AlphaSmart Special Character Converter

What is it?

When typing on an AlphaSmart 3000, special characters can be inserted by using an alt+foo key combination; alt+m inserts a μ (mu), for example.

When text is dumped from the AS3000 to a PC using the Send function, it replays the keystrokes you’ve made rather than sending the data. This means that if you were to use a μ in your document, it would send alt+m to your computer instead of sending a μ character. Not only does this not make a μ, but it also tries to open menus in your programs via their altkey shortcuts.

This script detects special character keystrokes that are performed (presumably while an AlphaSmart is dumping text using the Send function) and outputs the correct special character in its place. It converts the following characters:

Keystroke	Output	Name
Alt + 2	™	trademark
Alt + r	®	registered trademark
Alt + g	©	copyright
Alt + o	ø
Alt + Shift + o	ö
Alt + k	°	degree
Alt + 5	∞	infinity
Alt + 6	§	sectional symbol
Alt + 7	¶	pilcrow
Alt + s	ß	uppercase beta
Alt + w	Σ	uppercase sigma
Alt + Shift + p	π	lowercase pi
Alt + m	μ	lowercase mu
Alt + z	Ω	uppercase omega
Alt + /	÷	obelus
Alt + Shift + =	±	plus-minus
Alt + f	ƒ	function

Usage

Either run the desired .exe, or download Autohotkey and run the included source .ahk. For as long as it is running, this script will hijack your alt key to perform the keystrokes listed above in any application. To exit the script, right-click the blue Omega icon in your taskbar and select Exit, or press Winkey+End.

Compatibility

Windows 95/XP/Vista/7
Any keyboard, actually. You don’t even need an AlphaSmart 3000; you can just use these shortcuts to input stuff manually if you can’t remember alt key codes.

Changelog

v1: Initial release

Let me at it!

Download AlphaSmart Special Character Converter v1