Keyboard shortcuts for symbols work two ways. On Windows, hold Alt and type a number on the numeric keypad. On Mac, hold Option and a letter. A bullet • is Alt+0149 on Windows or Option+8 on Mac. The cheat sheet below covers 30-plus symbols across both systems, plus Word, phones, Chromebook, and the web.
Two rules save you from most mistakes. Alt codes always take a decimal number; the Unicode point is hex and does not go into an Alt code. And the leading zero matters: Alt+0169 gives ©, Alt+169 gives ®. More on both below the table.
The symbol cheat sheet
| Symbol | Name | Windows Alt (decimal) | Mac | HTML | Unicode (hex) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| € | Euro | Alt+0128 | Option+Shift+2 | € | U+20AC |
| £ | Pound | Alt+0163 | Option+3 | £ | U+00A3 |
| ¥ | Yen | Alt+0165 | Option+Y | ¥ | U+00A5 |
| ¢ | Cent | Alt+0162 | Option+4 | ¢ | U+00A2 |
| • | Bullet | Alt+0149 | Option+8 | • | U+2022 |
| – | En dash | Alt+0150 | Option+- | – | U+2013 |
| — | Em dash | Alt+0151 | Option+Shift+- | — | U+2014 |
| … | Ellipsis | Alt+0133 | Option+; | … | U+2026 |
| § | Section | Alt+0167 | Option+6 | § | U+00A7 |
| ¶ | Pilcrow | Alt+0182 | Option+7 | ¶ | U+00B6 |
| © | Copyright | Alt+0169 | Option+G | © | U+00A9 |
| ® | Registered | Alt+0174 | Option+R | ® | U+00AE |
| ™ | Trademark | Alt+0153 | Option+2 | ™ | U+2122 |
| ° | Degree | Alt+0176 | Option+Shift+8 | ° | U+00B0 |
| × | Multiply | Alt+0215 | Viewer | × | U+00D7 |
| ÷ | Divide | Alt+0247 | Option+/ | ÷ | U+00F7 |
| ± | Plus-minus | Alt+0177 | Option+Shift+= | ± | U+00B1 |
| µ | Micro | Alt+0181 | Option+M | µ | U+00B5 |
| ≠ | Not equal | Alt+8800 | Option+= | ≠ | U+2260 |
| ≤ | Less-equal | Alt+8804 | Viewer | ≤ | U+2264 |
| ≥ | Greater-equal | Alt+8805 | Viewer | ≥ | U+2265 |
| ∞ | Infinity | Alt+8734 | Option+5 | ∞ | U+221E |
| √ | Square root | Alt+8730 | Option+V | √ | U+221A |
| π | Pi | Alt+960 | Option+P | π | U+03C0 |
| → | Right arrow | Alt+8594 | Viewer | → | U+2192 |
| ← | Left arrow | Alt+8592 | Viewer | ← | U+2190 |
| ↑ | Up arrow | Alt+8593 | Viewer | ↑ | U+2191 |
| ↓ | Down arrow | Alt+8595 | Viewer | ↓ | U+2193 |
| ✓ | Check mark | none (see note) | Viewer | ✓ | U+2713 |
| ✗ | Cross mark | none (see note) | Viewer | ✗ | U+2717 |
| ★ | Star | Alt+9733 | Viewer | ★ | U+2605 |
| ☐ | Ballot box | Alt+9744 | Viewer | ☐ | U+2610 |
| ♥ | Heart | Alt+3 / Alt+9829 | Viewer | ♥ | U+2665 |
| ♠ | Spade | Alt+6 / Alt+9824 | Viewer | ♠ | U+2660 |
Keyboard shortcuts for symbols on Windows
Alt codes need the numeric keypad, not the number row. Hold Alt, type the decimal digits, release Alt. No keypad? See the Alt key command guide for laptop workarounds, or browse the Alt Codes Finder.
- Turn on Num Lock.
- Hold Alt and type the number (keep the leading zero where shown).
- Release Alt. The symbol appears.
Two gotchas. Four-digit codes above 255 (like Alt+8594 for →) only work in apps with full Unicode support such as Word and WordPad; plain Notepad may show the wrong glyph. And zero-less codes like Alt+3 for ♥ read from your machine’s OEM code page, so they can differ by region. The leading-zero form is the reliable one. For the whole set, see the full Alt code list for Windows.
No code memorized? Press Win+. for the emoji and symbol panel, or open Character Map (search “charmap”) and double-click.
Mac Option shortcuts
Mac has no Alt codes. It uses Option-key combinations, shown in the Mac column above. Hold Option (or Option+Shift) and press the listed key. For anything marked “Viewer,” press Ctrl+Cmd+Space to open the Character Viewer, search by name, and double-click. The Mac Alt code guide covers the Unicode Hex Input layout if you want number-based entry.
Word and PowerPoint
Word has the fastest method for the four-digit symbols: type the hex code, then press Alt+X. For → that is 2192 then Alt+X. This works in Word, Outlook, and OneNote, but not in Excel, PowerPoint, or Google Docs.
- Insert > Symbol > More Symbols gives a searchable grid. The same route works in PowerPoint.
- Set an AutoCorrect entry (File > Options > Proofing) to swap a code like
(c)for a symbol you type often. To drop emoji into a doc, see how to insert emojis in Word.
Excel and Google Sheets
Alt+X does nothing in a spreadsheet. Use a formula instead. In Excel, =UNICHAR(8594) returns → (decimal code point), or use Insert > Symbol. Google Sheets has no Insert Symbol menu at all; use =UNICHAR(8594) or =CHAR(), then paste the result as a value. To use an OS input method inside a Sheets cell, press F2 first to enter edit mode.
Google Docs
Go to Insert > Special characters. Search by name, or draw the shape in the box to find it. There is no Alt-code entry in Docs, so this menu or a paste is the way in.
iPhone and Android
Long-press a related key to reveal variants: hold the currency key for € £ ¥, or a letter to get its accents. Tap the 123 then #+= keys for punctuation and math. For a symbol you use daily, set a text replacement (iOS: Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement; Android: Personal dictionary) so a shortcut like “tm” expands to ™.
Chromebook
ChromeOS has no Alt codes, and a USB numpad will not change that. Use Ctrl+Shift+U, then the hex code, then Enter or Space. Type the code only, no U+ prefix. An underlined u confirms input mode. There is also a picker at Launcher+Shift+Space (a dedicated Quick Insert key on newer models). If a web field intercepts the shortcut, paste instead.
Notion, Slack, Discord, and Canva
None of these has a symbol keyboard shortcut of its own. Paste from the copy bar above. Slack and Discord accept :shortcodes for emoji (:heart:), but for text symbols like § or →, paste is the answer. In Canva, use the text tool and paste. The durable fix everywhere is a system-level text replacement, set once and synced across apps.
HTML and CSS
On the web, use the entity from the table. Named entities read best (→), and numeric works too, in decimal (→) or hex (→, note the x). In CSS content, escape with a backslash and the hex point: content: "\2192";. No leading U+, no semicolon.
When a shortcut gives the wrong symbol
- Wrong character on Windows: check the leading zero. Alt+0151 is an em dash; Alt+151 is a box-drawing line. Alt+0169 is ©; Alt+169 is ®.
- Different result on a UK or Australian PC: zero-less codes read from the local OEM code page (CP850 there, CP437 in the US), so they vary. Switch to the leading-zero form.
- Alt+8594 fails in Notepad: that app lacks full Unicode Alt-code support. Use Word’s Alt+X or paste.
- Box, ?, or tofu (□): the current font has no glyph for that character. Switch to a broad font like Segoe UI Symbol, Arial Unicode MS, or Noto.
Related guides
- General symbol and typing guides
- Symbol Alt Codes: The Complete List for Windows (the pillar)
- Copy and Paste Special Characters: The Full List
- How to Use Alt Codes on a Mac
- How to Use Alt Key Commands on Windows