Many times, an instructor needs to display special characters on a web page. Instead of resorting to pictures to display the needed information, HTML script has special codes for many common symbols. This resource page is a guide to the HTML special characters. 

Reading the Tables

The Name Code and Number Code are the HTML commands to display that character. The Glyph is an example of what the character looks like, and Description is a brief description of the character.

How to Use the Special Character Codes

Say you want to ask the following question in Spanish: ¿Dónde estoy?

You could type "Donde estoy?" but it's not quite the same. (Some keyboards do allow a combination of keys to make the ó and ¿ symbols.)

• For writing in FrontPage or another HTML editor:

Highlight the Glyph that you want from this page. Copy it (Edit -> Copy; or right-click -> Copy). Then paste it where you want it in your document. Most editors will automatically write the source code for the Glyph that you pasted.

• For writing directly in HTML source:

If you are familiar with viewing HTML source code, your question ("Donde estoy?") looks like this:

<p>Donde estoy?</p> 

In the source code, simply insert the Name Code or Number Code where you want the character to be. The Number Code for ¿ is &#191; and the Number Code for ó is &#243;. So your source code will look like this:

<p>&#191;D&#243;nde estoy?</p>

Or, if you use the name codes (&iquest; and &oacute;), it will look like this:

<p>&iquest;D&oacute;nde estoy?</p>

Both of which produce the desired result.

¿Dónde estoy? / ¿Dónde estoy?

Things to Keep in Mind:

Be sure to use the full code. "&iquest;" and "&#191;" are the correct codes; "#191" "&191;" "iquest;" or any other variation will not work.

Name Codes are case-sensitive. "&IQuest;" is not the same as "&iquest;"

Using HTML Special Character Codes is not always necessary. Many newer HTML editing programs (such as DreamWeaver, FrontPage, or Fireworks) will automatically generate the special coding for the characters, especially if you are copy/pasting the text from a word processor.

Not all characters will display in all browsers. Only the characters with a Number Code of &#255; or below are standardized. As new versions of browsers are developed, the other characters are more widely supported. Internet Explorer seems to support more Special Characters than Netscape. A good rule of thumb is that if the Glyph does not display for you, then it probably won't display for your students. In general, the lower the Number Code, the more likely it will display in a browser. Test your document in a few different browsers, if possible, to see if it displays correctly.

While many characters have both a Number Code and a Name Code, some do not. You may use either the Number Code or Name Code to insert a character, and if one does not display the character, sometimes the other will.