You do not need to use MS Word. Simply use the Character Map utility (usually found under Accessories in the Start Menu) to find the character in the appropriate font, copy it to the clipboard and then paste it into the application. If the character you want is in the ASCII or ANSI set, you can enter it by holding down the Alt key and entering the ACSII or ANSI number in the number keypad. For example, "é" can be entered by Alt-130 (ASCII) or Alt-0233 (ANSI). Both methods work, for me at least, with CR IX and 2008.
Peter