t e”

So, for example, I can type C-t e e ' to insert “e acute”. Or C-t e $ y to insert a yen symbol.

xmlunicode-smart-double-quote

This function, which I bind to " in several modes, inserts the appropriate double quote. Called after a space, newline, or ">", it inserts a left double quote. Called after a double quote, it cycles through the three possible quote styles: left, straight, or right. Called anywhere else, it inserts a right double quote.

Inside a start tag, it always inserts just a vanilla ".

xmlunicode-smart-single-quote

I bind this to ' in several moves. It does just what you think it does.

xmlunicode-smart-hyphen

I bind this to - in several modes. It cycles through dash, mdash, and ndash characters. If there are already two consecutive - preceding point, it just inserts another -.

xmlunicode-smart-period

I bind this to . in several modes. It replaces three consecutive periods with an ellipsis, ….

xmlunicode-smart-semicolon

I bind this to ; in nxml-mode. It has the following effect: if the characters that precede the semicolon are an ampersand followed by an ISO 8879 entity name, the corresponding character is inserted.

For example, if I type &ntilde and then ;, a Unicode ñ is inserted.

It happens that I still remember a lot of the ISO entity names.

xmlunicode-show-character-list

You can't bind this one to a key, just run it in your *scratch* buffer. It inserts all the Unicode characters. This allows you to see which ones will actually display correctly.