I have a Mac with OS Catalina. How can I type the letter subscript-2 (which is used in the chemical formula of water H₂O) in a text-editor by using a keyboard shortcut?
Does the macOS have a built-in keyboard-shortcut functionality or do I have to use a separate program for that?
1 Answer
There's no direct key combo you can use to generate subscript [or superscript for that matter]
Depending on how frequently you need them, I can think of two or three not quite convenient ways to insert them.
Show Emoji & Symbols (Character Viewer) from the menu bar [pref to enable the icon is in System Prefs > Keyboard]. Type subscript in the search box top right, then double-click the required number.
Alternatively, many apps use Cmd ⌘ Ctrl ⌃ Space to open the character viewer.Use the Typing Replacer in System Prefs > Keyboard > Text. use triggers like sub2 or similar. Downside, you will have to backspace each time as the replacement character is only generated by spacebar or punctuation.
If you need a specific set of generated chemicals, then use the replacer to generate the whole thing for the ones you need the most, eg use sh2o to generate H₂O
None of these are great, but they all 'work' to some extent.
Note that Apple's "Baseline > Subscript" command in such as TextEdit does not translate if you copy/paste anywhere.
