When you write in lernu!, we recommend that you use the "x-convention" (for example, "sx" for "ŝ"). That method is the clearest, and beside that, it is supported by this website in the instant messenger and the exercises. To type letters with "supersigns", it's necessary to install the program Ek! (for Windows) or follow the procedure written here (for Linux). Below, you can find explanations of how to make special characters show up, if you have problems with seeing them:

For Windows

It may happen that the special Esperanto letters with supersigns don't show up correctly in a web browser. In that case, the problem is that all of the needed fonts aren't installed. Modern Windows (after about 1997) already contains all needed fonts, but if you aren't especially careful, sometimes not all of the fonts are really installed when Windows is first installed. In that case, it's necessary to complete the installation later.

To complete a Windows installation, go to the "Control Panel" -> "Add/Remove Programs" -> "Windows Setup"

There you can see whether the "Multilingual support" is installed. Also, check which languages are installed (double-click the icon of multilingual support). Support of the Turkish language is most important, but preferably, you should simply choose every available language. If you don't have the necessary files on your Windows CD, you will need to get them elsewhere. It used to be possible to download multilingual support from the Microsoft website, free of cost, but now that possibility has apparently disappeared.

Another possibility is to install a new version of the web browser Internet Explorer. Multilingual support, also called "Pan-European", is available for this program. The multilingual support is only included if you do a complete installation of Internet Explorer.

It's also important that the correct font is chosen in the web browser. In the options menu of Internet Explorer, it's possible to choose between various fonts. "Arial" and "Times New Roman" are usually suitable, and "Courier New" is a good choice as a fixed-width font, but they work only if you have successfully installed multilingual support. The font installed for "Latin-based" alphabets is the one that affects your ability to see proper Esperanto characters (at least in Internet Explorer 5 and 6).

For Linux

Problems with the special characters in Esperanto also appear in Linux-based web browsers. This is caused by the lack of installed fonts. It is necessary to choose a font, which contains all needed symbols. In modern Linux, these fonts usually already exist, but it is possible that you need to complete your font sets. If you have a connection to a Windows system, you can copy, for example, "Arial", "Times New Roman", and "Courier New" from Windows into Linux.

For Macintosh

Esperanto's special characters work very well in the new Macintosh operating system, OS X. In old systems, however, problems can appear.