To expand on Biff's answer: the FN key is normally need only on a laptop.,
and on the laptop you must use the keys MJKLUIO&89 to enter the numbers
On a 'regular' keyboard use the number pad to enter the numbers
Hold down ALT and press 0178 to get subscript 2 (²)
happy new year
Bernard Liengme

"phuycke" wrote in message
...
When I try to enter an ASCII code for a character in Excel 2003, the
keystrokes <FN + ALT + 0322 for example, don't work. Instead of entering
the accented character "é", it opens up a sort of dialogue window.
Please advise on how to enter ASCII characters.