What means
The gaps preserve a Teletext display mode. Teletext began in the UK in the early 1970s as a TV service for text pages and simple graphics. Its graphics used six-part tiles; one mode left narrow spaces between active blocks.
A 2021 proposal requested separate characters for Teletext emulators and compatibility with older software using private-use slots—reserved positions for custom symbols. This tile is one patch in a larger image.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why does show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 1CE57, then Alt+X to get .
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “separated block sextant-123”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 1ce57, then Enter or Space.
HTML
𜹗CSS
\1CE57HTML
In markup, use the numeric character reference `𜹗`.
Python
Use `\U0001CE57` in a Python string literal; the eight-digit escape denotes this character.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
𜹗
HTML hex
𜹗
CSS content
content: "\1CE57";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%F0%9C%B9%97
1
On screen
1
Code points
2
JS .length
4
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.