How to Type Symbols with the ALT . Key

On Windows computers, the Alt key when combined with codes can create characters not available on a regular keyboard. Although Alt codes do not exist on Mac computers, there are many Option keyboard shortcuts that allow you to type most common characters.

Table of Contents

On Windows

Type the currency symbol. Hold down the Alt key and type the following numbers using the numeric keypad on your keyboard. When you release the Alt key, the symbol will appear. The NumLock key must be enabled. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Symbp	Name	Code
€	Euro	0128
£	GBP	156
¢	US cents	155
¥	Yen	157
ƒ	The Florin	159
¤	Currency	0164

Type math symbols. Hold down the Alt key and type the following numbers using the numeric keypad on your keyboard to insert mathematical symbols. When you release the Alt key, the symbol will appear. The NumLock key must be enabled. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Symbp	Name	Code
÷	Divider sign	246
×	Multiply	0215
±	Plus or minus	0177
≈	Approximately	247
√	Square sign	251
ⁿ	Exponential power n	252
²	Square	253
¼	A quarter	0188
½	Half	0189
¾	Three fourths	0190
∞	Infinity	236
≥	Greater than or equal to	242
≤	Less than or equal to	243
π	Pi	227
°	Degree	248

Type special punctuation and editing symbols. Hold down the Alt key and type the following numbers using the numeric keypad on your keyboard to create special punctuation. When you release the Alt key, the symbol will appear. The NumLock key must be enabled. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Symbp	Name	Code
s	Inverted exclamation point	173
s	Reverse question mark	168
s	Chapter	21
s	Paragraph	20
©	Copyright	0169
®	Registered	0174
™	Tradenames	0153
s	Cross	0134
s	Double Cross	0135
–	Short dash	0150
—	Long dash	0151
•	Dot at the beginning of the line	0149

Type musical notation. Hold down the Alt key and type the following numbers using the numeric keypad on your keyboard. When you release the Alt key, the symbol will appear. The NumLock key must be enabled for the combinations to take effect. Symbols with codes between 9000 and 9999 are not available everywhere, depending on certain fonts.

Symbp	Name	Code
♪	Quarter note	13
♫	Single crochet note	14
♬	Double crochet note	9836
♭	Flat sign	9837
♮	Normal sign	9838
♯	Hashtag	9839

Type in other miscellaneous symbols. Hold down the Alt key and type the following numbers using the numeric keypad. When you release the Alt key, the symbol will appear. The NumLock key must be enabled. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Symbp	Name	Code
☺	Smile	first
☻	Black smiley face	2
♥	Army	3
♦	Troops	4
♣	Shrimp army	5
♠	Army Spades	6
♂	male	11
♀	Female	twelfth
↑	Arrow up	24
↓	Down Arrow	25
→	Right Arrow	26
←	Left arrow	27
☼	Sun	15
⌂	House	127

On Mac

Type the currency symbols. When you press the ⌥ Opt or ⇧ Shift + ⌥ Opt keys, the keyboard generates different symbols, including common currencies. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to type currency symbols.

Symbp	Name	Shortcut
¢	US cents	`Opt` + `4`
€	Euro	`⇧ Shift` + `Opt` + `2`
£	GBP	`Opt` + `3`
¥	Yen	`Opt` + `Y`
ƒ	The Florin	`Opt` + `F`

Type other symbols. Use the combination of ⌥ Opt or ⇧ Shift + ⌥ Opt on the keyboard to edit math operations. Use the key combinations below to type different math symbols.

Symbp	Name	Shortcut
÷	Division	`Opt` + `/`
±	Plus or minus	`⇧ Shift` + `Opt` + `=`
°	Degree	`⇧ Shift` + `Opt` + `8`
≥	Greater than or equal to	`⌥ Opt` + `>`
≤	Less than or equal to	`Opt` + `<`
π	Pi	`Opt` + `P`
≈	Approximately	`Opt` + `X`
≠	Not equal to	`Opt` + `=`
∞	Infinity	`Opt` + `5`
∫	Integral	`Opt` + `OVER`

Type special punctuation and editing symbols. The additional keys ⌥ Opt and ⇧ Shift + ⌥ Opt will change the characters you create. One of these combination characters is punctuation and editing symbols. Apply the key combinations below to type the following characters. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Symbp	Name	Shortcut
s	Reverse question mark	`⇧ Shift` + `⌥ Opt` + `?`
s	Inverted exclamation point	`Opt` + `1`
©	Copyright	`Opt` + `WOOD`
®	Registered	`Opt` + `CHEAP`
™	Tradenames	`Opt` + `2`
s	Paragraph	`Opt` + `7`
s	Chapter	`Opt` + `6`
•	Dot at the beginning of the line	`Opt` + `8`
–	Short dash	`Opt` + `-`
—	Long dash	`⇧ Shift` + `Opt` + `-`
s	Cross	`Opt` + `T`
s	Double Cross	`⇧ Shift` + `Opt` + `7`

Open the Symbp Viewer (Character Viewer) to find more characters. Mac computers don’t have as many codes as Windows computers, but you can find many different characters in Symbp Viewer: ^{[6] X Research Source}

Click the Apple menu and select “System Preferences”.
Click the “Keyboard” option and check “Show viewers for keyboard, emoji, and symbps in menu bar”.
Click the viewer icon shown in the menu bar and select “Show Emoji & Symbps”.
Browse through the symbol categories and double-click the symbol you want to insert.

Advice

If the Alt code on Windows includes zeros, you must enter it normally.

Warning

Alt codes are only valid on programs that accept standard ASCII input codes.

Steps

On Windows

On Mac

Advice

Warning

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