Add special characters/symbols in new cloud editor.

[Kajsa]

I've been looking at this page for how to add symbols to my Confluence pages.  I am using the new editor for Confluence Cloud and would like to add special characters like maths symbols of Greek letters. I can add emojis easy enough but can't seem to find a way to get other symbols without importing them as custom emojis or just copy-pasting from somewhere else.

Anyone know how to do this?

[Diego · Accepted solution]

Hello @Kajsa !

As stated in the documentation:

Symbols and special characters were removed from the new editor. Use your operating systems's symbols as those are more comprehensive.

Link to full documentation:

• Use symbols, emojis, and special characters 

Since the Greek alphabet embodies a whole language they are not special characters.  Here is a definition for special characters:

A special character is a character that is not an alphabetic or numeric character

Link to page with the definition:

• Computer Hope - Special Characters  

Adding the Greek language as an option to your operating system or copying the characters from another source may be the two quickest ways to use those characters within Confluence.

I hope this helps! Let us hear from you.

[Kajsa]

Thank you for the information Diego, they clearly explain the situation.

On a side-ish. I hope you would consider re-introducing this feature in the future as it is something most word processing software has built in (e.g. Word/Google docs/Latex/etc.). I also suspect that with the right short macro, this build in option would be far faster than switching keyboard layout or finding, copying, and pasting your symbols when they are embedded in the text flow.

E.g. Here α is x, ω is y, and π is z.

[Henrik Persson]

Seconding @Kajsa Kajsa's request. Greek letters would be a great re-introduction. While it is true that they are a separate language, they enjoy special status in the scientific community and are used more as special symbols. (In the legacy editor, the Greek letters were indeed listed as symbols according to the link @Diego  shared)

Instead of copy-pasting from another developer's software like Word, an equation can be inserted. Most equation editors allow expressions like \gamma.

On a side note, I just 'discovered' that Confluence does not have native support for math and equations. (Or html either, which would have been another work around.) 

The free plugin Math (AsciiMath) seems to be able to do this.

Another way to get your own Greek letters, and anything else you like, is to create little images and upload those as custom emojis. As a bonus, this would give you the ability to just type [colon] to get a search function for the Greek science emojis. 

[Jane]

@Kajsa  If you need to edit maths symbols, an Addon to support LaTeX editing can be an option. 

Please check an addon below, it is really easy and intuitive. 

LaTeX EASY math equation for Confluence