Emacs Unicode Math Symbols Input Mode (xmsi-mode)

Xah Lee, 2010-12-08, …, 2011-11-04

This is the home page for xmsi-mode 〔xmsi-math-symbols-input.el〕. It is a Emacs minor mode for inputing math symbols or common Unicode characters.

Usage and Features

Call xmsi-mode to turn the mode on. Call it again to turn off.

Type “inf”, then press 【Shift+Space】, then it becomes “∞”. Here's some other examples:

The abbreviations are based on HTML/XML entity names and Mathematica's 【Esc abbrev Esc】.

Acting on Selected Word

If you have a text selection, then selected word will be taken as input. For example, type sin(a), select the “a”, then press 【Shift+Space】, then it becomse sin(α).

Supported Chars

To see the full list of supported chars and their abbrevs, just press 【Shift+Space】.

Here's a list of chars the mode suports. (for the complete up-to-date list, call xmsi-list-math-symbols.)

À Á Â Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ð Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ð ñ ò ó ô õ ö ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ Œ œ Š š Ÿ Ù Ú Û Ü Ý ´ ª º ˆ ˜ ¯ ¨ ‸ ¸ ¡ ¿ ‒ – — ‘ ’ ‚ „ † ‡ • … ‰ ﹠ ＆ ·   ¤ ¢ £ € ¥ ¦ § ¶ © ® ™ ¼ ½ ¾ “” ‹› «» 〔〕 〈〉 《》 「」 『』 【】〖〗 Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ ς σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω ℬ ℭ ℰ ℱ ℋ ℳ ℘ ℛ ℨ ℯ ℊ ℌ ℐ ℑ ℒ ℓ ℴ ℜ ℂ ℕ ℙ ℚ ℝ ℤ ℍ ℵ ⅆ ⅇ ⅈ ⅉ ∅ Å ב ג ד ƒ µ ø Ø Þ ß ϑ ϒ ϖ Ϝ ϝ ° ‾ ⁄ ⁰ ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ ⁺ ⁻ ⁼ ⁽ ⁾ ⁿ ⁱ ₀ ₁ ₂ ₃ ₄ ₅ ₆ ₇ ₈ ₉ ₊ ₋ ₌ ₍ ₎ ₐ ₑ ₒ ₓ ₔ ᵢ ⱼ ᵥ ← → ↔ ↑ ↓ ↖ ↘ ↚ ↛ ↮ ↤ ↦ ⇤ ⇥ ⇐ ⇒ ⇔ ⇑ ⇓ ⇍ ⇏ ⇎ ⟵ ⟶ ⟷ ⟸ ⟹ ⟺ ∀ ∃ ∴ ¬ ∧ ∨ ⊻ ⊼ ⊽ ⊥ ∈ ∉ ∋ ⊂ ⊃ ⊄ ⊆ ⊇ ∩ ∪ ≤ ≥ ∼ ≅ ≈ ≠ ≡ ∂ ∇ ′ ″ ‴ ∫ ∮ ∲ ∳ ∏ ∑ × ÷ − ± ∓ ∗ √ ⊕ ⊗ ⋅ ⨯ ∝ ∞ ∠ ∡ ∢ ⦜ ⌈ ⌉ ⌊ ⌋ ⌘ ⌚ ⌛ ⏏ ␣ ⌤ ⌥ ⌧ ⌫ ⌶ ⎋ ⎗ ⎘ ⎙ ✂ ✄ ✉ ✍ ⌨ ⏎ ↩ ↵ ↶ ↷ ↹ ⇄ ⇧ ⇞ ⇟ ① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⓪ ⒈ ⒉ ⒊ ⒋ ⒌ ⒍ ⒎ ⒏ ⒐ ■ □ ▲ △ ▶ ▷ ▼ ▽ ◀ ◁ ◆ ◇ ◊ ○ ● ★ ☹ ☺ ☉ ☼ ☽ ☾ ☿ ♀ ♁ ♂ ♃ ♄ ♅ ♆ ♇ ☄ ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯ 𝒶 𝒷 𝒸 𝒹 𝒻 𝒽 𝒾 𝒿 𝓀 𝓁 𝓂 𝓃 𝓅 𝓆 𝓌 𝓍 𝓎 𝓏 𝔄 𝔅 𝔇 𝔈 𝔉 𝔊 𝔍 𝔎 𝔏 𝔐 𝔑 𝔒 𝔓 𝔔 𝔖 𝔗 𝔘 𝔙 𝔚 𝔛 𝔜 𝔞 𝔟 𝔠 𝔡 𝔢 𝔣 𝔤 𝔥 𝔦 𝔧 𝔨 𝔩 𝔪 𝔫 𝔬 𝔭 𝔮 𝔯 𝔰 𝔱 𝔲 𝔳 𝔴 𝔵 𝔶 𝔷 🄀 🄁 🄂 🄃 🄄 🄅 🄆 🄇 🄈 🄉 🄊

The mode currently supports over 842 abbrevs of 637 unique symbols. (Any other char in Unicode can be entered by decimal or hexadecimal or by name.)

XML Abbreviations

All XML char entity abbrevs are supported. For example, copy becomes “©”. (See: HTML/XML Entities (Character/Unicode/Symbol) List)

Unicode by Decimal Number

Unicode by decimal is also supported, in any of the following form:

• 945 ⇒ α
• #945 ⇒ α
• α ⇒ α

Unicode by Hexadecimal

Unicode by hexadecimal is also supported, in any of the following form:

• x3b1 ⇒ α
• #x3b1 ⇒ α
• α ⇒ α

Unicode Char by Name

Unicode by full name is also supported. For example, greek small letter alpha ⇒ α.

You can also call emacs's ucs-insert for name completion feature. For example, call ucs-insert 【Ctrl+x 8 Enter】, then type *arrow then Tab, then emacs will list all Unicode char names that has “arrow” in it. (this feature is part of Emacs 23)

Get Unicode Font

For best result, you'll need a font that support Unicode. See: Best Fonts for Unicode.

Also, you should be using Emacs 23, because it has a new Unicode engine and font engine that supports operating system's fonts.

Buy xmsi-mode Now

Download the mode for $5. Use the paypal button below. In the comment field, put “emacs math symbol input mode”. I'll email you the download link. Make sure your email address is included and correct.