Is there a Unicode glyph that looks like a “key” i

Question

Unicode has a million icon-like glyphs, but they're not always easy to search by, since I don't always know what they look like.

Is there a Unicode glyph that looks like a "key"? Or is there a symbol that's used in database circles to mean "primary key", which is in Unicode?

Answer 1

I used a little Python 3 script to look, and the closest I found does not display here for me (does display in Idle on my machine), but it is:

9897 ⚩ HORIZONTAL MALE WITH STROKE SIGN

(Looks like a male sign pointed right with a perpendicular stroke added between the arrow and circle)

I searched for various matches like "KEY" and "LOCK" in the unicode names using Python's unicodedata module and no luck there.

Editing to add - Ah hah - one that looks even more like a key:

9911 ⚷ CHIRON

I give both of the above code points in decimal. To see them and their hex codes, go to this link:

http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2600.pdf

See 26B7 in particular for the Chiron.

Answer 2

Check out #26bf.

9919 ⚿ SQUARED KEY (HTML: ⚿)

It's the parental lock, which is a key inside a square. It's a newer Unicode specification so standard fonts don't support it, but if you can find a font that has it, you're home free.

Answer 3

I browsed through all the symbols (using a PHP script I created a while back) and can't see a key symbol. You could try one of these:

A mathematic-looking P:
ℙ (#8473)

Various star shapes:
★ (#9733)
☆ (#9734)
✶ (#10038)

Answer 4

There doesn't seem to be a unicode character that fits your description, but I'd recommend the silk icon set by famfamfam if you can use icons in your situation--just a suggestion :P

Answer 5

I've found Google to be the best way to find Unicode characters. I didn't find see anything useful for a key symbol, however.

If you want to search visually, use the PDF charts, since HTML-based listings will only show symbols that occur in the particular set of fonts you have installed.

Lacking any specific symbol, I would just use "I" to indicate an index and "PK" for a primary key.

Answer 6

To find useful symbols, I have this resource:

http://shapecatcher.com

Allows you to draw a shape, which it then searches for similarly shaped unicode symbols.

I often end up using shapecatcher these days just because it's a fun break just to be able to draw the shape that you want and have the site pull it up for you. At least, sometimes it will pull it up.

Misc. Symbols Blocks

http://shapecatcher.com/unicode/block/Miscellaneous_Symbols_And_Pictographs is also a great category of unicode symbols, though as with all unicode, you may have to test compatibility.

This is duplicated from my answer here because I think the approach will be useful to others besides just me: What Unicode character do you use in your website? (instead of image icons)