How to input hash (#) symbol to terminal?

Question

I'm running Ubuntu Server as a virtual machine (using VirtualBox) on my mac.

Normally on the Mac, I'd press alt + 3 to input the hash (#) sybmol.

However, if I do this in my Ubuntu Server's console, it gives me "Unrecognized Command" when inside nano.

How can I input this symbol? I need this to be able to add comments to my apache configuration file.

Thanks

What does normally happen if you press `alt-3`, e.g. in a text editor? Does it work in `bash`; is the error just happening in `nano`? If you enter `read` in bash, press enter, then press `alt-3`, what happens? — slhck, Dec 30 '11 at 14:50
Consider remapping the character to a different modifier key. In terminals, `alt` is also used as modifier for keyboard shortcuts. — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 14:51
@Rob Only if your world ends at the US border. The British Mac keyboard layout uses `Shift-3` for the pound character `£`. — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 14:52
@AlexCoplan It's the equivalent setting to *Use option as Meta key* in [Terminal](http://i.stack.imgur.com/oTbkU.png). You need to remap the character to a different key, or change your Terminal's configuration. — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 14:59
Right... so if anyone could tell me how you do that with ubuntu server / virtualbox that would be great :) — Alex Coplan, Dec 30 '11 at 15:02
You're running the server as command-line only, directly in Virtualbox? — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 15:04
@AlexCoplan Chances are that you need to press a different key, as the client VM interprets your keystrokes in that case. Rob might be correct after all -- what happens when you press Shift-3 in Virtualbox Ubuntu? — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 15:07
@DanielBeck I get the pound symbol - I configured the ubuntu install to use British Mac keyboard layout on install — Alex Coplan, Dec 30 '11 at 15:08
@AlexCoplan I think the Linux British keyboard layout [is a bit different](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#United_Kingdom) from a Mac's. Try pressing \ right next to `Return`. — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 15:11
@DanielBeck - I'm just getting the \ symbol... The only key that I've found that is different so far is the \` symbol becomes < and `shift-\`` becomes > — Alex Coplan, Dec 30 '11 at 15:16
@AlexCoplan Try using the right `alt` key, maybe it's `Alt-Gr` and changes things? — Daniel Beck, Dec 30 '11 at 15:20
@DanielBeck that's it - thanks! - post as an answer and I'll upvote and accept — Alex Coplan, Dec 30 '11 at 15:22
none of these worked for my so I just switched my keyboard to US! — Dori, Oct 03 '12 at 15:02
And if anyone finds this and via RSI has a goldtouch dual-win+mac-compatible keyboard, who is in the UK (one-row return, shift-3 character on the key is the hash character but when you do shift-3 you get £ and on macOS left-option-3 (with the win character on the key) is how you get #), right option-3 in your ubuntu VM (mine via parallels today) is how the hash gets inserted. phew! — volvox, Jul 05 '23 at 14:10

score 30 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 30 '11 at 15:25

30

Alt is used as Meta on your system. That's why it behaves strangely in nano and bash.

On Ubuntu server (command-line only) with British keyboard layout, you need to press the right alt key to get the hash symbol #: Only the right alt is interpreted as alt-gr by your Linux system, and that's the modifier key required on non-Mac OS systems for the alternative characters on the keyboard.

answered Dec 30 '11 at 15:25

Daniel Beck

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Or as I found `ctrl` + `shift` + 3 – TheMightyLlama Oct 16 '20 at 11:35

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 09 '16 at 13:02

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I just came across this as I'm doing my LPIC and using a MB Pro running CentOS in a VM.

Ended up being CTRL+\

answered Feb 09 '16 at 13:02

Paul Forster

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score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 17 '16 at 14:31

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In Terminal preferences, go to Profiles then Keyboard. Disable the Use Option as Meta Key option.

answered Aug 17 '16 at 14:31

Mike

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score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 17 '17 at 15:43

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For me it's just the \ key.

(Jessie, Virtualbox on El Capitan, UK keyboard)

edited Jun 17 '17 at 15:43

Stephen Rauch

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answered Jun 17 '17 at 14:40

mwal

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Thank you, I think you are the only one to answer the actual question :-D. – jdavid.net Oct 12 '21 at 13:02

score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Sep 21 '14 at 01:41

Ubuntu 12.04 with UK keyboard, installed on a MacBook Pro. Unfortunately the right-side Alt3 only emits a superscript "2", not the hash, And the left-side Alt3 prints nothing.

Going to System Preferences » Keyboard I can see that my current keyboard is listed as: English (UK, MacIntosh international).

Clicking on the little "keyboard" button at the bottom shows the position of all characters on each key. So for me the hash # is Right-Ctrl|\ (right Alt, pipe and backslash). One of the previous posts said Alt but it was Ctrl

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 18 '18 at 11:44

In late 2018, on the latest Macbook Pro with F keys as F keys, I need to type fn+option+3 to get # in terminal. Perhaps it's because in iTerm, under Profiles/Keys I have loaded preset "Natural Text Editing" (to allow travelling across words with option (alt)).

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 07 '22 at 23:33

I don't know what terminal the OP is using - probably the built-in terminal (Terminal.app), but in case anyone has this problem with iTerm2, here is what fixed it for me:

In iTerm2 Preferences > Keys > Navigation Shortcuts > "Shortcut to choose a split pane" was opt+number, so opt+3 was mapped to focus the 3rd pane in your tab had been split into panes, but this was overriding the normal mapping of opt+3 to #. I changed it to "No shortcut" and could then type hash symbols in iTerm.

I never had this problem before, but recently bought a new MacBook Pro M1 with MacOS Monterey, installed iTerm2 on it amongst other things, and then was was amazed to find that I couldn't type a hash symbol in the terminal - for example, for making comments in Python code or Bash scripts. I certainly didn't set it that way - so it must have been in the default setup of iTerm2. Why on earth the developers thought that was a good setting to have on by default, I don't know.

How to input hash (#) symbol to terminal?

7 Answers7