LaTeX Error: Unicode character not set up
This error means pdfLaTeX met a character (an accented letter, a dash, a curly quote, or an emoji), that it has no definition for. Fix it by adding \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} and \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} to the preamble, or switch the compiler to XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX, which read UTF-8 natively.
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Why it happens
Classic pdfLaTeX only understands characters that are declared. Text pasted from Word or the web often contains typographic characters (curly quotes, en and em dashes, non-breaking spaces, or letters stored as base plus combining accent), that are not set up, so inputenc stops. XeLaTeX and LuaLaTeX avoid this entirely.
Example
% Fix for pdfLaTeX. Add to the preamble:
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
% Or compile with XeLaTeX / LuaLaTeX (no inputenc needed).
% One stubborn symbol? Map it:
\DeclareUnicodeCharacter{2603}{\ensuremath{\star}}Frequently asked questions
Which package do I need for accents like é, ü, ñ?
With pdfLaTeX: \usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} plus \usepackage[T1]{fontenc}. That covers Latin accents. For non-Latin scripts use XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX with fontspec.
It points at U+0301 or a "combining" character.
Your accent is stored as a letter plus a separate combining mark. Re-type it as a single precomposed character (é, not e followed by a combining accent), or normalize the file to NFC.
How do I switch to XeLaTeX?
In LetX, set the project compiler to XeLaTeX in settings; locally, run xelatex main.tex or latexmk -xelatex. Then Unicode input works without inputenc.
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