Computer question - nav problem

[Andy Denmark]

When I left NASA I took a sign from my desk that said, "You don't need a computer to do this." That was often true. Other than the Word Processor I had the "gearheads" to take care of computer nuances. Now I'm on my own and often hit small snags that stop this old man in his tracks, for example:

Can someone who is better at this than I please show me a one-stroke way to program a key on this XP machine to write the "degree" sign without going through the superscript routine. I've been using an asterisk but this is technically innacurate and sometimes misunderstood. I am told this can be done by programming one of the function keys to write the "degree" symbol (w/ shift). I would trade the ^ sign over the "6" (that I never use) for a "degree" symbol in a heartbeat.

While the relevancy of this to sailing seems vague, when discussing nav problems or instruments (GPS for instance) it is frequently necessary to write out courses, bearings, heights, etc. in degrees, minutes, and seconds (or tenths of minutes). Seconds and tenths are easy while degrees are not. For an intuitive writer like me this this is a chain-of-thought stopper.

Perhaps others have the same difficulty?

(I'm off to Pawley's Island for two days so won't be able to respond to replies right away.)

Help please!
________
Marijuana Joint

[bhartley]

Hold down the ALT Key and type 0176 on the number pad. Be sure to use the number pad. Let go of the ALT key after typing the numbers.

Bly

[Oswego John]

... or you could hold down the ALT key while hitting 248 on the key pad , on the right.

O J

[rtbates]

I was being so careful AND I still learned something new.

Thanks OJ and bhartley

[Dwain Douglas]

Hi Andy,

A nice solution would be to set up your computer so that when you type "Ctrl d" the degree sign is typed.

You can set this up and others using a macro program such as MacroExpress (http://www.macros.com/). There are others.. search "windows macros".

Let me know if I can help.

Dwain

[iropicc]

try this hyperlink to assign any function to the key of your choice http://www.creativelement.com/ this utility has a purchase price but i have found it paid for itself more than once the function assignment is only one of a bevy of utilities

[Neil Gordon]

When I left NASA I took a sign from my desk ...

Uh oh!

[Andy Denmark]

Yup, two tours: 1963-68 and 1983-87
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Maverick (North America)