9 ms·

By the way, we already have an "emoji button" on our keyboards: on Windows, it's the Win+. keystroke. Try it if your Windows 10 is updated enough.

by kozak 6y ago

scaladev 6y ago
A couple of alternatives for Linux users. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/IBus#Emoji_input https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/IBus#Emoji_input The kitty terminal emulator supports this out of the box (it also works on two other platforms): https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty Ctrl+Shift+U opens a Unicode input panel with fuzzy search by symbol code or name.
- sphaerophoria 6y ago
 There's also https://github.com/salty-horse/ibus-uniemoji https://github.com/salty-horse/ibus-uniemoji if you want something a little more interactive. I wrote https://github.com/sphaerophoria/ibus-memebox https://github.com/sphaerophoria/ibus-memebox for myself because I wasn't quite happy with the performance of any of the solutions I found.
- lights0123 6y ago
 GNOME has Ctrl+period.
 - lbhdc 6y ago
 Does it? I am in stock gnome and this shortcut isn't bound by default. What distro are you using?
 - dcminter 6y ago
 I believe it has to be a GTK app - which almost none of the things I use on a daily basis are. Try in gedit or something like that. My daily drivers are IntelliJ, Firefox, Chrome, and Terminator so it's not super useful to me... :'(
 - lbhdc 6y ago
 Oh wow, you are totally right, that does work in GTK apps. My daily drivers are about the same :(
 - lobstrosity420 6y ago
 Check out this extension: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1162/emoji-selector/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1162/emoji-selector/ It implements a system level emoji keyboard that you can trigger with <Super + e>. It works pretty great and on all apps, I use it a lot.
 - thesuitonym 6y ago
 KDE has one, too. Not sure what the default was, I remapped it to Super+Period
 - gerdesj 6y ago
 I use KDE and I've never tried it before. Win+. works!
 - dorfsmay 6y ago
 It doesn't do anything for me. Can you point to a doc?
- gnull 6y ago
 I use Compose key for this, surprised nobody mentioned it here yet. This way it works in all X11 apps (Sway supports this out of the box as well), with no need for extra software or some specific desktop environment. Just put something like <Multi_key> <semicolon> <parenright> : "" <Multi_key> <t> : "" <Multi_key> <t> <d> : "" in your ~/.XCompose. Yes, you have to put all the emojis you want there manually, but I use very few of them so it works for me. EDIT: HN removed the emojis from my snippet. The double quotes there contained smiling face, thumb up, and thumb down.
 - boogies 6y ago
 My n00buntu derivative has some emojis and other logograms out of the box, eg. lines 326–337 of /usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose: <Multi_key> <C> <C> <C> : "" U262D # HAMMER AND SICKLE <Multi_key> <O> <A> : "Ⓐ" U24B6 # CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A <Multi_key> <less> <3> : "♥" U2665 # BLACK HEART SUIT <Multi_key> <colon> <parenright> : "" U263A # WHITE SMILING FACE <Multi_key> <colon> <parenleft> : "" U2639 # WHITE FROWNING FACE <Multi_key> <backslash> <o> <slash> : "" # PERSON RAISING BOTH HANDS IN CELEBRATION <Multi_key> <o> <o> : "" U1F4A9 # PILE OF POO <Multi_key> <F> : "" U1F595 # REVERSED HAND WITH MIDDLE FINGER EXTENDED <Multi_key> <L> <L> <A> : "" U1F596 # RAISED HAND WITH PART BETWEEN MIDDLE AND RING FINGERS Unbutchered: http://ix.io/2SsC http://ix.io/2SsC
 - tux3 6y ago
 Oh, those are in Debian, as a matter of fact!
 - bmn__ 6y ago
 https://github.com/kragen/XCompose https://github.com/kragen/XCompose for those who prefer a more methodical approach.
- mxmilkb 6y ago
 https://github.com/Mange/rofi-emoji https://github.com/Mange/rofi-emoji
 - codethief 6y ago
 And another character picker for Rofi: https://github.com/fdw/rofimoji/ https://github.com/fdw/rofimoji/
username3 6y ago
Win+Period or Win+Semicolon
rendall 6y ago
<-- Yes! Edit: Alas, it does not work on HN. Pity.
- MegaButts 6y ago
 Where does this work?
 - oauea 6y ago
 Literally everywhere. HN just strips out emojis from posts, because they're obnoxious.
 - thw0rted 6y ago
 Unless, apparently, you're trying to post your sweet new email address. Honest question: if this takes off, do you think HN will stop stripping them?
 - rendall 6y ago
 No. Because 1) it won't take off 2) punycode 3) other reasons
- deleted 6y ago
 [deleted]
- deleted 6y ago
 [deleted]
ezekg 6y ago
For other readers: emoji keyboard is ctrl + cmd + space on macOS.
- jfk13 6y ago
 Not always; that's app-specific, not a system-wide setting.
 - dhosek 6y ago
 I think it is system-wide. At least I've not encountered any input field where it doesn't work. Even Microsoft Office, which uses its own input routines, supports it.
 - jfk13 6y ago
 It's a shortcut to an Edit menu item within the application, so whatever shortcut the app gives it; e.g. in Firefox it appears to be simply Cmd-<space>. But wait... that doesn't actually work (it just switches to the next input layout). Maybe that depends on my keyboard settings in System Preferences. Or maybe it's just a Firefox bug.
 - vulcan01 6y ago
 Cmd-space launches Spotlight. Ctrl-space switches the input layout. Ctrl-Cmd-Space launches the emoji viewer (even in Firefox...)
 jfk13 6y ago
 Not for me. (I suspect the details of this vary between system versions, and they certainly depend on settings chosen in System Preferences / Keyboard / Shortcuts.)
 ezekg 6y ago
 Works fine for me in latest Firefox. I've never had it not work in a specific app. Though, sometimes the keyboard crashes and doesn't come back up until a restart (that could be the fault of my Ryzen Hackintosh, though).
akx 6y ago
That UI is hilarious (for a given value of hilarious) in the sense that the search for emojis uses whichever input language you're using, even if your UI language is something else. So, for instance to find the light bulb emoji, I need to start typing "valo" (light in Finnish), which really threw me off at first.
- belval 6y ago
  The default Android keyboard has similar behaviour. I was learning Spanish so I switched my phone to Spanish then back in English at some point later. Yet the change never propagated to the keyboard for some reason so my emojis are still in Spanish.
  - Razengan 6y ago
    eggplants in Spanish
    - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
      la berenjena
- Razengan 6y ago
  The iOS and I believe macOS emoji picker let’s you use any language to search for emojis. ハート brings up hearts for example.
  - codetrotter 6y ago
    But you have to switch to that language first. For example on my iPhone if I type in Norwegian and jump to emoji then I can type “hjerte” and find the heart. But if I type “heart” then there are no results when the language is Norwegian. So if I want to search for emojis by English name, then I must first ensure that my keyboard is in English. And this is good I think, but wanted to point it out.
    - 6y ago
TeMPOraL 6y ago
If your Windows isn't updated enough, grab AutoHotkey[0], and try this: [1]. It's a little "emoji keyboard" I wrote a few years ago, to insert most important emojis into team conversations. Globally binds itself to F2, and it's ergonomic. You press F2, then number, then CTRL+V (that last step could be automated too). The script is easy to extend with new emojis, and also supports selecting alternatives based on which program you had focus on when invoking the keyboard - you can see it using Skype-specific notation for Skype. -- [0] - https://www.autohotkey.com/ https://www.autohotkey.com/ - it's the keyboard rebinding / advanced automation platform for Windows. Literally the first thing I install on a new Windows machine (mostly for rebinding Caps Lock to Ctrl). [1] - https://gist.github.com/TeMPOraL/d330edccf8ba9a2b13d01b4e7f1dcc59 https://gist.github.com/TeMPOraL/d330edccf8ba9a2b13d01b4e7f1...
fegu 6y ago
Thanks, did not know this. In fact, learned both Win + plus (and discovered Win + minus along the way) as well as Win + dot :)
oauea 6y ago
> Try it if your Windows 10 is updated enough And if it's not, please go update your Windows. You should not be reading HN with out outdated operating system.
- jiggunjer 6y ago
  laughs in Windows 7
t0mas88 6y ago
There is an actual emoji button on new dell keyboards as well as a lock button. Not just a repurposed FN key but really a separate key with a smiley on it and one with a lock next to it. Both work without extra drivers in Windows 10.
- jraph 6y ago
  Do you know if this key produces the regular shortcut for invoking the emoji input method in Windows, or if it has its own key code?
  - t0mas88 6y ago
    Not sure. And I only know how to figure that out in Linux but it's my windows work computer. Is there a windows method to see what key code the keyboard is sending?
TurkishPoptart 6y ago
On my work computer on Win10 it just opens up the magnifier :(
- allannienhuis 6y ago
 it's <winkey> AND <periodkey>. I tried <winkey> AND <pluskey> the first time too :)

By the way, we already have an "emoji button" on our keyboards: on Windows, it's the Win+. keystroke. Try it if your Windows 10 is updated enough.

by kozak 6y ago

By the way, we already have an "emoji button" on our keyboards: on Windows, it's the Win+. keystroke. Try it if your Windows 10 is updated enough.

scaladev 6y ago

A couple of alternatives for Linux users. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/IBus#Emoji_input https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/IBus#Emoji_input The kitty terminal emulator supports this out of the box (it also works on two other platforms): https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty Ctrl+Shift+U opens a Unicode input panel with fuzzy search by symbol code or name.

sphaerophoria 6y ago
There's also https://github.com/salty-horse/ibus-uniemoji https://github.com/salty-horse/ibus-uniemoji if you want something a little more interactive. I wrote https://github.com/sphaerophoria/ibus-memebox https://github.com/sphaerophoria/ibus-memebox for myself because I wasn't quite happy with the performance of any of the solutions I found.
lights0123 6y ago
GNOME has Ctrl+period.
- lbhdc 6y ago
 Does it? I am in stock gnome and this shortcut isn't bound by default. What distro are you using?
 - dcminter 6y ago
 I believe it has to be a GTK app - which almost none of the things I use on a daily basis are. Try in gedit or something like that. My daily drivers are IntelliJ, Firefox, Chrome, and Terminator so it's not super useful to me... :'(
 - lbhdc 6y ago
 Oh wow, you are totally right, that does work in GTK apps. My daily drivers are about the same :(
 - lobstrosity420 6y ago
 Check out this extension: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1162/emoji-selector/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1162/emoji-selector/ It implements a system level emoji keyboard that you can trigger with <Super + e>. It works pretty great and on all apps, I use it a lot.
- thesuitonym 6y ago
 KDE has one, too. Not sure what the default was, I remapped it to Super+Period
 - gerdesj 6y ago
 I use KDE and I've never tried it before. Win+. works!
- dorfsmay 6y ago
 It doesn't do anything for me. Can you point to a doc?
gnull 6y ago
I use Compose key for this, surprised nobody mentioned it here yet. This way it works in all X11 apps (Sway supports this out of the box as well), with no need for extra software or some specific desktop environment. Just put something like <Multi_key> <semicolon> <parenright> : "" <Multi_key> <t> : "" <Multi_key> <t> <d> : "" in your ~/.XCompose. Yes, you have to put all the emojis you want there manually, but I use very few of them so it works for me. EDIT: HN removed the emojis from my snippet. The double quotes there contained smiling face, thumb up, and thumb down.
- boogies 6y ago
 My n00buntu derivative has some emojis and other logograms out of the box, eg. lines 326–337 of /usr/share/X11/locale/en_US.UTF-8/Compose: <Multi_key> <C> <C> <C> : "" U262D # HAMMER AND SICKLE <Multi_key> <O> <A> : "Ⓐ" U24B6 # CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A <Multi_key> <less> <3> : "♥" U2665 # BLACK HEART SUIT <Multi_key> <colon> <parenright> : "" U263A # WHITE SMILING FACE <Multi_key> <colon> <parenleft> : "" U2639 # WHITE FROWNING FACE <Multi_key> <backslash> <o> <slash> : "" # PERSON RAISING BOTH HANDS IN CELEBRATION <Multi_key> <o> <o> : "" U1F4A9 # PILE OF POO <Multi_key> <F> : "" U1F595 # REVERSED HAND WITH MIDDLE FINGER EXTENDED <Multi_key> <L> <L> <A> : "" U1F596 # RAISED HAND WITH PART BETWEEN MIDDLE AND RING FINGERS Unbutchered: http://ix.io/2SsC http://ix.io/2SsC
 - tux3 6y ago
 Oh, those are in Debian, as a matter of fact!
- bmn__ 6y ago
 https://github.com/kragen/XCompose https://github.com/kragen/XCompose for those who prefer a more methodical approach.
mxmilkb 6y ago
https://github.com/Mange/rofi-emoji https://github.com/Mange/rofi-emoji
- codethief 6y ago
  And another character picker for Rofi: https://github.com/fdw/rofimoji/ https://github.com/fdw/rofimoji/

username3 6y ago

Win+Period or Win+Semicolon

rendall 6y ago

<-- Yes! Edit: Alas, it does not work on HN. Pity.

MegaButts 6y ago
Where does this work?
- oauea 6y ago
  Literally everywhere. HN just strips out emojis from posts, because they're obnoxious.
  - thw0rted 6y ago
    Unless, apparently, you're trying to post your sweet new email address. Honest question: if this takes off, do you think HN will stop stripping them?
    - rendall 6y ago
      No. Because 1) it won't take off 2) punycode 3) other reasons
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

ezekg 6y ago

For other readers: emoji keyboard is ctrl + cmd + space on macOS.

jfk13 6y ago
Not always; that's app-specific, not a system-wide setting.
- dhosek 6y ago
 I think it is system-wide. At least I've not encountered any input field where it doesn't work. Even Microsoft Office, which uses its own input routines, supports it.
 - jfk13 6y ago
 It's a shortcut to an Edit menu item within the application, so whatever shortcut the app gives it; e.g. in Firefox it appears to be simply Cmd-<space>. But wait... that doesn't actually work (it just switches to the next input layout). Maybe that depends on my keyboard settings in System Preferences. Or maybe it's just a Firefox bug.
 - vulcan01 6y ago
 Cmd-space launches Spotlight. Ctrl-space switches the input layout. Ctrl-Cmd-Space launches the emoji viewer (even in Firefox...)
 - jfk13 6y ago
 Not for me. (I suspect the details of this vary between system versions, and they certainly depend on settings chosen in System Preferences / Keyboard / Shortcuts.)
 ezekg 6y ago
 Works fine for me in latest Firefox. I've never had it not work in a specific app. Though, sometimes the keyboard crashes and doesn't come back up until a restart (that could be the fault of my Ryzen Hackintosh, though).

akx 6y ago

That UI is hilarious (for a given value of hilarious) in the sense that the search for emojis uses whichever input language you're using, even if your UI language is something else. So, for instance to find the light bulb emoji, I need to start typing "valo" (light in Finnish), which really threw me off at first.

belval 6y ago
The default Android keyboard has similar behaviour. I was learning Spanish so I switched my phone to Spanish then back in English at some point later. Yet the change never propagated to the keyboard for some reason so my emojis are still in Spanish.
- Razengan 6y ago
  eggplants in Spanish
  - chordalkeyboard 6y ago
    la berenjena
Razengan 6y ago
The iOS and I believe macOS emoji picker let’s you use any language to search for emojis. ハート brings up hearts for example.
- codetrotter 6y ago
  But you have to switch to that language first. For example on my iPhone if I type in Norwegian and jump to emoji then I can type “hjerte” and find the heart. But if I type “heart” then there are no results when the language is Norwegian. So if I want to search for emojis by English name, then I must first ensure that my keyboard is in English. And this is good I think, but wanted to point it out.
  - 6y ago

TeMPOraL 6y ago

If your Windows isn't updated enough, grab AutoHotkey[0], and try this: [1]. It's a little "emoji keyboard" I wrote a few years ago, to insert most important emojis into team conversations. Globally binds itself to F2, and it's ergonomic. You press F2, then number, then CTRL+V (that last step could be automated too). The script is easy to extend with new emojis, and also supports selecting alternatives based on which program you had focus on when invoking the keyboard - you can see it using Skype-specific notation for Skype. -- [0] - https://www.autohotkey.com/ https://www.autohotkey.com/ - it's the keyboard rebinding / advanced automation platform for Windows. Literally the first thing I install on a new Windows machine (mostly for rebinding Caps Lock to Ctrl). [1] - https://gist.github.com/TeMPOraL/d330edccf8ba9a2b13d01b4e7f1dcc59 https://gist.github.com/TeMPOraL/d330edccf8ba9a2b13d01b4e7f1...

fegu 6y ago

Thanks, did not know this. In fact, learned both Win + plus (and discovered Win + minus along the way) as well as Win + dot :)

oauea 6y ago

> Try it if your Windows 10 is updated enough And if it's not, please go update your Windows. You should not be reading HN with out outdated operating system.

jiggunjer 6y ago
laughs in Windows 7

t0mas88 6y ago

There is an actual emoji button on new dell keyboards as well as a lock button. Not just a repurposed FN key but really a separate key with a smiley on it and one with a lock next to it. Both work without extra drivers in Windows 10.

jraph 6y ago
Do you know if this key produces the regular shortcut for invoking the emoji input method in Windows, or if it has its own key code?
- t0mas88 6y ago
  Not sure. And I only know how to figure that out in Linux but it's my windows work computer. Is there a windows method to see what key code the keyboard is sending?

TurkishPoptart 6y ago

On my work computer on Win10 it just opens up the magnifier :(

allannienhuis 6y ago
it's <winkey> AND <periodkey>. I tried <winkey> AND <pluskey> the first time too :)