I hardly ever need to insert Unicode (thanks for the F12 tip), but I agree with the point that it seems Ctrl-Shift-u has been adopted widely and that following the crowd makes sense sometimes.
Versatility in the user interface (customised shortcuts) is step 1, the possibility to use another applications' menus (refer to the nearly defunct Lotus word processor which mimicked the MS Word interface before teaching you the Lotus corresponding menu) is step 2. One of the reasons why OO is so successful against MS Word is because it mimicks the MS GUI so much. OO is spreading like wildfire, especially with legal fight against piracy getting tougher. In that respect, just like Macintosh's ultimate victory was to be imitated, MS Word or InDesign are successful (nearly in Darwinian terms) and therefore their GUIs may deserve to be de facto standards . I am an infrequent InDesign user (license cost issue) and therefore InDesign is still unknown, and my habits are on Scribus, but I have to admit Adobe's GUI choices are often more efficient than Scribus' ... taking into account that I am a perpetual newcomer on InDesign. I agree every software is free to have an original interface, just like you are free to wear the clothes you want. But I do understand cloning can be good, and being part of the crowd has advantages. Sometimes "Imitate, don't innovate" is a more sensible choice than the other way round. > There is also the very handy F12, followed by 4-digit Unicode to insert > whatever character you might use frequently yet not be present on your > keyboard. Cedric
