How do I insert Greek symbols and other special characters in a text label?

Simple Text Labels

Using Format toolbar buttons

Use this method to add Greek letters, superscripts or subscripts to a text label. With this method, you enter "in-place edit" mode, then (a) select an existing character and convert it to the desired format or (b) while in "in-place edit" mode, you place your cursor at the desired insertion point, click a toolbar button and type the character:

1. Double-click on the text label to enter "in-place-edit" mode.
2. Highlight the character that you want to modify, or place the cursor at the insertion point, then ...

• click the Greek  button to convert the highlighted character, or click the Greek  button and type your character.
• click the Superscript  or Subscript  buttons to convert the selected character, or click the Superscript  or Subscript  buttons and type your character.

Using the Symbol Map

Use this method to insert any character into a text label:

1. Double-click on the text label to enter in-place edit mode.
2. Place your cursor at the insertion point.
3. Right-click and choose Symbol Map from the context menu (or press Ctrl + M).
4. Select an appropriate Font, then double-click on the character you want to insert (or use the Insert button to insert multiple characters).

Using the Object Properties dialog box

This is an older method for selective application of special formatting and it is covered here for backward compatibility.

1. Right-click on the text label and choose Properties.
2. Click in the upper panel of the Object Properties dialog and use either an "escape sequence" or a text formatting button to apply special formatting. For instance, to enter the Greek symbol lambda (λ), you would insert the escape sequence "(\g(l))"; or you would highlight your "l" character and click the "gamma" button.

• For information on the Object Properties dialog, see this topic.
• For information on "escape sequences," see this topic.

Most mathematical symbols, Greek characters, and arrows are in the Symbol font. For other characters such as Angstrom, Umlauts, Euro, and Permille they can be found in the regular ASCII font such as Arial or Times New Roman. Some symbols such as Plus, Minus, and Degree can be found both in Symbol and Regular ASCII font table. Note that you can find Origin's plotting symbols in the font "Origin".

Axis Titles and Graph Legends

The text in axis titles and graph legends is typically created using LabTalk variables that store worksheet column short names, long names and units. Thus, when you double-click on an axis title, you see code rather than plain-language text and this code is not easily edited using in-place methods.

In these instances, we suggest inserting special characters and applying special formatting, to text contained in one of the worksheet column label rows and then relying on Origin's options for specifying axis title and graph legend content, to display the desired information.

For instance, to display Wavelength (Å) in an axis title, add Å to the worksheet column Units row:

1. Double-click on the worksheet label row cell to enter in-place edit mode.
2. Right-click and choose Symbol Map.
3. Choose an appropriate font and insert the Å character. Using a similar strategy, you can highlight portions of your label row text and apply special formatting using Format toolbar buttons.