Character Map is a horrible, horrible utility. What is a good free alternative?
Ideally, I hope to find a program that comes close to Mac OS X's Character Palette in terms of features & functionality. Specifically: I need a character name search that works, the ability to look at all codepoints (not just what is in one particular typeface) and a listing of all Unicode planes.
BabelMap is a free character map application for Windows that allows you to browse through the entire Unicode character repertoire, or search for a particular character by name or by code point.
It is freeware and comes as a portable executable - beat that!
Soft-Gems' Unicode Font Viewer (Download Page) and ergonis's "PopChar" come pretty close to what you are looking for. I personally prefer the later, particularly due to the nicer UI. It's a shareware so try it out before jumping the gun (wallet).
