Character first structure: browse Unicode character first, then see font variations

[TheJoeFin]

Today UWP Character Map is a font first structure. I am wondering if there is a way to have an option, maybe in the font filter drop down which inverts the structure to be character based. What does this mean:

1. Filter by Unicode groups
2. View all Unicode characters
3. See which characters are present in different fonts
   • This would be mostly useful for the special Unicode characters
   • This could be a challenging to do the link

Example Scenario:
Looking for arrow characters to use in an app, I would like to be able to browse all of the Unicode arrows and see which one fits my design best.

[JohnnyWestlake]

I might consider something at some point, but in your example scenario, you can open Font Compare View (App menu -> Compare Fonts, or Ctrl+K) and put the arrows in the preview box at the top and you'll be able to see what they look like in every font.

[TheJoeFin]

Yes, the Compare Fonts definitely works well! I tested out my scenario and found many fonts do not have the arrow characters, so there were a lot of empty boxes. Also, there are several very similar arrows in Unicode which makes it kind of a pain to scan through and find the right one. I usually use (Win + .) to find something close then go through different fonts to refine it. Not a great workflow today.

[JohnnyWestlake]

Update: there will be very basic support for character filtering in the next update in the main font window by typing in char: followed by your query in the font list search box.

i.e, to find all fonts containing ← & ↗ you would type in char: ←↗.

I will try to work out a good UI for exposing this in the update after, including support for Compare fonts view.