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PopChar Changelog

What's new in PopChar 10.1

Apr 23, 2024
  • Improvements:
  • Under-the-hood performance and compatibility enhancements
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed issue in which inserting a formatted character would fail in some cases
  • Fixed incorrect entries in font lists

New in PopChar 10.0 (Mar 6, 2024)

  • Features:
  • Redesigned UI (classic functionality meets modern design)
  • New magnifier view with more info and details
  • New visualization for shortcuts
  • Spanish language support
  • Full Unicode 15 compatibility
  • Built-in layout for Emoji 15.0
  • New insertion modes
  • New and easier navigation concept
  • Added support for Swift code insertion
  • Improvements:
  • Optimized for macOS Sonoma
  • Improved dark mode for comfortable viewing
  • Stability and performance optimization
  • Various cleanups and improvements under the hood

New in PopChar 9.5 (May 15, 2023)

  • Improvements:
  • Full Ventura compatibility & improvements
  • Improved linking into System Settings Permissions section
  • Performance and stability improvements

New in PopChar 9.4 (May 18, 2022)

  • PopChar is now a universal application with native support for Apple Silicon.
  • On supporting keyboards, the F20 function key can be used as PopChar's hotkey.
  • Internal redesign of the character rendering components improves speed and consistency between fonts.
  • Improved detection of the processor type.
  • Improved vertical alignment of characters within table cells.
  • Improved metrics adjustments for some fonts in the IBM Plex family.
  • The diagnostics report now contains information about the computer model and processor.
  • Consistent vertical alignment of characters in the magnified view.
  • Information about the “start at login” setting in the diagnostics report.
  • Improved handling of internal scripts in certain corner cases.
  • Support for SF Symbols 3.3 (new character names and layout for the “SF Compact” and “SF Pro” fonts).
  • Fixes incorrect vertical position of space brackets in certain fonts.
  • Fixes an issue where the magnifier sometimes stopped working after switching fonts.
  • Fixes a problem where the “corner P” was partly obscured by the rounded screen corner on MacBooks with a notch.
  • Fixes a problem where ligatures in certain fonts were not correctly displayed in the magnified view.
  • Works around a problem that could cause a crash when PopChar tried to display information about a new version.
  • Fixes a problem where some characters could not be found by entering certain name parts in the search field.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue where the window resize indicator appeared on top of open menus.

New in PopChar 9.3 (Nov 17, 2021)

  • Support for Unicode 14.0 (including Emoji 14.0).
  • Metrics adjustments for various styles of the system font in Big Sur and Monterey.
  • PopChar is now built with the latest compiler and libraries of Xcode 13.0.

New in PopChar 9.2 (Apr 27, 2021)

  • PopChar is now built with the latest compiler and libraries for Big Sur.
  • Improved detection and handling of color fonts.
  • Updated internal tools (such as the built-in installer).
  • PopChar now always uses the system-specific window appearance.
  • New context menu for group headings: Copy all characters or their descriptions.
  • PopChar now uses the standard Unicode notation (U+1234) for the hexadecimal representation of characters.
  • Improved handling and feedback for window resizing.
  • PopChar now correctly restores the clipboard after insertion of a character in formatted mode.
  • Fixes clipped segments in the insertion mode control on Big Sur.
  • Fixes an alignment issue in the Preferences window.
  • Fixes a subtle tracking problem when the mouse pointer enters and leaves the PopChar window.
  • Fixes a rare problem with invalid elements in the "Recent Characters" section.

New in PopChar 9.1 (Feb 4, 2021)

  • New functions in the Fonts tab of the “Character Info” window: select or mark fonts in the main window, copy a font list to the clipboard.
  • Clear button for the keyboard shortcut in PopChar's preferences.
  • PopChar's diagnostics report now contains information about the location of the P icon.
  • In trial mode, right-clicking or control-clicking an unsupported character now displays the registration information.
  • Supports the Multicolore Pro color font.
  • Works around a cosmetic issue where sheet windows (like “About” and “Preferences”) appeared before the main window when opened from the menu bar icon.
  • The names of the CenonAstro fonts are now displayed in the font list in a readable font in WYSIWYG mode.
  • Fixes a problem where the “P” in the menu bar did not react on clicks after a command-click.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue where the keyboard icon at the bottom of the PopChar window appeared upside down on Big Sur.

New in PopChar 9.0 (Dec 3, 2020)

  • PopChar is now ready for Big Sur.
  • The required minimum system version is now 10.10 (Yosemite).
  • Support for Unicode 13.0 (including Emoji 13.0).
  • New “Character Info” window with detailed information about any character.
  • It is now possible to assign custom names to characters, which can be used in the search field.
  • PopChar can now show all the fonts in which a character is available, along with the character's appearance.
  • Keyboard equivalents for the context menu items when a character is selected.
  • Supports the “Brand New Roman” color font.
  • Built-in layout for Emoji 13.0.
  • PopChar now knows the names of the characters listed in the “SF Symbols” application.
  • Built-in layout “SF Symbols” for the symbols in the “San Francisco” fonts.
  • Improved detection of cases where the text presentation of an Emoji character was not yet supported on the current version of macOS.
  • Significantly faster type selection in the font list (especially when font names are shown in their own font).
  • Improved visibility of the PopChar icon in the translucent menu bar of Big Sur.
  • Improved representation of the names in the font list for certain special-purpose fonts.
  • Improved handling of keyboard navigation and shortcuts in the character table view.
  • Support for system-wide licenses.
  • Faster search for PopChar character from Typinator's Quick Search.
  • When invoked from Typinator's Quick Search, PopChar now returns only characters that are available in any installed font.
  • Metrics adjustments for Apple's new “SF Compact” and “SF Pro” fonts.
  • Improved visual feedback for certain operations on the selected character.
  • The “corner P” now uses a representation that is easy to see against any background, especially in Big Sur's translucent menu bar.
  • Works around a problem where certain hard-wired keyboard shortcuts did not work when the font list was active.
  • Fixes a vertical alignment issue when Apple Color Emoji characters were displayed in small sizes.
  • Fixes a problem where some context menu commands sometimes did not correctly process the selected character.
  • Fixes a problem with horizontally clipped icons in the “San Francisco” fonts.
  • Works around a crash caused by incorrect ligature definitions in certain fonts.

New in PopChar 8.10 (May 5, 2020)

  • It is now possible to minimize the PopChar window into the Dock.
  • Improved metrics adjustments for Apple's SF Compact and SF Pro font families.
  • Fixes a problem where the magnifier was not displayed correctly when scrolling the character table.

New in PopChar 8.9 (Jan 7, 2020)

  • Fixes a problem where PopChar's menu icon was not shown after an automatic light/dark change on Catalina.
  • Fixes small cosmetic issues in the PopChar window.

New in PopChar 8.8 (Dec 12, 2019)

  • Built-in layout for Emoji 12.0.
  • PopChar now always attempts to select the regular/plain style when selecting a font in the list (works around a change to the default order of styles in Catalina).
  • The PopChar application is now signed and notarized with a secure timestamp.
  • Fixes a problem where fonts in the font list were sometimes not shown in the best possible “regular” style.
  • Works around a problem with Catalina's automatic dark mode, where PopChar's P icon in the menu bar was not correctly updated after an automatic light/dark change.
  • Recently introduced Emoji characters are now correctly suppressed on older macOS versions that do not yet support these characters.

New in PopChar 8.8 Beta 3 (Nov 21, 2019)

  • The PopChar application is now signed and notarized with a secure timestamp.
  • Recently introduced Emoji characters are now correctly suppressed on older macOS versions that do not yet support these characters.

New in PopChar 8.8 Beta 2 (Nov 12, 2019)

  • PopChar now always attempts to select the regular/plain style when selecting a font in the list (works around a change to the default order of styles in Catalina).
  • Fixes a problem where fonts in the font list were sometimes not shown in the best possible “regular” style.

New in PopChar 8.8 Beta 1 (Nov 7, 2019)

  • Built-in layout for Emoji 12.0
  • Works around a problem with Catalina's automatic dark mode, where PopChar's P icon in the menu bar was not correctly updated after an automatic light/dark change.

New in PopChar 8.7 (Oct 4, 2019)

  • Compatible with macOS Catalina.
  • Support for Unicode 12.0 (including Emoji 12.0).
  • In addition to the backspace key, the forward delete key can now also be used to clear the hotkey in PopChar's preferences.
  • Internal reorganization of localizations ensures compatibility with future versions of macOS.
  • Improved handling of situations where a copy of PopChar was already running when a new instance was launched.
  • The diagnostics report now contains information about all foreground and background processes.
  • Clarified explanation for beta tests when the final version may require a license update.
  • Internal redesign of adjustments for fonts with special properties.
  • When unregistered, PopChar no longer tries to use a legacy license from old preferences.
  • The distribution disk image is now notarized and can be mounted on macOS Catalina.
  • The built-in installer's localization settings have been updated to ensure compatibility with future versions of macOS.
  • Updated character names for the Font Awesome font family (corresponds to version 5.10).
  • Works around a metrics and display problem with the extra-wide logo characters in recent versions of Font Awesome.
  • Works around a display anomaly with certain combined characters in the system font on Catalina.
  • Fixes a problem in the built-in installer, which could not register the installed application with the Finder in certain circumstances.
  • Fixes a problem that caused the built-in installer to stall on macOS Catalina, even though the actual installation succeeded.

New in PopChar 8.6 (Mar 19, 2019)

  • PopChar is now distributed as an Apple-notarized application.
  • The number of lines in the section of recently used characters is now a user-definable preference option.
  • PopChar now supports font-specific Unicode descriptions for several symbol fonts (such as FontAwesome, Material Icons, Webdings, Wingdings, and many more).
  • Statistics in the About window contain total number of available Unicode characters.
  • The status icon in the menu bar is now vertically centered.
  • Improved support for update checks in intermediate beta versions.
  • Cleaned up unused 32-bit code in the built-in installer.
  • PopChar asks for accessibility permission only on Mojave and newer, where this is needed because of Apple's new security policy.
  • Extended system information in the diagnostics report.
  • Adds missing name of the United Nations flag.
  • The menu bar icon's pull-down menu now has the correct appearance in Dark Mode.
  • Works around a problem with temporary folders that caused installations and updates to fail in certain circumstance

New in PopChar 8.5 (Oct 24, 2018)

  • New option for light-on-dark character table in Mojave's Dark Mode.
  • Preference option for highlighting favorite characters.
  • New mechanism for alternative names in the Unicode standard (currently used to unify lambda/lamda).
  • Layouts are now always listed in alphabetical order in the menu.
  • PopChar now uses the system's highlight color for the selected character in the table.
  • PopChar's menu bar icon now uses the correct accent color when clicked.
  • Skin tone and text/emoji pop-up menus now use the correct accent color for highlighting the selected item.
  • Info line in contact mail contains information about the system language and Dark Mode.
  • The skin and text/emoji pop-up menus have a dark appearance in Dark Mode.
  • The preview images for the P icon in PopChar's preferences now adapt to Dark Mode.
  • PopChar now closes its window when you send a mail message to us from the contact sheet.
  • Metrics adjustments for the Bravura font family.
  • When PopChar starts up, it now checks for the required Accessibility permissions and helps to enable PopChar in System Preferences.
  • Visual feedback when pointing at the borders of the PopChar window helps with resizing the window.
  • Fixes an inconsistency in new PopChar installations, where the “Show font names in their own font” checkbox did not match the actual state.
  • Fixes partially overlapping buttons in the About window on older versions of macOS.
  • Works around an issue in Mojave, where PopChar could not reliably be activated by clicking the “P” icon when it was set to appear in a corner of the screen.
  • Avoids flickering window while resizing.

New in PopChar 8.4 (Sep 19, 2018)

  • Compatible with macOS Mojave.
  • Support for Unicode 11.0, including the new Emoji 11 characters.
  • New built-in layout for Emojis 11.0.
  • Support for Mojave's dark mode.
  • PopChar now remembers the selected font collection across restarts.
  • The shape finder button is now hidden when it makes no sense in the current mode.
  • The group button is now located next to the shape finder button (instead of the top part of the scrollbar).
  • Clarified warning in the German version of the built-in installer.
  • Improved hotkey field implementation avoids issues when the window loses focus and is prepared for Mojave.
  • Small changes that improve visibility of certain icons.
  • All internal URLs to the Ergonis server now use secure https connections.
  • Reduced network traffic when checking for new versions.
  • Fixes a drawing problem with extremely slow response on Mojave.
  • Fixes a cosmetic problem with a partially cut off button in the Preview/Sample views.
  • Fixes a text artifact that appeared on top of the formatted insertion mode button on Mojave.
  • Fixes cosmetic issues with cut-off icons and buttons.
  • Fixes the first-time hint in the German version, where the text was truncated.
  • Fixes a potential crash when the PopChar window was moved offscreen.
  • Fixes strange jumps while moving the PopChar window.
  • Fixes a problem where the progress window could not be dismissed when the update to a newer version failed.

New in PopChar 8.4 Beta 3 (Sep 13, 2018)

  • Support for Unicode 11.0, including the new Emoji 11 characters.
  • New built-in layout for Emojis 11.0.
  • The built-in installer now also supports dark mode on Mojave.

New in PopChar 8.4 Beta 2 (Sep 3, 2018)

  • Support for Mojave's dark mode.
  • Small changes that improve visibility of certain icons.
  • Fixes cosmetic issues with cut-off icons and buttons.
  • Fixes the first-time hint in the German version, where the text was truncated.
  • Fixes a potential crash when the PopChar window was moved offscreen.
  • Fixes strange jumps while moving the PopChar window.
  • Reduced network traffic when checking for new versions.

New in PopChar 8.4 Beta 1 (Aug 27, 2018)

  • PopChar now remembers the selected font collection across restarts.
  • The shape finder button is now hidden when it makes no sense in the current mode.
  • The group button is now located next to the shape finder button (instead of the top part of the scrollbar).
  • Clarified warning in the German version of the built-in installer.
  • Fixes a drawing problem with extremely slow response on Mojave.
  • Fixes a cosmetic problem with a partially cut off button in the Preview/Sample views.
  • Fixes a text artifact that appeared on top of the formatted insertion mode button on Mojave.
  • Improved hotkey field implementation avoids issues when the window loses focus and is prepared for Mojave.

New in PopChar 8.3 (May 22, 2018)

  • New preference setting for showing font names in their own font (WYSIWYG font names).
  • HTML characters can now be inserted in hexadecimal notation.
  • Option for remembering the selected font for all applications (instead of separately per application).
  • It is now possible to control whether PopChar may perform version checks in full-screen mode.
  • The About window now contains a button that creates a diagnostics report for troubleshooting.
  • Automatic conversion of layout files into a format that can also be used by the Windows version of PopChar.
  • Additional information during installation clarifies the situation when a newer version is not covered by the current license.
  • Metrics adjustments for the IBM Plex font family.
  • Metrics adjustments for the Carta font.
  • Metrics adjustments for the Candlescript Pro font.
  • Improved implementation of the gradients in the magnification lens.
  • Updated version of the Alphabet layout fixes an error in the Romanian character set.
  • PopChar now makes sure that its window is completely visible on the screen.
  • In the keyboard equivalents, PopChar now displays only keys that are physically present on the attached keyboard.
  • Built-in helper applications are now 64-bit to support the next version of macOS.
  • Fixes an update problem when a previous version of PopChar was installed in a folder that no longer exists.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with updates on High Sierra, where the download progress window remained on the screen for too long.
  • Improved window location and size when PopChar is opened for the first time.
  • Fixes an incorrect button label for opening System Preferences when PopChar asks for Accessibility permissions.
  • Fixes incorrect alignment of a message at the top of the character table.
  • Fixes incorrect length of the layout connection line in the French version.
  • Fixes a confusing message in the preferences window when PopChar has not yet checked for available updates.
  • Fixes a potential problem when PopChar makes offscreen windows visible.

New in PopChar 8.3 Beta 4 (May 14, 2018)

  • Fixes a confusing message in the preferences window when PopChar has not yet checked for available updates.
  • The diagnostics report now contains information about the current insertion mode and recent changes to the font repertoire.

New in PopChar 8.3 Beta 3 (May 5, 2018)

  • French localization.
  • Cosmetic fixes (mostly alignment) in the French version.
  • Updated User's Guide.

New in PopChar 8.3 Beta 2 (Apr 29, 2018)

  • Built-in helper applications are now 64-bit to support the next version of macOS.
  • It is now possible to control whether PopChar may perform version checks in full-screen mode.
  • The About window now contains a button that creates a diagnostics report for troubleshooting.

New in PopChar 8.3 Beta 1 (Apr 20, 2018)

  • New preference setting for showing font names in their own font.
  • HTML characters can now be inserted in hexadecimal notation.
  • Option for remembering the selected font for all applications (instead of separately per application).
  • Automatic conversion of layout files into a format that can also be used by the Windows version of PopChar.
  • Additional information during installation clarifies the situation when a newer version is not covered by the current license.
  • Metrics adjustments for the IBM Plex font family.
  • Metrics adjustments for the Carta font.
  • Metrics adjustments for the Candlescript Pro font.
  • Improved implementation of the gradients in the magnification lens.
  • Updated version of the Alphabet layout fixes an error in the Romanian character set.
  • PopChar now makes sure that its window is completely visible on the screen.
  • In the keyboard equivalents, PopChar now displays only keys that are physically present on the attached keyboard.
  • Fixes an update problem when a previous version of PopChar was installed in a folder that no longer exists.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with updates on High Sierra, where the download progress window remained on the screen for too long.
  • Improved window location and size when PopChar is opened for the first time.
  • Fixes an incorrect button label for opening System Preferences when PopChar asks for Accessibility permissions.
  • Fixes incorrect alignment of a message at the top of the character table.
  • Fixes incorrect length of the layout connection line in the French version.

New in PopChar 8.2 (Oct 5, 2017)

  • [BLOCK bb] in layout descriptions (where bb is the name of a Unicode Block, such as “Basic Latin” or “Cyrillic”) includes all characters from the specified block.
  • [FIND ss] in layout descriptions includes all characters that match the search string ss (example: [FIND arrow]).
  • [BLOCK-OTHER bb] in layout descriptions includes all characters from the Unicode block bb that are not already present in the layout.
  • [OTHER] in layout descriptions includes all remaining characters that are not explicitly defined otherwise.
  • When PopChar is not registered with a license key, the message at the top of the window now tells what to do.
  • Preview pictures for the “P” placement in PopChar's preferences now reflect the appearance on Sierra and newer.
  • New metrics adjustments for 33 fonts.
  • Improved vertical spacing of characters to avoid truncation of ornaments that extend beyond the font's bounding box.
  • When selecting “Font Preview” or “Sample Text”, PopChar switches to the previously used text template instead of automatically switching to “Custom Sample Text” or “Editable Text”.
  • PopChar now correctly remembers the previously set up custom sample text.
  • Works around a problem that caused PopChar to hang when trying to find ligatures in certain corrupted fonts.
  • Fixes an incorrect definition of the “Warang Citi” Unicode block.
  • Fixes a misplaced checkbox in the French version of PopChar's preferences window.
  • Internal cleanup of resources that are no longer needed.

New in PopChar 8.2 Beta 2 (Sep 14, 2017)

  • Preview pictures for the “P” placement in PopChar's preferences now reflect the appearance on Sierra and newer.
  • Fixes a misplaced checkbox in the French version of PopChar's preferences window.
  • Internal cleanup of resources that are no longer needed.
  • New versions of the “About” files in the Layouts/Info folder describe the new notations.

New in PopChar 8.2 Beta 1 (Aug 29, 2017)

  • [BLOCK bb] in layout descriptions (where bb is the name of a Unicode Block, such as “Basic Latin” or “Cyrillic”) includes all characters from the specified block.
  • [FIND ss] in layout descriptions includes all characters that match the search string ss (example: [FIND arrow]).
  • [BLOCK-OTHER bb] in layout descriptions includes all characters from the Unicode block bb that are not already present in the layout.
  • [OTHER] in layout descriptions includes all remaining characters that are not explicitly defined otherwise.
  • When PopChar is not registered with a license key, the message at the top of the window now tells what to do.
  • When selecting “Font Preview” or “Sample Text”, PopChar switches to the previously used text template instead of automatically switching to “Custom Sample Text” or “Editable Text”.
  • PopChar now correctly remembers the previously set up custom sample text.
  • Works around a problem that caused PopChar to hang when trying to find ligatures in certain corrupted fonts.
  • Fixes an incorrect definition of the “Warang Citi” Unicode block.

New in PopChar 8.1 (Jul 12, 2017)

  • Support for Unicode 10.0.
  • Additional search keywords for emoji characters.
  • The font list now contains the otherwise invisible system font (.AppleSystemUIFont) on El Capitan and newer.
  • Faster collection of ligatures with reduced memory allocation.
  • Internal optimization speeds up background activities and reduces memory allocation.
  • Internal cleanup reduces memory footprint of PopChar.
  • Fixes a problem with a crash on macOS 10.6 during extraction of ligatures from certain fonts.
  • Works around issues with collecting ligatures for some corrupted fonts.
  • Fixes a problem where certain named characters were displayed when searching for unnamed characters.
  • Fixes a problem that produced many undefined characters as the result of certain character searches.

New in PopChar 8.1 Beta 3 (Jul 6, 2017)

  • Fixes a problem that produced many undefined characters as the result of certain character searches.
  • Fixes an error in the collection of the "Union of All Available Fonts".

New in PopChar 8.1 Beta 2 (Jul 3, 2017)

  • Fixes a problem where certain named characters were displayed when searching for unnamed characters.
  • Works around a crash caused by a failed assertion in an OpenGL library.

New in PopChar 8.1 Beta 1 (Jun 24, 2017)

  • Support for Unicode 10.0.
  • Additional search keywords for emoji characters.
  • The font list now contains the otherwise invisible system font (.AppleSystemUIFont) on El Capitan and newer.
  • Faster collection of ligatures with reduced memory allocation.
  • Internal optimization speeds up background activities and reduces memory allocation.
  • Internal cleanup reduces memory footprint of PopChar.
  • Fixes a problem with a crash on macOS 10.6 during extraction of ligatures from certain fonts.
  • Works around issues with collecting ligatures for some corrupted fonts.

New in PopChar 8.0 (Jun 13, 2017)

  • Custom Layouts: It is now possible to create custom groupings and arrangements for characters.
  • New “Recent Characters” section is now always available at the top of the character table, right below the favorite characters.
  • Predefined layout that arranges emojis by their meaning.
  • It is now possible to link fonts with preferred layouts that work best for these fonts.
  • Cleaned-up layouts: The legacy layouts ASCII and MacRoman as well as the Recent Characters layout have been removed, as they are no longer needed.
  • PopChar now finds and displays ligatures that are available in fonts.
  • The “Show x in the Unicode Context” context menu command is now also available for characters in the Favorites group, the new Recent group and in other layouts.
  • New view “All Unicode Characters” shows all characters that are defined in the Unicode standard - with placeholders for those that do not have a representation in any installed font.
  • PopChar's About window now shows the number of installed fonts and font families.
  • New export format for favorite characters with support for font-specific favorites and ligatures.
  • Extended list of “zero-width joiner” Emoji sequences, including person roles, male/female variants, and the rainbow flag.
  • Updated list of Emoji characters with skin tones.
  • PopChar now supports skin tone variants of “zero-width joiner” Emoji sequences.
  • Support for Emoji Presentation Sequences for selecting the text or emoji form of characters that can have both presentations.
  • Improved fine-tuning for 20 fonts, mostly for improving the display of combining characters.
  • PopChar can now insert emojis with skin tones as formatted text and HTML codes.
  • Support for Emoji key symbol sequences created with “combining enclosing keycap”.
  • When selecting “Show x in the Unicode Context”, the selected character briefly blinks, so it's easier to find among the other characters.
  • Improved handling of font-specific characters in the Private Use Areas.
  • Improves the representation of combining characters in the “Character Description”.
  • Combining characters are now displayed in centered positions within table cells, without overlapping adjacent characters.
  • The “Show x in the Unicode Context” context menu command now always shows the selected character in the standard “Unicode Blocks” layout.
  • Combining characters no longer overlap with previous text in the context menu.
  • Smoother fading animation when opening and closing the PopChar window.
  • Improved alignment and space usage for Apple Color Emoji.
  • More consistent arrangement of control items in the window header.
  • Fixes a problem that resulted in unexpected matches when certain undefined Unicode numbers were entered in the search field.
  • Fixes a problem that prevented removal of certain characters from the Favorites group.
  • Works around a problem where the previously used layout was not restored when quitting and relaunching PopChar.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with missing or duplicate separator lines in the context menu.
  • Works around a rare crash when checking for a newer version.
  • Fixes a cosmetic alignment issue with characters that need to be drawn in a slightly smaller size.
  • Fixes a vertical alignment issues of certain fonts within the PopChar table.
  • Works around an issue that caused unexpected font substitution when unavailable characters were redrawn in the PopChar window.
  • Fixes an error in the handling of Unicode surrogate pairs.
  • Fixes a problem where certain wide characters were not correctly drawn on the baseline.
  • Correct capitalization of the language name in the font collection menu.
  • Works around a bug in the character set implementation of macOS.
  • Fixes a problem with a confusing version alert when there was a problem with the network connection.

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 7 (Jun 6, 2017)

  • Updated User's Guide.
  • Fixes a problem that produced unavailable characters in the Sample Text / Repertoire display.
  • Fixes memory leaks that were introduced in previous beta versions.
  • Faster highlighting of “missing characters” in the Font Preview and Sample Text views.
  • Works around a potential crash after removal of custom layouts.

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 6 (May 26, 2017)

  • Works around a problem where some fonts lost the link to their preferred layout when layouts were added or removed.
  • Works around an issue that caused unexpected font substitution when unavailable characters were redrawn in the PopChar window.
  • Correct capitalization of the language name in the font collection menu.

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 5 (May 19, 2017)

  • Predefined layout that arranges emojis by their meaning.
  • Character sequences with text/emoji representation selectors are now properly recognized in layout files.
  • Fixes a problem where certain wide characters were not correctly drawn on the baseline.
  • Added missing French and German localizations in the context menu.
  • Added French explanation of layouts (À propos des modèles).

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 4 (May 13, 2017)

  • Fixes a problem of version 8.0b2, where many ligatures could not be found.
  • Support for Emoji key symbol sequences created with “combining enclosing keycap”.
  • Layout notation with square brackets also works for Emoji sequences.
  • Fixes an error in the handling of Unicode surrogate pairs.
  • It is now possible to link fonts with preferred layouts that work best for these fonts.
  • More consistent arrangement of control items in the window header.
  • French localization.
  • Fixes a crash in PopChar 8.0b3.

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 3 (May 12, 2017)

  • Fixes a problem of version 8.0b2, where many ligatures could not be found.
  • Support for Emoji key symbol sequences created with “combining enclosing keycap”.
  • Layout notation with square brackets also works for Emoji sequences.
  • Fixes an error in the handling of Unicode surrogate pairs.
  • It is now possible to link fonts with preferred layouts that work best for these fonts.
  • More consistent arrangement of control items in the window header.
  • French localization.

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 2 (May 5, 2017)

  • New export format for favorite characters with support for font-specific favorites and ligatures.
  • Fixes an issue with the sorting order of characters in the Favorites section.
  • Fixes an error where the "Copy Ligature Description" command produced invalid surrogate characters.
  • Smoother fading animation when opening and closing the PopChar window.
  • Extended list of “zero-width joiner” Emoji sequences, including person roles, male/female variants, and the rainbow flag.
  • Updated list of Emoji characters with skin tones.
  • PopChar now supports skin tone variants of “zero-width joiner” Emoji sequences.
  • Support for Emoji Presentation Sequences for selecting the text or emoji form of characters that can have both presentations.
  • PopChar can now insert emojis with skin tones as formatted text and HTML codes.
  • Works around a rare crash when checking for a newer version.
  • Improved fine-tuning for 20 fonts, mostly for improving the display of combining characters.
  • Fixes a cosmetic alignment issue with characters that need to be drawn in a slightly smaller size.
  • Fixes a vertical alignment issues of certain fonts within the PopChar table.
  • Improved alignment and space usage for Apple Color Emoji.
  • Fixes incorrect HTML representation of ligatures.

New in PopChar 7.7.1 (Apr 25, 2017)

  • Fixes a an incorrect display of key combinations for certain characters that can be typed only with “dead keys”.
  • Works around an issue with international keyboards that prevented usage of certain keys for the “Open/Close” hotkey.
  • Fixes a problem that caused PopChar to lock up when searching for certain strings.

New in PopChar 8.0 Beta 1 (Apr 20, 2017)

  • Custom Layouts: It is now possible to create custom groupings and arrangements for characters.
  • New “Recent Characters” section is now always available at the top of the character table, right below the favorite characters.
  • Cleaned-up layouts: The legacy layouts ASCII and MacRoman as well as the Recent Characters layout have been removed, as they are no longer needed.
  • PopChar now finds and displays ligatures that are available in fonts.
  • The “Show x in Unicode Context” context menu command is now also available for characters in the Favorites group, the new Recent group and in other layouts.
  • New view “All Unicode Characters” shows all characters that are defined in the Unicode standard - with placeholders for those that do not have a representation in any installed font.
  • PopChar's About window now shows the number of installed fonts and font families.
  • When selecting “Show x in the Unicode Context”, the selected character briefly blinks, so it's easier to find among the other characters.
  • Improved handling of font-specific characters in the Private Use Areas.
  • Improves the representation of combining characters in the “Character Description”.
  • Combining characters are now displayed in centered positions within table cells, without overlapping adjacent characters.
  • The “Show x in the Unicode Context” context menu command now always shows the selected character in the standard “Unicode Blocks” layout.
  • Combining characters no longer overlap with previous text in the context menu.
  • Fixes a problem that resulted in unexpected matches when certain undefined Unicode numbers were entered in the search field.
  • Fixes a problem that prevented removal of certain characters from the Favorites group.
  • Works around a problem where the previously used layout was not restored when quitting and relaunching PopChar.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with missing or duplicate separator lines in the context menu.
  • Fixes a an incorrect display of key combinations for certain characters that can be typed only with “dead keys”.
  • Works around an issue with international keyboards that prevented usage of certain keys for the “Open/Close ” hotkey.
  • Fixes a problem that caused PopChar to lock up when searching for certain strings.

New in PopChar 7.7 (Mar 22, 2017)

  • Extended diagnostic information for e-mail support.
  • Reduced network traffic when checking for updates.
  • Metrics adjustments for 8 new fonts, in particular some of Google's Noto fonts.
  • Fixes a potential crash in the construction of the layout menu.
  • Prevents a rare problem that could cause the installer to launch twice when installing an update.
  • Improved technique for removing relics of previous updates.
  • Fixes an issue that caused a console log warning about a potential crash.
  • Fixes a layout problem that resulted in warning messages in the console log.
  • Works around a cosmetic issue with right-to-left text sections in the Font Info text.
  • Fixes a problem with incorrect display of certain combining marks (such as vowel signs).

New in PopChar 7.7 Beta 1 (Mar 8, 2017)

  • Extended diagnostic information for e-mail support.
  • Reduced network traffic when checking for updates.
  • Metrics adjustments for 8 new fonts, in particular some of Google's Noto fonts.
  • Fixes a potential crash in the construction of the layout menu.
  • Prevents a rare problem that could cause the installer to launch twice when installing an update.
  • Improved technique for removing relics of previous updates.
  • Fixes an issue that caused a warning about a potential crash.
  • Fixes a layout problem that resulted in warning messages in the console log.
  • Works around a cosmetic issue with right-to-left text sections in the Font Info text.
  • Fixes a problem with incorrect display of certain combining marks (such as vowel signs).

New in PopChar 7.6 (Jul 19, 2016)

  • Support for Unicode 9.0.
  • Improved scroll position and highlighting after “Show x in Unicode Context”.
  • PopChar launches faster when a different version was installed previously.
  • Fixes a misleading date in the registration message for temporary beta licenses.
  • Works around a bug in MS Word where Word does not open double-clicked documents when PopChar's "As in Document" option is enabled for Word.
  • Fixes incorrect highlighting of missing characters in the Font Info and Sample text views.

New in PopChar 7.6 Beta 2 (Jul 8, 2016)

  • PopChar launches faster when a different version was installed previously.
  • Updated User's Guide and localization.

New in PopChar 7.6 Beta 1 (Jun 28, 2016)

  • Support for Unicode 9.0.
  • Improved scroll position and highlighting after “Show x in Unicode Context”.
  • Works around a bug in MS Word where Word does not open double-clicked documents when PopChar's "As in Document" option is enabled for Word.
  • Fixes a misleading date in the registration message for temporary beta licenses.
  • Fixes incorrect highlighting of missing characters in the Font Info and Sample text views.

New in PopChar 7.5 (May 25, 2016)

  • In Apple Color Emoji, PopChar now shows combination characters that are created from "zero width joiner" character sequences (such as couple and family icons).
  • The "Font Info" view now contains information about the font format (OpenType, TrueType, PostScript).
  • The keyboard shortcut for opening the PopChar window may now include the enter key.
  • Typing with the mouse pointer over the character table now starts a search without needing to select the search field first.
  • When a new version is available, the message in the Preferences window now also informs about the current version.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with partially truncated character descriptions.
  • More tolerant handling of dashes in license key.
  • Fixes an installation problem during an update when the previous version had been moved to the trash.
  • "invalid advancement" problems of fonts are now reported in the console log only once.
  • Fixes a problem that resulted in a large empty space when looking for a character in a collapsed group.
  • Improved handling of previous preference settings when switching between different PopChar versions.
  • New troubleshooting function for fixing off-screen windows.

New in PopChar 7.5 Beta 5 (May 20, 2016)

  • When a new version is available, the message in the Preferences window now also informs about the current version.
  • New troubleshooting function for fixing off-screen windows.

New in PopChar 7.5 Beta 4 (May 18, 2016)

  • Typing with the mouse pointer over the character table now starts a search without needing to select the search field first.
  • Improved handling of previous preference settings when switching between different PopChar versions.

New in PopChar 7.5 Beta 3 (May 10, 2016)

  • "invalid advancement" problems of fonts are now reported in the console log only once.
  • Fixes a problem that resulted in a large empty space when looking for a character in a collapsed group.

New in PopChar 7.5 Beta 2 (Apr 28, 2016)

  • The "Font Info" view now contains information about the font format (OpenType, TrueType, PostScript).
  • The keyboard shortcut for opening the PopChar window may now include the enter key.
  • Updated User's Guide.

New in PopChar 7.5 Beta 1 (Apr 21, 2016)

  • In Apple Color Emoji, PopChar now shows combination characters that are created from "zero width joiner" character sequences (such as couple and family icons).
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with partially truncated character descriptions.
  • More tolerant handling of dashes in license key.
  • Fixes an installation problem during an update when the previous version had been moved to the trash.

New in PopChar 7.4 (Jan 11, 2016)

  • In Apple Color Emoji, PopChar now shows the available flags with searchable names.
  • Fine-tuned metrics adjustments for certain fonts, in particular some handwriting fonts.
  • Improved clipboard-based insertion technique.
  • Fixes a minor cosmetic issue with the group pop-up button on retina displays.

New in PopChar 7.4 Beta 2 (Dec 21, 2015)

  • Fixes duplicate “Flag of” in the flag names.
  • Fine-tuned metrics adjustments for certain fonts, in particular some handwriting fonts.
  • Improved clipboard-based insertion technique.
  • Fixes a minor cosmetic issue with the group pop-up button on retina displays.
  • Updated localization for French and German.
  • Update User's Guide.

New in PopChar 7.4 Beta 1 (Nov 30, 2015)

  • In Apple Color Emoji, PopChar now shows the available flags with searchable names.

New in PopChar 7.3.1 (Nov 8, 2015)

  • Fixes a problem where the group selection box in the top right of the character table was covered by the table.
  • The character table's scroll bar is now always visible.

New in PopChar 7.3 (Oct 31, 2015)

  • In Apple Color Emoji, you can now select skin tone variants of all applicable symbols by clicking the skin tone symbol in the lower right corner of the symbol (requires OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 or newer).
  • Group headers can now be collapsed and expanded with double-clicks (in addition to clicking the disclosure triangle).
  • It is now possible to collapse or expand all groups by pressing the option key while clicking a disclosure triangle.
  • Text items in the About window can now be selected and copied to the clipboard.
  • Works around a problem where the built-in installer got confused when a previous version of PopChar had been moved to the trash.
  • Fixes an alignment issue where PopChar failed to recognize clicks on the magnifier icon.
  • Works around an issue that caused checks for new versions to fail on El Capitan.
  • Fixes a problem that caused some elements in the PopChar window to become unresponsive in certain situations.
  • The installer now shows a more prominent warning when the version to be installed is not covered by the current license.
  • Silent installation without audible feedback.
  • The installer now automatically quits after successful installation.
  • Fixes a truncated button title in the "What's New" window.

New in PopChar 7.3 Beta 1 (Oct 9, 2015)

  • In Apple Color Emoji, you can now select skin tone variants of all applicable symbols by clicking the skin tone symbol in the lower right corner of the symbol.
  • Group headers can now be collapsed and expanded with double-clicks (in addition to clicking the disclosure triangle).
  • It is now possible to collapse or expand all groups by pressing the option key while clicking a disclosure triangle.
  • The installer now shows a more prominent warning when the version to be installed is not covered by the current license.
  • Silent installation without audible feedback.
  • The installer now automatically quits after successful installation.
  • Works around a problem where the built-in installer got confused when a previous version of PopChar had been moved to the trash.
  • Fixes an alignment issue where PopChar failed to recognize clicks on the magnifier icon.
  • Works around an issue that caused checks for new versions to fail on El Capitan.
  • Fixes a problem that caused some elements in the PopChar window to become unresponsive in certain situations.
  • Fixes a truncated button title in the "What's New" window.

New in PopChar 7.2 (Aug 27, 2015)

  • Support for Unicode 8.0.
  • PopChar is prepared for El Capitan (solves a problem that resulted in empty character tables).
  • PopChar now includes searchable descriptions and Mandarin pronunciations of Chinese characters, according to the Unicode standard.
  • PopChar now shows a small keyboard symbol next to the keyboard combination for the selected character.
  • Loading of character names when the PopChar window opens is now about 6 times faster.
  • Produces fewer console log messages when searching for shapes and importing favorite characters.
  • The character description at the bottom of the table consists of up to two lines for longer descriptions.
  • Works around a situation in which a new version could not be installed because an active older version would not quit.
  • Fixes a problem that caused the "Mark Fonts Containing…" command to fail for characters outside the first Unicode plane.
  • Works around a cosmetic issue with vertical offsets of characters from different fonts.
  • More robust handling of font families with inaccessible font members (which also solves a problem with fallback fonts on El Capitan).
  • Fine-tuned size adjustments for more than 20 fonts, in particular many fonts for Arabic.
  • Works around a problem in MS Word 2016 that caused the creation of bookmarks around copied text fragments.
  • Works around an issue that caused PopChar to become unresponsive when FreeHand was the current application.
  • Fixes an insertion problem in CorelDRAW.

New in PopChar 7.2 Beta 5 (Jul 30, 2015)

  • Works around a problem in MS Word 2016 that caused the creation of bookmarks around copied text fragments.
  • Works around an issue that caused PopChar to become unresponsive when FreeHand was the current application.
  • Fixes an insertion problem in CorelDRAW.

New in PopChar 7.2 Beta 4 (Jul 16, 2015)

  • PopChar now shows a small keyboard symbol next to the keyboard combination for the selected character.
  • Fixes a problem introduced with an earlier version, where character that are not available in the current font were not displayed in blue.
  • Works around a cosmetic issue with vertical offsets of characters from different fonts.
  • More robust handling of font families with inaccessible font members (which also solves a problem with fallback fonts on El Capitan).
  • Fine-tuned size adjustments for more than 20 fonts, in particular many fonts for Arabic.

New in PopChar 7.2 Beta 3 (Jul 2, 2015)

  • Works around a situation in which a new version could not be installed because an active older version would not quit.
  • Fixes a problem that caused the "Mark Fonts Containing…" command to fail for characters outside the first Unicode plane.

New in PopChar 7.2 Beta 2 (Jun 25, 2015)

  • Support for Unicode 8.0.
  • The character description at the bottom of the table consists of up to two lines for longer descriptions.

New in PopChar 7.2 Beta 1 (Jun 15, 2015)

  • PopChar now includes searchable definitions and Mandarin pronunciations of Chinese characters, according to the Unicode standard.
  • Loading of character names when the PopChar window opens is now about 6 times faster.
  • Works around a problem on El Capitan, which resulted in empty font tables.
  • Produces fewer console log messages when searching for shapes.

New in PopChar 7.1 Beta 3 (May 20, 2015)

  • Fixes a problem that resulted in an invisible registration hint in trial mode.
  • Works around an issue that could result in increasing memory usage over time.
  • Improved reliability of the formatted insertion technique.

New in PopChar 7.1 Beta 2 (Apr 30, 2015)

  • Faster startup.
  • Reduced memory footprint when PopChar is not actively used.
  • PopChar now shows the names of the Emoji skin tone characters (which are not yet defined in the currently official Unicode version 7).
  • Works around a situation where the character table was scrolled to an unexpected offset after a font change.

New in PopChar 7.1 Beta 1 (Apr 23, 2015)

  • When a new version is available, PopChar now shows a message that tells whether the new version is free.
  • The Registration window now contains information about the issue date of the registered license key.
  • When a new version is available, you can now check the new features before downloading the new version.
  • Internal improvements in the implementation of update checking.
  • Built-in installer adapted to new functions and appearance of Yosemite.
  • Works around an occasional installation problem when the target folder was not writable.
  • Works around a bug in FileMaker, where certain characters could not be inserted.
  • Fixes a bug in the export of favorite characters, when some favorite characters were outside the basic multilingual plane.
  • Fixes a confusing message when a new version is available.
  • When an emoji character is not available in the current font, it is now shown in the Apple Color Emoji font, which avoids empty cells in the PopChar table.

New in PopChar 7.0 (Nov 25, 2014)

  • Graphical shape finder for finding characters by drawing the desired shape.
  • Find similar shapes
  • Font filter for limiting the font list to fonts that match a given text.
  • PopChar can now export and import the favorite characters to and from a text file.
  • New window layout with permanently visible font list.
  • Larger font for the font list.
  • New technological basis (new compiler, new libraries, faster code, etc.).
  • Easier resizing of the PopChar window from the corners.
  • Improved navigation with the tab key.
  • Improved appearance (in particular, regarding text in user interface elements) on Yosemite.
  • Improved handling of special characters when searching for characters by their Unicode number.
  • Works around a font metrics issue in Asana-Math.
  • Characters are no longer drawn with shadows by default (but the option to add shadows still exists in PopChar's preferences).
  • High-resolution artwork, some items redesigned to better match Yosemite.
  • Reduced flickering when the mouse pointer moves between parts of the PopChar window.
  • Works around an issue that caused PopChar to initially open with an inaccessible font on Mavericks and Yosemite.
  • Fixes a problem that caused a manual check for new versions to fail.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with misaligned items in the PopChar window.
  • Starting with version 7.0, PopChar X requires OS X 10.6 or newer.

New in PopChar 7.0 Beta 6 (Nov 24, 2014)

  • Improved handling of special characters when searching for characters by their Unicode number.
  • Characters are no longer drawn with shadows by default (but the option to add shadows still exists in PopChar's preferences).
  • German and French localization.
  • Works around a font metrics issue in Asana-Math.
  • High-resolution artwork, some items redesigned to better match Yosemite.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with misaligned items in the PopChar window.
  • Fixes internal issues that could lead to increased memory usage over time.
  • Fixes a layout problem in the French localization.
  • New User's Guide.
  • Fixes a problem that caused PopChar 7.0b5 to get stuck on OS X 10.7 and older.

New in PopChar 7.0 Beta 3 (Nov 8, 2014)

  • Fixes a problem that caused a manual check for new versions to fail.
  • PopChar can now export and import the favorite characters to and from a text file.

New in PopChar 7.0 Beta 2 (Oct 31, 2014)

  • Fixes a layout problem on Mavericks and older, where the Shape Finder button was partially cut off.
  • Works around an issue that caused PopChar to initially open with an inaccessible font on Mavericks and Yosemite.

New in PopChar 7.0 Beta 1 (Oct 27, 2014)

  • Starting with version 7.0, PopChar requires a computer with an Intel processor. PowerPC-based computers are no longer supported.
  • The suggested minimum version of OS X is now 10.6.
  • Graphical shape finder for finding characters by drawing the desired shape.
  • Font filter for limiting the font list to fonts that match a given text.
  • New window layout with permanently visible font list.
  • Larger font for the font list.
  • New technological basis (new compiler, new libraries, faster code, etc.).
  • Easier resizing of the PopChar window from the corners.
  • Improved navigation with the tab key.
  • Reduced flickering when the mouse pointer moves between parts of the PopChar window.
  • Improved appearance (in particular, regarding text in user interface elements) on Yosemite.

New in PopChar 6.7 (Sep 23, 2014)

  • Faster refresh for recently used fonts.
  • Faster computation of available characters and layouts.
  • Faster refresh of the font table when a search for characters is active.
  • The menu icon now shows the correct background on all system versions and appearance variants.
  • Fixes a problem that resulted in invisible characters on Macs with PowerPC processors.
  • Improved handling of low-level issues in library components helps to avoid crashes in some system configurations.
  • Works around a problem that could lead to freezes when the set of available fonts changed.
  • Works around a timing problem with automatic selection of the Find field on Yosemite.

New in PopChar 6.7 Beta 3 (Sep 1, 2014)

  • Fixes a problem that resulted in invisible characters on Macs with PowerPC processors.
  • Improved handling of low-level issues in library components helps to avoid crashes and freezes in certain system configurations.
  • Faster refresh for recently used fonts.
  • Faster computation of available characters and layouts.
  • Faster refresh of the font table when a search for characters is active.
  • Works around a problem that could lead to freezes when the set of available fonts changed.
  • The menu icon now shows the correct background on all system versions and appearance variants.
  • Fixes a problem in beta version 6.7b2, where the character table was not updated after switching between the characters of the current font and all characters.

New in PopChar 6.6 (Aug 19, 2014)

  • Support for Unicode 7.0.
  • After a search operation, a new context menu item "Show X in the Unicode Context" clears the search field and shows the selected character's context in the character table.
  • Improved "Scripts and Symbols" layout better matches the definitions in the Unicode standard.
  • Faster display of the character table.
  • Internal steamlining improves speed of housekeeping tasks.
  • New internal troubleshooting technique for isolating font-related problems.
  • Improved visibility of the PopChar icon against the dark menu background of Yosemite.
  • Works around a problem that resulted in a misplaced magnifier after scrolling operations.
  • Avoids a crash with fonts that do not support certain features.
  • Works around a character alignment problem on Yosemite.
  • Fixes an alignment issue in the preferences sheet.
  • Fixes a cosmetic issue with the focus frame of keyboard shortcut fields on Yosemite.
  • Fixes an issue where the PopChar window was invisible after certain changes in the configuration of multiple screens.
  • Fixes a potential issue with the clipboard representation of certain CJK characters.
  • Fixes a problem with incorrect display of modifier keys for some keyboard configurations.

New in PopChar 6.6 Beta 5 (Aug 6, 2014)

  • New internal troubleshooting technique for isolating font-related problems.
  • Fixes a potential issue with the clipboard representation of certain CJK characters.
  • Fixes a problem with incorrect display of modifier keys for some keyboard configurations.
  • Improved visibility of the PopChar icon against the dark menu background of Yosemite.

New in PopChar 6.6 Beta 4 (Jul 25, 2014)

  • Faster display of the character table.
  • Internal streamlining improves speed of housekeeping tasks.
  • German and French localization.
  • Changed the wording of "Show Character in Context" to "Show X in the Unicode Context”, where X is the selected character.

New in PopChar 6.6 Beta 3 (Jul 4, 2014)

  • After a search operation, a new "Show Character in Context" context menu item clears the search field and shows the selected character's context in the character table.
  • Fixes an issue where the PopChar window was invisible after certain changes in the configuration of multiple screens.

New in PopChar 6.6 Beta 1 (Apr 16, 2014)

  • Works around a problem that resulted in a misplaced magnifier after scrolling operations.
  • Avoids a crash with fonts that do not support certain features.

New in PopChar 6.5 (Mar 20, 2014)

  • Custom insertion technique for applications that do not reliably support direct event-based insertion of characters.
  • Works around a problem on Mavericks that caused the search field to be cleared while entering a search text.
  • Solves a problem on non-English systems, where PopChar did not remember the previously selected layout.
  • Faster clipboard-based insertion of characters for many applications.

New in PopChar 6.5 Beta 4 (Mar 11, 2014)

  • Faster clipboard-based insertion of characters for many applications.

New in PopChar 6.5 Beta 3 (Mar 7, 2014)

  • Custom insertion technique for applications that do not reliably support direct event-based insertion of characters.

New in PopChar 6.5 Beta 2 (Jan 17, 2014)

  • Solves a problem on non-English systems, where PopChar did not remember the previously selected layout.

New in PopChar 6.5 Beta 1 (Jan 10, 2014)

  • Works around a problem on Mavericks that caused the search field to be cleared while entering a search text.

New in PopChar 6.4 (Dec 10, 2013)

  • Faster display of the character table.
  • The built-in installer now reliably cleans up temporary files after automatic updates.
  • Reduced background activity by reloading the available fonts only when absolutely necessary.
  • Fewer console log messages for recurring activities.
  • Improved performance of application monitoring tasks.
  • PopChar now detects the current font in QuarkXPress.
  • Faster detection of the current application font when the PopChar window opens.
  • PopChar now remembers the previously selected font separately for each application.
  • When a new version of PopChar is available, a more informative message now also mentions the release date and the currently installed version.
  • On Mavericks, the "corner P" now appears on the active screen on multi-monitor configurations.
  • The "corner P" is now updated much faster when the screen configuration changes.
  • PopChar now avoids contextual alternate forms when displaying the character table.
  • Improved assistent for enabling accessibility permissions for PopChar.
  • On Mavericks, PopChar now shows a more precise message when it needs accessibility permissions.
  • New button locking strategy in the Registration window avoids misunderstandings with correctly registered licenses.
  • Faster startup and slightly reduced memory footprint with many installed fonts.
  • The total count of characters in the group menu now excludes the favorites, so favorite characters are no longer counted twice.
  • Fixes an issue that resulted in warning messages about deprecated methods.
  • Fixes a problem that caused the small "P" to appear along an edge of the screen on Mavericks.
  • Works around a rare crash during background scanning of fonts on Mavericks.
  • Fixes a problem that caused PopChar to become unresponsive when installed fonts were removed.

New in PopChar 6.4 Beta 6 (Nov 29, 2013)

  • Faster startup and slightly reduced memory footprints with many installed fonts.
  • Works around a rare crash during background scanning of fonts on Mavericks.
  • Fixes a problem that cause PopChar to become unresponsive when installed fonts were removed.

New in PopChar 6.4 Beta 5 (Nov 15, 2013)

  • Improved assistent for enabling accessibility permissions for PopChar.
  • On Mavericks, PopChar now shows a more precise message when it needs accessibility permissions.
  • New button locking strategy in the Registration window avoids misunderstandings with correctly registered licenses.

New in PopChar 6.4 Beta 4 (Nov 7, 2013)

  • When a new version of PopChar is available, a more informative message now also mentions the release date and the currently installed version.
  • Faster display of the character table.
  • Fixes a problem that caused the small "P" to appear along an edge of the screen on Mavericks.
  • On Mavericks, the "corner P" now appears on the active screen on multi-monitor configurations.
  • The "corner P" is now updated much faster when the screen configuration changes.
  • PopChar now avoids contextual alternate forms when displaying the character table.

New in PopChar 6.4 Beta 3 (Sep 23, 2013)

  • PopChar now detects the current font in QuarkXPress.
  • Faster detection of the current application font when the PopChar window opens.
  • PopChar now remembers the previously selected font separately for each application.

New in PopChar 6.4 Beta 2 (Sep 3, 2013)

  • Fixes incorrect information about the beta version's expiration date.
  • Improved performance of application monitoring tasks.

New in PopChar 6.4 Beta 1 (Sep 3, 2013)

  • The built-in installer now reliably cleans up temporary files after automatic updates.
  • Reduced background activity by reloading the available fonts only when absolutely necessary.
  • Fewer console log messages for recurring activities.
  • The total count of characters in the group menu now excludes the favorites, so favorite characters are no longer counted twice.
  • Fixes an issue that resulted in warning messages about deprecated methods.

New in PopChar 6.3 (Jun 25, 2013)

  • PopChar's font info view now contains a clickable link to the font file.
  • New markers for transient clipboard contents improve compatibility with clipboard utilities.
  • The PopChar window can now be moved with clicks in the window background.
  • The window can now be dismissed with the ESC key.
  • The PopChar hotkey now correctly closes the PopChar window if it is already open.
  • Fixes the window position when the window header is offscreen when the window opens.
  • Faster and more reliable reaction when the available fonts change.
  • Fixes an issue where certain menus were blocked after clicking PopChar's menu bar icon.
  • Works around a problem with dialogs in Postbox when "As in Document" was selected.

New in PopChar 6.3 Beta 3 (May 31, 2013)

  • Fixes an issue where certain menus were blocked after clicking PopChar's menu bar icon.
  • Works around a problem with dialogs in Postbox when "As in Document" was selected.

New in PopChar 6.3 Beta 2 (May 7, 2013)

  • PopChar's font info view now contains the location of the font file.
  • Faster and more reliable reaction when the available fonts change.
  • The window can now be dismissed with the ESC key.

New in PopChar 6.3 Beta 1 (Apr 8, 2013)

  • New markers for transient clipboard contents improve compatibility with clipboard utilities.
  • The PopChar hotkey now correctly closes the PopChar window if it is already open.
  • The PopChar window can now be moved with clicks in the window background.
  • Fixes the window position when the window header is offscreen when the window opens.

New in PopChar 6.2 (Mar 19, 2013)

  • The command-F keyboard shortcut enters the search field.
  • It is now possible to immediately start a search by typing the search string when the cursor is in PopChar's character table.
  • New context menu command "Copy Character Description" copies a brief summary of the selected Unicode character to the clipboard.
  • New context menu item "Copy Font List" for copying the list of font names to the clipboard.
  • Support for Unicode 6.2.
  • The PopChar window opens when PopChar is launched manually by double-clicking the PopChar icon in the Finder.
  • New font matching technique reliably finds fonts for font family names.
  • Improved appearance of the group pop-up button, in particular on retina displays.
  • Solves a problem where some fonts could not be detected in certain applications (such as MS Word).
  • Double-clicking the PopChar icon in the Finder no longer closes the PopChar window when it is already open.
  • Fixes a scrolling issue when PopChar was launched manually with a double-click.
  • Avoids blinking characters when the PopChar window was opened for the first time.
  • Works around flickering window on Mountain Lion.

New in PopChar 6.2 Beta 2 (Mar 1, 2013)

  • Fixes a scrolling issue when PopChar was launched manually with a double-click.
  • Avoids blinking characters when the PopChar window was opened for the first time.
  • Works around flickering window on Mountain Lion.
  • Improved appearance of the group pop-up button, in particular on retina displays.
  • German and French localization.

New in PopChar 6.2 Beta 1 (Jan 9, 2013)

  • New font matching technique reliably finds fonts for font family names.
  • Solves a problem where some fonts could not be detected in certain applications (such as MS Word).
  • The command-F keyboard shortcut enters the search field.
  • It is now possible to immediately start a search by typing the search string when the cursor is in PopChar's character table.
  • The PopChar window opens when PopChar is launched manually by double-clicking the PopChar icon in the Finder.
  • Double-clicking the PopChar window in the Finder no longer closes the PopChar window when it is already open.
  • New context menu command "Copy Character Description" copies a brief summary of the selected Unicode character to the clipboard.
  • New context menu item "Copy Font List" for copying the list of fonts to the clipboard.
  • Support for Unicode 6.2.

New in PopChar 6.1 (Nov 27, 2012)

  • New Font Info view shows detailed information about the selected font.
  • New custom tuning for more than 600 fonts, including the BeLight Font Kit and some foreign language fonts.
  • Background version checks now take place only when the computer has been idle for a while.
  • PopChar now remembers the selected font across quit and relaunch.
  • New custom font tuning for fixing the vertical positioning of certain non-standard fonts.
  • Clickable hint helps with registration and license key orders when PopChar runs in trial mode.

New in PopChar 6.1 Beta 1 (Nov 12, 2012)

  • New "Font Info" view shows detailed information about the selected font.
  • Background version checks now take place only when the computer has been idle for a while.
  • PopChar now remembers the selected font across quit and relaunch.
  • New custom font tuning for fixing the vertical positioning of certain non-standard fonts.
  • New custom tuning for more than 600 fonts, including the BeLight Font Kit and some foreign language fonts.

New in PopChar 6.0.1 (Sep 11, 2012)

  • Fixes a text layout problem with Print Preview on Mountain Lion that resulted in misaligned and hidden text fragments.
  • Improves handling of the "start at login" setting in cases where the PopChar application was renamed.
  • The installer now uses an improved technique for finding the preferred destination location.

New in PopChar 6.0 (Sep 11, 2012)

  • Streamlined user interface.
  • New "Font Preview" gives an impression of a selected font by showing a few representative characters and a selectable sample text in multiple font sizes.
  • New "Sample Text" shows what the font looks like when applied to typical text fragments. Various predefined samples can be selected, and you can use the "Editable Text" variant to customize your own sample text. You can use a slider to quickly view the text samples in various font sizes.
  • Both the "Font Preview" and the "Sample Text" can be printed to create beautiful font sheets.
  • Command+digit Keyboard shortcuts for switching the current view.
  • Support for Unicode 6.1.
  • Improved message in the registration window.
  • Improved insertion of MacRoman characters in applications with limited Unicode support.
  • ASCII mode is no longer needed and has been removed.
  • The ASCII/Unicode/All control has been replaced with a pop-up button with clearer descriptions.
  • The shown repertoire no longer switches between characters of the current font and the union of all fonts when switching applications.
  • The Installer's completion sound now plays through the "sound effects" channel and respects the alert volume as defined in System Preferences.
  • The "PopChar" pop-up menu now has a gear wheel symbol.
  • Works around problems caused by corrupted font files.
  • Faster background scanning of the available fonts.
  • Fixes the definition of the "Phonetic Symbols" group in "Scripts and Symbols", which incorrectly contained the "Latin Extended-D" Unicode block.
  • Fixes a problem with searches for character names that returned incorrect characters beyond the basic Unicode plane.
  • Works around a bug in Mac OS X that resulted in an incorrect list of characters when searching for "unnamed" characters.
  • Detects the current font in Adobe Illustrator CS3 through CS6.
  • New technique for adding PopChar to the list of Login Items now also works for Mountain Lion.
  • Faster startup, less background activity.
  • Avoids occasional crashes when PopChar updated its internal data structures in reaction to addition or removal of fonts.
  • Works around issues with recently used fonts that are no longer available.
  • Works around a problem where the group pop-up was not visible on Lion and Mountain Lion.

New in PopChar 5.4.1 (Apr 27, 2012)

  • Works around an issue when the Hide checkbox was enabled for PopChar in the Login Items of System Preferences.
  • Fixes vertically flipped keyboard icon.

New in PopChar 5.4 (Apr 24, 2012)

  • PopChar is now a universal 32/64-bit application.
  • Optional inclusion of beta versions in the automated check for updates.
  • PopChar is now signed with a Developer ID certificate in preparation for Mountain Lion's Gatekeeper.
  • New technique for inserting characters avoids rare issues with certain applications.
  • Simpler and faster animation when the PopChar window opens and closes.
  • Works around a cosmetic issue with the "status P" in the menu bar.
  • Works around an insertion problem in Scribus.
  • Fixes a memory issue when checking version numbers of active applications.
  • The date and time of the last update check is now correctly shown for the current time zone (instead of GMT).
  • PopChar now requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or newer.

New in PopChar 5.3 (Sep 27, 2011)

  • Support for colored symbols in the Apple Color Emoji font (requires Lion).
  • The PopChar window now remains visible in all spaces.
  • PopChar now comes with a large (512x512) Finder icon.
  • Improved saving and restoring technique for the clipboard contents.
  • Reduces the CPU load when PopChar runs in the background.
  • Fine-tuned size adjustment for the Cambria Math font.
  • Works around insertion problems in Google Earth and Texmaker.
  • New wording in the installer clarifies the situation when an existing license does not cover the new version.
  • Works around a clipboard bug in Lion.
  • Fixes an issue on Lion that caused PopChar's corner "P" to disappear after switching spaces.

New in PopChar 5.2 (Apr 12, 2011)

  • A new custom size slider allows to individually shrink or enlarge the display per font, relative to the global character size setting in PopChar's preferences.
  • PopChar now comes with fine-tuned display for more than 70 fonts, including popular fonts like Arial, Apple Symbols, Arial Unicode, Cambria, Code2000, Lucida Grande, Lucida Sans Unicode, Palatino, Papyrus, Skia, Tahoma, Times, Verdana, and Zapfino.
  • Reduced background activity when the P for activating PopChar is located in a corner of the screen.
  • Works around a rare lock-up during scanning of available fonts and collections.
  • Solves insertion problems with Sigil, FocusWriter and TeXworks.
  • Works around a problem where FileMaker Pro's Get(ActiveModifierKeys) function incorrectly reported pressed modifier keys after the insertion of a character.
  • Works around an issue where PopChar could not install an event tap for inserting characters.

New in PopChar 5.1 (Nov 2, 2010)

  • Support for Unicode 6.0.
  • When a new version of PopChar is announced, it is now possible to skip just this version yet receive announcements for subsequent versions.
  • New context menu item for removing characters from the table of recent characters.
  • Fixes a problem with insertion of characters in Espresso.
  • Removed some irritating console messages.
  • Fixes a problem with insertion of plain text characters in FileMaker Pro 7 and newer.
  • No longer beeps at midnight.
  • Works around a problem after waking the computer from sleep.
  • Works around a bug in Mac OS X that caused increasing memory allocation and slowdown when copying and pasting certain bitmap pictures.

New in PopChar 5.0 (Jun 15, 2010)

  • Frequently used characters can now be collected in a custom "Favorites" group.
  • User-definable hotkey for opening and closing the PopChar window.
  • PopChar now uses a simpler technique and an improved visual representation for the menu attached to the status item in the menu bar.
  • Corrects a misleading message about coverage of license keys.
  • The character table now displays and scrolls much faster.
  • Faster and more reliable reaction after changes to the installed fonts.
  • Improved dynamic updates of special cases for specific applications.
  • Works around an issue that caused the Mac OS X font manager to crash PopChar.
  • Works around an issue with incorrect font geometry specifications in some fonts (e.g., TITUS Cyberbit Basic and New Athena Unicode) that resulted in large overlapping characters.
  • Works around an issue that caused the window to jump to the right in certain rare circumstances.
  • Uses a new insertion technique that should work faster and more reliable in most applications.
  • Works around a problem that caused PopChar to hang while updating font collections after a change.
  • Works around a problem with TIFF clipboard contents created by Adobe Fireworks.
  • Works around a problem where PopChar could not insert characters in the title field of a note in Tinderbox.
  • Works around an issue caused by the "smart quotes" feature of certain applications that prevented insertion of straight quote characters with PopChar.
  • The installer displays a more prominent warning when a new version is not covered by the current license.
  • Rewording of some messages clarifies the new license model.
  • Installation works around a permission issue when an older version of PopChar had unusual permissions in a non-admin account.
  • Fixes a problem where no text could be entered in the license key field.
  • Solves a problem that sometimes caused the PopChar window to open in ASCII mode although a different view was selected.

New in PopChar 4.3 (Nov 25, 2009)

  • PopChar now supports the font collections defined in Font Book and the Mac OS X font panel.
  • It is now possible to restrict the font list to only those fonts that contain the currently marked character.
  • Improved compatibility with Snow Leopard.
  • Support for Unicode 5.2.
  • PopChar now displays standard space characters with a visible representation that indicates the width of the space.
  • New "Check for Updates" menu item in the PopChar pop-up menu.
  • New technique for easy installation and update.
  • Improved version checking during beta tests.
  • Clipboard saving and restoration is now done more efficiently.
  • Works around a problem where invalid clipboard contents could lead to a high CPU load when PopChar was not currently used.
  • Restoration of the clipboard can now be temporarily turned off by option-clicking characters.
  • Improved handling of special cases for Java applications.
  • More flexible adaptation to applications with special requirements.
  • Internal unification of various application-specific configurations and font-detection techniques.
  • Avoids warning messages about certain deprecated methods under Snow Leopard.
  • PopChar now has a support interface that simplifies registration and various support activities.
  • The version check now includes dynamic updates of special cases for certain applications.
  • Default buttons in sheets are now correctly highlighted.
  • Faster font list update when the set of installed fonts changes.
  • PopChar now disables the "As in Document" setting for Excel to avoid a bug in Excel that terminates editing of spreadsheet cells.
  • Fixes an issue with overlapping items in the French localization.
  • Works around a problem in MS Word that caused the creation of bookmarks for every copied piece of text when PopChar is active.
  • Fixes a visual glitch where the magnifier could become larger than the screen for ASCII characters.
  • Fixes an inconsistency between the status of the font drawer and the Show/Hide Font List menu command.
  • Fixes some known memory leaks.
  • Avoids a console log error message about unsupported style masks on Snow Leopard.
  • Compact storage of application-specific settings.

New in PopChar 4.2 (Apr 21, 2009)

  • New "reverse font search" feature finds all fonts that contain a given character.
  • Works around a problem that caused certain third-party utilities to lock up the Mac when opening the PopChar window.
  • Fixes a problem that caused PopChar to forget license information when preferences were synced with MobileMe.
  • Fixes a crash in combination with certain keyboard layouts (such as Unicode Hex Input).
  • Works around a bug in Mac OS X that caused incorrect vertical positioning of the PopChar table when the "use smooth scrolling" option was enabled in System Preferences.

New in PopChar 4.1.1 (Nov 21, 2008)

  • Works around a problem with inserting characters in FreeHand 10.
  • Fixes a performance bottleneck caused by repeated access to certain preferences.
  • Fixes an occasional crash when expanding or collapsing Unicode groups.
  • Solves a problem that caused inserted characters to appear with a shadow in certain Carbon applications.
  • German localization now contains the correct quotes.

New in PopChar 4.1 (Oct 29, 2008)

  • PopChar can now detect the current font in MultiAd Creator Pro.
  • New technique for flexible adaptation to peculiarities of certain applications.
  • Improved font detection technique (for "As in Document") avoids problems with unusual font/style combinatons.
  • Clarified messages when a license key does not cover an upgrade.
  • Works around a problem when inserting characters in OpenOffice 3.0 and NeoOffice.
  • Fixes a problem that caused the memory allocation of PopChar to grow over time.
  • Fixes a problem where the magnifier could remain visible on the screen after closing the PopChar window.

New in PopChar 4.0.1 (Jun 18, 2008)

  • Fixes a problem that caused insertion of question marks in QuarkCopyDesk.
  • Clicking the "P" in the top-left corner no longer opens the Apple menu instead of the PopChar window.
  • Fixes the flickering of the "P" icon in the left or right corner.
  • Fixes the version number in Activity Monitor, which still showed PopChar 4.0 as "PopChar 3".

New in PopChar 4.0 (Jun 16, 2008)

  • New "All" view displays all available Unicode characters in any installed font.
  • Context menu now contains a new command for copying the selected character's Unicode name.
  • Support for Unicode 5.1.
  • PopChar now also lists undefined Unicode characters that may be present in some fonts.
  • Improves compatibility with Butler.
  • Improves compatibility with CopyPaste Pro.
  • PopChar now uses transparent menu bar icons that better match the appearance of Leopard's menu bar.
  • Fixes some visual alignment glitches.

New in PopChar 3.4 (Mar 10, 2008)

  • Context menu supports copying selected characters to the clipboard in various formats.
  • PopChar now supports searching for characters by their decimal and hexadecimal Unicode numbers.
  • Entering or pasting arbitrary text in the search field displays the characters used within the text.
  • Support for Unicode 5.0.
  • Automatic checking for new versions.
  • Fixes a problem where typing or pasting a license key sometimes did not work.
  • The "As in Document" option could cause Excel 2004 to hang on Leopard.
  • Font detection sometimes caused excessive delays in certain applications.
  • Fixes a problem where certain characters beyond the first Unicode plane were displayed and inserted incorrectly.
  • Works around a bug in InDesign that causes InDesign CS3 to crash after copying guides to the clipboard while PopChar is running.
  • Fixes a problem with font detection in Adobe Illustrator CS3.

New in PopChar 3.3.2 (Dec 12, 2007)

  • Fixes:
  • PopChar 3.3.1 did not launch on Mac OS X 10.3.9 (Panther).
  • The magnifier lens sometimes appeared with a dark spot.

New in PopChar 3.3.1 (Dec 3, 2007)

  • Improved compatibility with Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
  • The corner "P" flickered in the menu bar on slow Macs.
  • Works around a clipboard-related problem in MS Office applications that could lead to crashes after copying a piece of text.
  • PopChar could not identify the current keyboard on certain Leopard configurations.
  • Some users could not type or paste their license keys in the registration window.

New in PopChar 3.3 (Oct 29, 2007)

  • Ready for Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard).
  • New magnifier tool shows an enlargement of the selected character.
  • "As in Document" font selection works with all components of iWork '08.
  • Avoids flickering of the selected character when the "As in Document" option is enabled.
  • Accellerates "As in Document" font checking and avoids mismatches in some applications.
  • The corner "P" of PopChar now correctly appears on all "desktops" in virtual desktop managers (such as VirtueDesktops, You Control Desktops, Desktop Manager and Codetek Virtual Desktop).
  • Fixes a crash at startup that affected some users after applying the system update 2007�005.
  • When a sheet was visible, characters could be selected in the partly covered table.
  • Changing preference settings caused flickering of the character information field.
  • Fixes a problem that could cause insertion of the current clipboard instead of the selected character in MS Office applications.
  • Fixes a problem with multiple Spaces in Leopard, where the corner "P" would show up only in the first space.
  • Fixes a problem where selection of characters did not work immediately after opening the PopChar window.
  • Fixes an inconsistency with online renewal of license keys.
  • Fixes a scrolling problem when a character was inserted multiple times.