Accent Marks

Unicode code points, HTML references, and Alt input

A Unicode code point identifies a position in Unicode’s code space. An HTML character reference represents a character in HTML source. Neither notation, by itself, tells you which keys to press in an application.

One character, several technical representations

The character á has the Unicode name LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH ACUTE. Its assigned code point is a number; U+00E1 writes that number using Unicode’s hexadecimal notation.

Character
á
Unicode code point
U+00E1
HTML decimal character reference
á
HTML hexadecimal character reference
á
Named HTML character reference
á

The numeric HTML references express the character’s code point in decimal or hexadecimal. The named reference uses a name defined by HTML. These spellings belong in HTML source where character references are allowed, not in a list of keyboard shortcuts.

Compare the accented A records · Explore the acute combining mark

Input methods depend on their environment

In Word for Windows, enter hexadecimal text such as 00E1, select it, then press Alt+X to convert it to á. This application behavior uses a Unicode value as input; the value itself is not the key sequence.

Microsoft separately documents Windows Alt input that holds Alt while digits are entered on a numeric keypad. That is a different mechanism from Word’s conversion. A Unicode value does not establish which numeric-keypad sequence produces a character, so no legacy Alt sequence is assigned to this example.

Follow the application guide for its prerequisites, selection rules, and limitations. Use the reference pages to identify characters and inspect their technical values.

Browse letters and Unicode values · Browse combining marks

Sources