Enter Unicode codepoints via keyboard

[bitcrazed]

Summary of the new feature/enhancement

Enable the ability to toggle between traditional 3-digit char code, and hex Unicode codepoint entry via keyboard.

To enter a symbol, e.g. £, I click and hold ALT and then type 0163 (the decimal character code for the UK Pound symbol) on the numeric keyboard.

However, what if I wanted to type hexadecimal Unicode codepoint for an arbitrary codepoint, e.g. U+1F600 for 😀 ("grinning face").

Yes, I know there's the emoji keyboard, but they only expose the emoji subset of the available Unicode code-space. I want to be able to enter ANY Unicode codepoint.

Proposed technical implementation details (optional)

Interestingly, this capability appears to already be available, but it's disabled by default behind a registry setting which requires reg hacking and the user to restart, Plus there's no UI setting that would make this switch easy to find and change.

Bonus points if the toggle itself could be keyboard activated so I could switch between 3-digit and hex-Unicode codes without rebooting.

[ion1]

I would like a keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl+Shift+U to pop up a search field in which I can type a codepoint such as 263A or a Unicode character name such as snowman, then use the keyboard to change the selection if I don't want the top one and to input the character.