Ergonis Software has announced PopChar X 7.0, an update to their tool for exploring fonts as well as finding and inserting special characters. The upgrade introduces a new “Shape Finder,” which allows you to draw the shape of a character on the screen to tell PopChar what you are looking for. You just draw the approximate shape and click the Find button and PopChar comes up with all characters that resemble this shape.

The Shape Finder can also be used with PopChar’s new “Find Similar Shape” context command, which allows you to start with a character in the table, optionally add a few extra strokes, and quickly find characters that look similar. PopChar 7 also adds a new font filter for limiting the font list to fonts that match a given substring. It can export and import the favorite characters to and from a text file, and offers a new window layout with a permanently visible font list.

PopChar X 7.0 requires Mac OS X 10.6 or newer. It can be purchased the Ergonis Software website (http://www.ergonis.com/). The upgrade to PopChar 7 is free for anyone who owns a valid license for PopChar X 6 purchased on or after March 1, 2014. Upgrade paths are available for owners of older licenses.

For new users the cost is approximately US$38. Instead of purchasing PopChar separately, customers can save money by ordering the Ergonis Productivity Bundle, which also includes the text expander Typinator and the keyboard shortcut helper KeyCue.