I am using Microsoft Word and have a question about finding a
particular symbol. I would like to know how to insert the symbol that
is a lowercase "b" with a slash through it. The symbol is used on
library cataloging worksheets.

Hi jk123,

I think you are describing the Unicode blank symbol.  To insert this
symbol, you need a Unicode font.  There is a good chance that your
computer has the Lucida Sans Unicode font and a fair chance that it
has the Arial Unicode MS font.

I'll outline the procedure for Microsoft Word 97.  If it doesn't work
with your version and you can't figure out how to make it work, just
ask for a clarification and I will see what I can find.

Open the Insert menu and select "Symbol...".

In the Font list, select a Unicode font such as Lucida Sans Unicode.

In the Subset list, select Control Pictures.  If you page through this
list, it is on the fifth page.

The blank symbol should be in the third row of the grid, toward the
right.  Click on it and click on the Insert button, and the symbol
will be inserted in your document.

If you want to insert this symbol often and find this procedure too
cumbersome for frequent use, there are ways to streamline it, as
suggested in the Comments on this page.


Additional Links

If you don't like the way the blank symbol looks in the Unicode fonts
you have, you can install more Unicode fonts.  Alan Wood has a page
that lists Unicode fonts for Windows.
http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/fonts.html

A page by Phil Cash Cash of the University of Arizona on inserting
Unicode characters with Microsoft Word.
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~cashcash/aildi/Writing_in_your_language.html

A survey of the most commonly installed fonts on Windows computers.
http://www.codestyle.org/css/font-family/sampler-WindowsResults.shtml

A page on the Unicode blank symbol.
http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2422/index.htm


I hope this answer meets your need.  If you need any further
information, please ask for a clarification.

--efn

jk123,
Two suggestions.
First when your in your Word document select 'Insert' from the
toolbar, move cursor down to 'symbol' and click it. A wide variety of
symbols are located there, that may fit your requirements (note to
vary the 'fonts' drop down box for variations).
Second, find the appropriate symbol displayed on a website. Copy it to
a file and scale it to meet your needs (ie. edit colour, size etc)(I
use this method for 'physics' symbols and although a pain at first it
gets the job done.

Kind regards,
gfmaster

further: if you need the symbol multiple times, you might consider
AutoCorrect or AutoReplace or a keymacro such as [ctrl]/,b

Would 'b' modified by a 'strikethrough' do the job?

(Can't reproduce it here.)

Hello,

Nothing works better than to know the keyboard shortcuts yourself.
There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts out there that you could use
to replace tons of mouse clicking. The following website offer free
keyboard shortcut tutorial and tips you can download and start to use
with NO COSTS to you. It is free. I downloaded it and it really helped
me get my work done.

http://www.tarktech.com/reviews.htm

When you go there click on the Keyboard Shortcuts, the last sentence
that says Keyboard Shortcuts is the link to download it. Before you
download you have to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view that file.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free also. this page
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html gives you the
Adobe Acrobat Reader  as well.

Once you install it. Get the keyboard shortcuts and you are ready to
use all the symbals that you wish to insert into your MS Office
document.

I hope this help

Cheers

N Bridley