Magnification and Selection

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 3 views

Introduction

Are you a developer, writer, or designer looking for a powerful tool to manage and manipulate Unicode characters on Windows? Look no further than BabelMap, a free character map application that offers a wide range of features and utilities to help you navigate the vast Unicode character repertoire. With over 110,000 characters to explore, BabelMap is an essential tool for anyone working with text in multiple languages.

What is BabelMap?

BabelMap is a free, open-source character map application for Windows that allows you to browse through the entire Unicode character repertoire, search for specific characters by name or code point, and copy them to the clipboard for use in any Unicode-aware application. This powerful tool is designed to help developers, writers, and designers work more efficiently with text in multiple languages.

Main Features

Unicode Character Grid

BabelMap's Unicode Character Grid is a comprehensive display of all 110,187 assigned characters and 137,468 private use characters in Unicode 6.3. This grid allows you to browse through the entire Unicode character repertoire using various methods, including:

Plane, Block, or Page: Browse through the Unicode Character Grid by plane, block, or page of 128 characters.
CJK Unified Ideographs: Browse through CJK Unified Ideographs blocks by radical.
Dropdown List: Select any Unicode block from a dropdown list.

Search and Locate

BabelMap offers several search and locate features to help you find specific characters:

Search by Name: Search for characters by full or partial name.
Search by Code Point: Find a character by its hexadecimal or decimal code point value.
Paste and Locate: Paste a character into the edit buffer and hit F2 to locate it in the Unicode Character Grid.

Magnification and Selection

BabelMap allows you to magnify any character in the Unicode Character Grid by right-clicking on it. You can also select characters from the character grid into an edit buffer that supports drag-and-drop editing.

Edit Buffer and Clipboard

The edit buffer in BabelMap offers several features to help you work with text:

Display Text: Display text in the edit buffer using either a single selected font or the user-defined virtual composite font.
View Characters: View characters in the edit buffer as Unicode characters or as NCR or UCN escape sequences.
Paste Unicode Text: Paste Unicode text from the clipboard into the edit buffer (any NCR or UCN escape codes will be automatically converted to Unicode characters).
Copy to Clipboard: Copy selected characters to the clipboard for inserting into any Unicode application.

Saving and Loading

BabelMap allows you to save the contents of the edit buffer to file in various encoding formats, including:

UTF-8: Save the contents of the edit buffer to file in UTF-8 encoding.
UTF-16 (Big or Little Endian): Save the contents of the edit buffer to file in UTF-16 (Big or Little Endian) encoding.
UTF-32 (Big or Little Endian): Save the contents of the edit buffer to file in UTF-32 (Big or Little Endian) encoding.

Additional Features

BabelMap offers several additional features to help you work with text:

Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, or Vietnamese Readings: Display Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, or Vietnamese readings for currently selected CJK unified ideograph (choice of language to show is user selectable).
Dialogue Box Sizes: Choose from two sizes of dialogue boxes available (small-sized dialogue boxes particularly suitable for 800×600 screen resolutions).
Colour Coding: Optional colour coding of characters according to a specified Unicode property (General Category, Canonical Combining Class, Bidi Class, Bidi Mirrored, Decomposition Type, Numeric Type), Script or Unicode Version.

Conclusion

Q: What is BabelMap?

A: BabelMap is a free character map application for Windows that allows you to browse through the entire Unicode character repertoire, search for specific characters by name or code point, and copy them to the clipboard for use in any Unicode-aware application.

Q: What are the main features of BabelMap?

A: The main features of BabelMap include:

Unicode Character Grid: A comprehensive display of all 110,187 assigned characters and 137,468 private use characters in Unicode 6.3.
Search and Locate: Search for characters by full or partial name, or by code point value.
Magnification and Selection: Magnify any character in the Unicode Character Grid by right-clicking on it, and select characters from the character grid into an edit buffer that supports drag-and-drop editing.
Edit Buffer and Clipboard: Display text in the edit buffer using either a single selected font or the user-defined virtual composite font, and copy selected characters to the clipboard for inserting into any Unicode application.

Q: Can I save the contents of the edit buffer to file?

A: Yes, you can save the contents of the edit buffer to file in various encoding formats, including UTF-8, UTF-16 (Big or Little Endian), and UTF-32 (Big or Little Endian).

Q: Can I display Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, or Vietnamese readings for CJK unified ideographs?

A: Yes, you can display Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, or Vietnamese readings for currently selected CJK unified ideograph (choice of language to show is user selectable).

Q: Can I customize the appearance of BabelMap?

A: Yes, you can customize the appearance of BabelMap by choosing from two sizes of dialogue boxes available (small-sized dialogue boxes particularly suitable for 800×600 screen resolutions), and by using optional colour coding of characters according to a specified Unicode property (General Category, Canonical Combining Class, Bidi Class, Bidi Mirrored, Decomposition Type, Numeric Type), Script or Unicode Version.

Q: Is BabelMap compatible with other Unicode-aware applications?

A: Yes, BabelMap is compatible with other Unicode-aware applications, and allows you to copy selected characters to the clipboard for inserting into any Unicode application.

Q: Is BabelMap free to use?

A: Yes, BabelMap is free to use, and is open-source software.

Q: Can I use BabelMap on multiple operating systems?

A: No, BabelMap is currently only available for Windows operating systems.

Q: Where can I download BabelMap?

A: You can download BabelMap from the official website.

Q: Is BabelMap regularly updated?

A: Yes, BabelMap is regularly updated to ensure that it remains compatible with the latest Unicode standards and operating systems.

Q: Can I contribute to the development of BabelMap?

A: Yes, you can contribute to the development of BabelMap by reporting bugs, suggesting new features, and providing translations for the application.

Conclusion

BabelMap is a powerful and versatile character map application for Windows that offers a wide range of features and utilities to help you navigate the vast Unicode character repertoire. Whether you're a developer, writer, or designer, BabelMap is sure to become a valuable addition to your toolkit.