[MC-1572] Unable to directly type § in Anvil, Book and Quill, or chat

In Book and Quill, we can format text by using § (section sign) and an alphanumeric character. However, in order to input the section sign, we have to copy the character from a text editor or web browser and paste it into the Book and Quill.

I would be expecting that, with my QWERTY keyboard, I can type the section sign directly in the Book and Quill, especially when I hold Alt and press 0167 on my Numpad.

Linked issues

is duplicated by 44

MC-12342 Symbol key (§) does not appear in signs/chat and bugs up on books Resolved

MC-15128 Formatting codes not working: Example: §4Hello; it doesn't work. Resolved

MC-18424 Sign Bug Resolved

MC-28310 You can't paste "§" into Name of world or serwer. Resolved

MC-133841 The § Symbol does not appear in text Resolved

39 more links

relates to 1

MC-257181 Section sign formatting codes (§) can be inserted into signs and book and quills Open

Comments 10

Sycholic 2012-11-01T07:29:40Z

you cant even do that in chat either as well. you cant use alt codes in chat so guessing book/signs follow same rules.

Cat 2012-11-01T08:32:20Z

..And in command blocks I couldn't even paste it 😞
(The pasted line just showed up without the §)

Nathan Adams 2012-11-01T08:34:07Z

This is intentional. Though format codes are "supported" almost everywhere, we do not let you use them from within the game.

Cat 2012-11-01T09:13:41Z

Sadface. TO THE NBT EDITOR! 😛

Torabi 2012-11-17T17:52:29Z

But the description says that format codes can be used from within the game – they just must be pasted in from the clipboard instead of typed. Is that supposed to work?

Josh Miller 2012-11-27T23:49:40Z

How can this be intentional to not let the user format their books or text that is output by the command block?

Ethan Crooks 2013-10-28T07:08:41Z

I suggest a brand new character to stand for this key. (Sorry I'm using an iPad so I can't type it)
Something like the # key or something.

Kion Tupper 2014-08-20T18:06:08Z

For world and server names, you can edit the language pack to have something like "§6§6§6New World", so that you can use the arrow keys to get caret in between the § and the 6, which will make it visible. Then you can delete the 6, and use what ever code you want.

ethan tang 2021-09-02T22:49:40Z

Why is this working as intended? Yeah, I found out on one bug tracker that this was to stop abuse from players, but why block formatting codes on any world, regardless of whether it is singleplayer or not?

I think it's because Java Edition uses some sort of JSON format to code format, so section signs wouldn't show up...

muzikbike 2024-10-14T16:40:35Z

If formatting codes aren't allowed for use, surely the section sign itself could be permitted for use in any text field without causing formatting to happen? To my understanding, section sign formatting is largely deprecated anyway in favor of more in-depth NBT formatting, so it should be safe enough to have the section sign be treated as any other character.