Accents in Names

[Maerassarth]

I've seen a lot of people use accents in their character names (' , ^ , ` etc), how do I use this? I tried looking it up and various sources speak about using ALT + some random number, e.g. 160. Not sure what this means...

 

Could anyone explain how to put accents above letters in my character's name, in simple terms?

[Tito_O]

Well, just do it like you would do it in every other text programm.

 

You seem to know which buttons to push, since you wrote the three accent sings `´^ in your post.

However, they only work on vowels, so push on of those three buttons before a vowel to add that accent to the vowel.

`+a: à

´+a: á

^+a: â

But you can also use the ALT+Number-Combinations (see this link for examples).

Choose a symbol, read the corresponding number, hold down the ALT button and enter the number on the keypad to insert that sign into any text editor.

 

I am not sure wether all those signs will work in SWTOR, simply try them out.

 

Greetings

Tito

Edited October 29, 2013 by Tito_O

[theStirge]

Look up the ALT code for the character you want. Hold down the Alt key, and on your numeric keypad, type in the code you found. Voilá. For instance, the á in voilá is Alt-160. Note that it doesn't work with the number keys at the top of your keyboard, only with the numeric keypad.

[Fidelicatessen]

Well, just do it like you would do it in every other text programm.

 

You seem to know which buttons to push, since you wrote the three accent sings `´^ in your post.

However, they only work on vowels, so push on of those three buttons before a vowel to add that accent to the vowel.

`+a: à

´+a: á

^+a: â

But you can also use the ALT+Number-Combinations (see this link for examples).

Choose a symbol, read the corresponding number, hold down the ALT button and enter the number on the keypad to insert that sign into any text editor.

 

I am not sure wether all those signs will work in SWTOR, simply try them out.

 

Greetings

Tito

 

Some definite misinformation in this "advice." First of all, hitting ^ + a will not give you â. All of that is false. Open up Character Map (it's an app in Windows) and you will see a list of all the funky characters you can use. If you click on any one of them, in the lower-right corner of the window you will see the shortcut for that character (e.g. for â I used alt+0226 on my number pad).

 

This will work for both vowels and consonants (e.g. Ç is alt+0199). You can even use the German character ß if you so desire.

 

I recommend not doing this, or if you do make careful note of the alt+xxxx shortcut(s) it took to get the character(s) so that anyone who wants to invite you to something (such as a guild) in-game by typing can do so easily.

[Mujambee]

However, they only work on vowels,

 

ŴÊŶÛÎÔÂŜĜĤĴẐĈ ẂÉŔÝÚÍÓṔÁŚǴḰĹŹĆŃḾ ẀÈỲÙÌÒÀǸ

 

First of all, hitting ^ + a will not give you â.

 

That depends on the keyboard mapping. At least on Spanish keyboards that works perfectly.

[AlrikFassbauer]

I have once read that american computer manufactruring companies didn't bother to think of bringing foreign accents etc. onto their keyboards - early German computer uisers had to use some kind of hack in order to be actuzally able to use their pretty normal letters ä, ö; ü and ß ...

I fear that French & Spanish people were then hit even harder ...

Edited October 29, 2013 by AlrikFassbauer

[altaboy]

That depends on the keyboard mapping. At least on Spanish keyboards that works perfectly.

 

In Windows the default US keyboard mapping that doesn't work - however it can be enabled.

 

I have once read that american computer manufactruring companies didn't bother to think of bringing foreign accents etc. onto their keyboards - early German computer uisers had to use some kind of hack in order to be actuzally able to use their pretty normal letters ä, ö; ü and ß ...

I fear that French & Spanish people were then hit even harder ...

 

It's not the keyboard manufacturer. It's the default settings in Windows for US costumers. It can be enabled...

 

Here is how to enable it in Windows. Note, this is for Windows 8.0 and might vary slightly for different versions of Windows. If you can't figure it out by the below information, do a search for your version of windows + "keyboard layout". ie "windows 7 keyboard layout"

 

From the Windows 8.0 control panel, change the "View by" to "Small Icons". Then:

language -> options (on the right side where it lists your current keyboard layout) -> input method -> Add an input method

Then add "United States-International"

 

Once that's enabled, they keyboard layout will be displayed in the system tray. It defaults to "ENG US". Click on that and you can change it to "ENG INT" (english international). Once it's changed, you'll be able to use the "accent mark" + letter combination method described above. To change it back, click on the system tray keyboard layout again and select "ENG US"

Edited October 29, 2013 by altaboy

[Fidelicatessen]

I never knew that about the settings in Windows! I guess there's another option for folks who want to use funky characters in their names, then, eh?

 

Learn something new every day! At least, I hope I do...

[eartharioch]

Of course that begs the question as to why one would want to use non-English characters on English-language servers. So far I've ran into a whopping two cases:

 

1) Players can't deal with not getting the name they actually wanted & don't care that such selfish behavior pollutes the name space.

 

2) Player wants to make it difficult for other English-language players to report offensive behavior.

 

Maybe there is a valid reason for using the non-English characters, I just haven't seen one yet.

 

OFC, I'm 100% for BW allowing duplicate [first] names as long as the "full name" can be easily obtained for reporting purposes.

[Mujambee]

Of course that begs the question as to why one would want to use non-English characters on English-language servers. So far I've ran into a whopping two cases:

 

1) Players can't deal with not getting the name they actually wanted & don't care that such selfish behavior pollutes the name space.

 

2) Player wants to make it difficult for other English-language players to report offensive behavior.

 

Maybe there is a valid reason for using the non-English characters, I just haven't seen one yet.

 

OFC, I'm 100% for BW allowing duplicate [first] names as long as the "full name" can be easily obtained for reporting purposes.

 

It may be because there are lots of different languages in the world than English, French and German.

 

So you consider than saying "I want to use my own language" is selfish but saying "I can use my language, I don't see a reason why you would want to use yours" is not. Interesting.

 

Remember Íñigo Montoya? Guess he would want to play SWTOR to see if he can find Vader there.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Mujambee

[eartharioch]

It may be because there are lots of different languages in the world than English, French and German.

 

So you consider than saying "I want to use my own language" is selfish but saying "I can use my language, I don't see a reason why you would want to use yours" is not. Interesting.

 

Remember Íñigo Montoya? Guess he would want to play SWTOR to see if he can find Vader there.

 

I don't think that wanting to play a game in whatever language you want is selfish. What I think is selfish is trying to force your desires on other people. The facts are that (a) BW/EA only offer SWTOR in English, French, and German, and (b) most English-language players (including the OP) find using the non-English characters difficult.

 

If the only drawback to the OP using non-English characters was that some other players ignored his characters or excluded them from group content because they didn't want to deal with the difficulty, I would say that's ok, the player should be able to make the call as to whether or not the name is worth the tradeoff.

 

But, since there are times when other players may *have* to use the a character's name (such as in reporting inappropriate names or behaviors), and that the difficulty of the typing the name can be a key factor in that player avoiding penalties for such actions, that the player's personal desire to use the non-English characters in the name should give way to the community's need to be able to accurately identify offending players.

 

[Yeah, I've ran into this a bit recently, it's annoying to have to take screen shots and then try to describe the names of offending players to CS, and I don't have a lot of confidence that the CS is actually equipped to deal with such reports, so I assume the offending actions don't actually get investigated like the canned email attempts to assure me actually happens/]

[Mujambee]

I don't think that wanting to play a game in whatever language you want is selfish. What I think is selfish is trying to force your desires on other people. The facts are that (a) BW/EA only offer SWTOR in English, French, and German, and (b) most English-language players (including the OP) find using the non-English characters difficult.

 

If the only drawback to the OP using non-English characters was that some other players ignored his characters or excluded them from group content because they didn't want to deal with the difficulty, I would say that's ok, the player should be able to make the call as to whether or not the name is worth the tradeoff.

 

But, since there are times when other players may *have* to use the a character's name (such as in reporting inappropriate names or behaviors), and that the difficulty of the typing the name can be a key factor in that player avoiding penalties for such actions, that the player's personal desire to use the non-English characters in the name should give way to the community's need to be able to accurately identify offending players.

 

[Yeah, I've ran into this a bit recently, it's annoying to have to take screen shots and then try to describe the names of offending players to CS, and I don't have a lot of confidence that the CS is actually equipped to deal with such reports, so I assume the offending actions don't actually get investigated like the canned email attempts to assure me actually happens/]

 

I don't deny that, from an english-centric perspective, that may be a valid point. For us europeans, dealing with different languages is everyday business; and dealing with english-only limitations is also everyday business. My friend Íñigo can't even have an email address with his own name, because most software today still rejects it. So when we can use accents we use them. You should bear in mind that we face the same difficulties than you do when trying to type accented letters. I bet a dutch or ukranian player would have no clue on how to type an eñe; no more than I know how to type an eszett. But that does not deter us from using them.

 

I still believe that asking people to not use a facility because you don't know how to do it is plain selfish.

 

BioWare put support for international names in their system, and people use it. If you believe that having that support is detrimental to your gaming experience, then you should go ahead and ask BioWare to remove it.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Mujambee
typos

[AlrikFassbauer]

Of course that begs the question as to why one would want to use non-English characters on English-language servers.

 

Why did Tolkien use non-Englisch characters in his novels, even though he was a Britisch citizen ?

 

And another perfectly British citizen : http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Bront%C3%AB

What would you think if you came across someone named like this ? You'd doubt she was a British citizen, do you ?

Edited October 30, 2013 by AlrikFassbauer

[eartharioch]

Why did Tolkien use non-Englisch characters in his novels, even though he was a Britisch citizen ?

 

And another perfectly British citizen : http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_Bront%C3%AB

What would you think if you came across someone named like this ? You'd doubt she was a British citizen, do you ?

 

Bad analogy. Books aren't real-time *interactive* media, and nothing in my experience *reading* those books requires me to have the ability to *write* those names. Furthermore, while awkward to type, none of the characters in the name "Emily Bront%C3%AB" require the use of special characters

[Never_Hesitate]

Furthermore, while awkward to type, none of the characters in the name "Emily Bront%C3%AB" require the use of special characters

 

So you even were too lazy to click on the link.

 

The name is Emily Brontë

[Mujambee]

Furthermore, while awkward to type, none of the characters in the name "Emily Bront%C3%AB" require the use of special characters

 

LOL to that.

[eartharioch]

So you even were too lazy to click on the link.

 

The name is Emily Brontë

 

/facepalm

[eartharioch]

I don't deny that, from an english-centric perspective, that may be a valid point. For us europeans, dealing with different languages is everyday business; and dealing with english-only limitations is also everyday business. My friend Íñigo can't even have an email address with his own name, because most software today still rejects it. So when we can use accents we use them. You should bear in mind that we face the same difficulties than you do when trying to type accented letters. I bet a dutch or ukranian player would have no clue on how to type an eñe; no more than I know how to type an eszett. But that does not deter us from using them.

 

I still believe that asking people to not use a facility because you don't know how to do it is plain selfish.

 

BioWare put support for international names in their system, and people use it. If you believe that having that support is detrimental to your gaming experience, then you should go ahead and ask BioWare to remove it.

 

Since I already brought it up [subtly] a few times, maybe I should be more clear. I'm all for people using names decoratively however they want -- like how many email programs allow your friend to set his Display name, and how a "John Doe" can set his Display name even if his user id is johndoe87326.

 

But that's not how SWTOR works -- character names aren't just decorative, they're functional. And it's not unreasonable to make some *decorative* trade-offs for increased functionality.

 

Personally, I doubt that BW added support for international names, I suspect that what happened is that it was already built into the toolset, so when deciding whether or not to implement a separate user name / display name system themselves, they just figured that it was easier *for them* to let people use all the special characters without caring about the problems it would cause.

 

Also, re: your friend. How would it make him feel to know that when most people see his character, they think, "Lulz, dude wants to be Inigo Montoya, pick something original next time."?

[Remianen]

BioWare put support for international names in their system, and people use it. If you believe that having that support is detrimental to your gaming experience, then you should go ahead and ask BioWare to remove it.

 

This.

 

Most games don't even allow these special characters in names. You type the shortcut (say alt-0243 for ó) and nothing happens (there is no output) because the game doesn't allow it.

 

eartharioch, whether you understand people's reasons or not is immaterial. There are people who burn over others playing Dark Jedi or running around in 'Republic/Imperial Dancer'-like outfits but it's allowed so people are going to do it. I don't understand how people with zero power to change anything rage (or even passive-aggressively advocate) against what other people do in a multiplayer game. But again, it's allowed so people will do it.

[eartharioch]

This.

 

Most games don't even allow these special characters in names. You type the shortcut (say alt-0243 for ó) and nothing happens (there is no output) because the game doesn't allow it.

 

eartharioch, whether you understand people's reasons or not is immaterial. There are people who burn over others playing Dark Jedi or running around in 'Republic/Imperial Dancer'-like outfits but it's allowed so people are going to do it. I don't understand how people with zero power to change anything rage (or even passive-aggressively advocate) against what other people do in a multiplayer game. But again, it's allowed so people will do it.

 

People playing Dark Jedi or wearing skimpy clothing doesn't interfere with my ability to report them if they are violating the terms of service. People using nonstandard characters in their names does.

 

And I'm not "raging" or being *passive*-aggressive -- IRL, I am a software engineer, have had several projects which required work with different language/code sets, and (in general) it's a topic which interests me.

[Gloomycakes]

People playing Dark Jedi or wearing skimpy clothing doesn't interfere with my ability to report them if they are violating the terms of service. People using nonstandard characters in their names does.

 

Does a 'difficult' name really interfere? I thought it was quite simple to report by clicking their name/character/chat (I must admit I've never found the use of report, but it works for the ignore list.)

 

I feel a bit bad now having quite a few character with (apparently just for a few people easy to write) character such as é ç è õ etc. I enjoy seeing my toons as 1 (or 2) and always use similar names, sometimes by changing parts of the name (for games like GW where you can use space) or indeed Ç instead of C. Time for a habbit change I see, interesting topic.

[Mujambee]

@eartharioch : You seem to be a reasonable person, I'll try to keep this as an open debate but if at sometimes I sound rude, that will be for lack of mastery on English. I'm sure by this time you've figured out that english is not my first language

 

Since I already brought it up [subtly] a few times, maybe I should be more clear. I'm all for people using names decoratively however they want -- like how many email programs allow your friend to set his Display name, and how a "John Doe" can set his Display name even if his user id is johndoe87326.

 

But that's not how SWTOR works -- character names aren't just decorative, they're functional. And it's not unreasonable to make some *decorative* trade-offs for increased functionality.

 

This all bears down to the frustration that non-English people feel by being forced to use only English characters, sometimes having to change the meaning of words. Spanish for year is 'año', I'll let you google the meaning of 'ano'. We don't impose our character set on you, so please don't try to impose yours on us. The limitation is not in being english or not, the limitation is in the fact that we don't mind typing foreign chars, but most English speakers do.

 

I've already said this but, like you, I'll try to be crystal clear: I can't directly type ALL accented characters there are in the world. There's no single keyboard layout that can do that. So, for me, reporting a German player using ezsett is exactly as difficult as it will be for you. The real difference is in attitude: I don't mind typing what for me is a foreign character, you do.

 

Personally, I doubt that BW added support for international names, I suspect that what happened is that it was already built into the toolset, so when deciding whether or not to implement a separate user name / display name system themselves, they just figured that it was easier *for them* to let people use all the special characters without caring about the problems it would cause.

 

Being that BioWare is a Canadian company, I'm pretty sure they are perfectly aware of the need of full i18n if you want to sell your product worldwide.

 

Also, Star Wars lore may need some non english characters at times, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they considered that. (bonus points for whoever brings up a name from the films that requires them)

 

Also, re: your friend. How would it make him feel to know that when most people see his character, they think, "Lulz, dude wants to be Inigo Montoya, pick something original next time."?

 

Well, my example was for email and not for a game character. Íñigo is a fairly common name in Spain, so I doubt anybody over here would think something like that. The fact is that Íñigo, Ínigo, Iñigo and Inigo all sound differently in Spanish, and for something as a corporate email, a company CEO would want to have his name properly spelled.

[eartharioch]

@eartharioch : You seem to be a reasonable person, I'll try to keep this as an open debate but if at sometimes I sound rude, that will be for lack of mastery on English. I'm sure by this time you've figured out that english is not my first language

 

I try And I haven't found anything you (or almost anybody in this thread) has said to be actually rude.

 

This all bears down to the frustration that non-English people feel by being forced to use only English characters, sometimes having to change the meaning of words. Spanish for year is 'año', I'll let you google the meaning of 'ano'. We don't impose our character set on you, so please don't try to impose yours on us. The limitation is not in being english or not, the limitation is in the fact that we don't mind typing foreign chars, but most English speakers do.

 

I've already said this but, like you, I'll try to be crystal clear: I can't directly type ALL accented characters there are in the world. There's no single keyboard layout that can do that. So, for me, reporting a German player using ezsett is exactly as difficult as it will be for you. The real difference is in attitude: I don't mind typing what for me is a foreign character, you do.

 

To be clear, I don't mind typing "foreign" characters per se -- if I enjoyed playing with somebody whose character name has a foreign character, and for whatever reason have to type /friend + name or something, I have no complaints. I may grumble about the inefficient and inconsistent character code systems, but I don't actually mind typing it in any more than I mind typing in characters with longer names than shorter ones. And usually the player will tell me the ALT code to use (like I'm Náme, use ALT-whatever), so I don't even have to look it up.

 

It's when I "didn't enjoy" my experience with a player that I have a problem, and to be honest if the in-game reporting

system, copy+paste functionality, and ability to keep the character (with name) in my target screen long enough to report before the character zoomed away were better, I probably wouldn't feel like the fact that the character had non-English characters made as much of a difference.

 

Anyway, thank you all for being polite listeners, you probably don't play the characters that cause me problems anyway.

[Mujambee]

I try

 

Try not!

Do or do not. There is no try.

[VaeVictis]

People playing Dark Jedi or wearing skimpy clothing doesn't interfere with my ability to report them if they are violating the terms of service. People using nonstandard characters in their names does..

 

Right click on the character or their name in chat, select whisper, highlight the name. You can now ctrl-c and ctrl-v.

 

I think this may be magic because I'm not sure exactly how it works.