# Hexadecimal HTML entities



## Salvo (Dec 7, 2003)

Is there a way to display Hexadecimal HTML entities in the Forums?
Specifically, Mac Specific ones like;
The Command Key Symbol 
	
	



```
&#x2318;
```

The Option Key Symbol 
	
	



```
&#x2387;
```

The Return Key Symbol 
	
	



```
&#x23CE;
```


The Apple, Eject and Tab symbols would be nice, but not as necessary as the above three.

They display OK when the Document is formatted in UTF-8, and I've seen similar symbols on other vBulletins, but they don't display in ISO Latin 1.


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## Pengu (Dec 7, 2003)

probably not working, because HTML is turned for this forum.


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## Salvo (Dec 7, 2003)

Is there any way to represent these characters, without resorting to embedding a tiny bitmap?


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## Giaguara (Dec 7, 2003)

try if they show correctly posted in firebird or camino. safari can't handle e.g. some asian text so it shows as ?? ??????? ??? ?????? when it shows correctly posted using camino.


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## Salvo (Dec 7, 2003)

It's not that; it's just when you try to enter an Apersand (&amp, followed by a Hash Symbol (or Pound Symbol for you Yanks), three digit decimal number and ending in a semicolon, it evaluates the entity, but when you try to enter an Apersand, Hash Symbol, x, 4 digit hexadecimal number and semicolon, it translates the apersand to &amp;amp;, followed by the Hash, x(number);

thus;

```
&amp;#103;
```
creates "g"

```
&#x103a;
```
creates "&#x103a;"

I'm pretty sure the decimal codes only work for ASCII characters; you can't access the more advanced UTF-8 Characters using decimal. (you might be able to, but I don't have a hexadecimal calculator, and can't remember how to convert Hexadecimal to Decimal longhand


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## Salvo (Dec 7, 2003)

Giaguara said:
			
		

> try if they show correctly posted in firebird or camino. safari can't handle e.g. some asian text so it shows as ?? ??????? ??? ?????? when it shows correctly posted using camino.



I tried posting with Camino and IE. Same problem. The problem resides in the PHP code which evaluates special characters. If you type in characters that the vBulletin doesn't recognise, it translates them to question marks. If you type in the Decimal Entity codes, or textual entity codes, it evaluates them correctly, but it doesn't like Hex


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## Darkshadow (Dec 7, 2003)

Hmm, don't know about displaying them...but I can refresh you on converting from Hex to Decimal 

103 hex = (16 * 16 * 1) + (16 * 0) + (3) = 259 decimal.  If it was four hex digits, um...say a103, that would be (16 * 16 * 16 * 10) + (16 * 16 * 1) + (16 * 0) + (3) = 41219

Simple once you remember how. 

(BTW, you can get Apple's Calculator program to convert between Hex and Decimal.  There's a post about it somewhere...)


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## Salvo (Dec 7, 2003)

Giaguara said:
			
		

> try if they show correctly posted in firebird or camino. safari can't handle e.g. some asian text so it shows as ?? ??????? ??? ?????? when it shows correctly posted using camino.



I tried posting with Camino and IE. Same problem. The problem resides in the PHP code which evaluates special characters. If you type in characters that the vBulletin doesn't recognise, it translates them to question marks. If you type in the Decimal Entity codes, or textual entity codes, it evaluates them correctly, but it doesn't like Hex 

One thought is if they can be made into smileys, so someone could type ()Command() or something and it'll display the Command Key symbol (or "Place Of Interest" Symbol if you want to be formal).


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