i found an easier way; in autocorrect i have added y' to be replaced with ý. so i type y' after space, the autocorrect happens, and then do a backspace to remove the leading space. i.e., Shāfiýi for example 1. I type Shāfi 2. press space 3. type y' (results in autocorrect) converting to ý. 4. results in Shāfi ýi 5. remove the extra space before ý.
ms-word has this little feature known as assigning keys to symbols. go to the menu: insert|symbols and select the character you want and click the button labeled 'shortcut key' [it is in the bottom of the dialog box] remove the default mapping and use the following ones. [i have come to this combination after trying many others. you can try your own] this is easy to use since they are strategically placed on the keybored for a touch typist and do not conflict with other built in functions of word. ā – F9 ī – F10 ū – F11 á – Alt + F9 í – Alt + F10 ú – Alt + F11 the above combination can differ if you are using other keyboards; this is just an illustration – choose what is best and easy for you. i have two different keyboards (on two different machines) and i use the combination below on the microsoft ergonomic split keyboard. ā – F6 ī – F7 ū – F8 á – Ctrl + F6 í – Ctrl + F7 ú – Ctrl + F8 note that the function keys are split in sets of 3, 4 or 5. start from the first in the set, it is intuitive. don't use the F9 key if there is anything before it. try anything you find suitable. ţ – Ctrl + Shift + t ş – Ctrl + Shift + w (because s won't work; try it if you don’t believe me) đ – Ctrl + Shift + d ĥ – Ctrl + Shift + h ž – Ctrl + Shift + z ý is tricky, because no matter which key combo you assign, it refuses to budge. so you do a simple trick: 1. Click on the menu Tools > Customize 2. Click on the Commands Tab 3. From the left pane select 'All Commands' 4. From the right pane scroll down to select the command 'Symbol:' Note that there is a colon and this is not the same as 'Symbolfont' 5. Click on this command and drag it to your toolbar - the symbol window will open up. select the symbol ý from the list (again no matter what you do, it is tied to the font. you will have to change the font later. you can tweak it but i didn't pursue it because this is easier; let me know if you have found a way around) 6. The label of the button will change to something like: 'Times New Roman: 253' 7. Right click this button and select 'Default Style' 8. You can assign an image to this button or if you are not lazy, edit the image that mirrors the character (see picture) 9. voila! you are done. 10. If you select a wrong symbol by mistake, and you want to do away with that button, just press ALT, click the button and drag it ONTO the document; the button will go away. Note that if you have the 'Customize' window open,you can just do the same thing without the need of pressing the ALT key. --- suppose you want the above special characters in upper case; what do you do? 1. Click on the menu Tools > Customize 2. Click on the 'Commands' tab 3. From the left pane select 'Format' 4. From the right pane select 'Change Case' 5. Drag this command to the toolbar; a button labeled ChangeCase will be created. You can change the image as described previously but i prefer the label itself. ---- as an additional measure, i add the oft-repeating phrases in the autocorrect document. i hate spellchecks and particularly those annoying red lines; and microsoft grammar check is awful too. that is the first thing i must switch off after installing ms-word.
