Esperanto and word processing
Cxu vi uzas komputoron kaj neniam sciis kiel fari la Esperantan supersignitajn literojn en via favora programo?  Espereble, ni povas helpi vin hodiaž.
What are some of the techniques you can use to get supersigned letters?
There are a few popular solutions.  One is to use a word processing feature called the overstrike character. This is usually found under Text (style) as a special effect.  To use it, and just highlight the letter and then make the overstrike character, the "^".  Sounds like to much of a pain to do on a regular basis?  Well, think about creating a macro (probably under the tools section along with the spell checker).  The main problem with this is that, at least on my program, is that, well, this happens C, or U  so it wasn't really an option for me.  So what did I use?  The other solution, is to use fonts that have an Esperanto character set.
Where do I get those??
There are quite a few places actually.  There are some available on the Internet, mainly at ftp.stack.urc.tue.nl.  You can also just flat out buy them from various sources such as 
MONO, Skrytka 147, PL 47-220, Kedzierzyn :  True Type Fonts (about 55 different fonts)
ILO software, P.O. Box 664, Oneida, NY 13421: Raster Fonts, Truetype Fonts, and EGA Screen Fonts
ELNA, P.O. Box  1129, El Cerrito, CA  94530, Mac fonts and IBM fonts
So I've got some fonts, now what do I do?
You need to find out the ASCII code of the supersigned characters.  You can do this in Windows by running the Windows Character Map, choosing the font(s) you want to use and looking at their character sets.  Click once on the character(s) and then their ASCII codes show up in the status bar at the bottom right of the window.  You can choose to copy the characters to the clipboard there, but that usually turns out to be annoying.  Once you know what all the characters are, you should be able to access them in any Windows or Dos program by entering the ASCII code for the letter. (Hold down the Alt key and type in the ASCII code of the character on the numeric keypad (the one on the side, numlock must be on.))
That sounds awfully tiresome to do when I am typing.  What else can I do?
One way to avoid this is to type in the document in ASCII format (the x following the letter to be supersigned) and then use Find/Replace with the actual Esperanto character.  
Another is to program macros for each of the supersigned characters.  The only problem is that sometimes the control keys that you want are being used already for the program, and so you end up with some strange, hard to remember keys (example ¬ is ctrl-a for me and I hit ctrl-s all the time which saves my document instead).
Is there any way to avoid all that hassle?
Recently some new programs have come on the market, namely, Esperanto word processors.  Vortilo 3.0 (deluxe) and Cxapelilo.
These programs come with the fonts and appropriate macros incorporated into the programs.  While they are in general more simplistic than the average English word processor, they do seem to contain all the necessary bells and whistles to make nost users happy.  The programs are also friendly to exporting the text to other formats.   Cxapelilo has a special internet-friendly x-format to save you labor, and Vortilo allows for import/export with the Rich Text Format.   Both have built in dictionaries,  Cxapelilo is based off the PIV, while Vortilo uses its own Vortaro 3.2 which is an Esperanto-English dictionary and thesaurus, featuring topics, cross-referencing, and English keywords.  So writing in Esperanto can become easier for everyone.
Vortilo 3.0e Deluxe
ILO software
P.O. Box 664
Oneida, NY 13421
ArkeyMT@aol.com
Cxapelilo
Simon Payne
100103.24@compuserve.com
And what do you use?
For the KTP! newsletter, I use Ami Pro 3.1, MONO true type fonts and Typetwister (for headlines) from Aldus.  For personal letters, I am planning on buying the Vortilo 3.0 deluxe.
		Sybil Harlow				Sacramento, CA