Tool

Alt Code Finder

Give it whatever you have — the character, a number, a code point, or a name — and it returns every other form. No need to know which kind of code you’re holding.

Try

What you can paste into it

Most lookup tools make you choose a mode first, which assumes you already know what you’ve got. This one works it out.

The character itself — paste € and get its codes back. Useful when you’ve copied something and want to know what it is.
A number — type 0128 and it checks the Windows Alt codes first, then the decimal code points, so both 0128 and 8364 find the euro.
A Unicode point — U+20AC, u20ac or bare hex like 20AC all work.
An HTML entity — €, € or €.
A name — type “degree” or “arrow” and pick from the matches.

What it gives you back

Eight forms of the same character, each with its own copy button:

Windows Alt code — the leading-zero form that works everywhere, or an honest “none” where the character hasn’t got one.
Mac shortcut — the Option-key combination, or the Character Viewer route where no shortcut exists.
Word — the hex code to type before pressing Alt+X.
Unicode point — the U+ reference used in documentation and specifications.
HTML entity — the named form where one exists, otherwise the numeric.
CSS escape — for content values in stylesheets.
Excel and Sheets formula — =UNICHAR() with the right number, for use inside a cell.

Why the leading zero changes the answer

This trips up more people than anything else in typing symbols, and it’s worth understanding once.

Alt+0169 gives ©. Alt+169 gives ®. Different characters, one digit apart. The leading zero isn’t decoration — it tells Windows which character table to read from.

With a leading zero, Windows reads the modern Western set. This holds the publishing characters — € — – ” ” • © ™ … — and it behaves consistently everywhere.
Without one, it reads a table from 1981 that holds box-drawing pieces, card suits and the old smiley faces.

There’s a further wrinkle almost nobody mentions: the zero-less codes read from whichever regional table the machine uses. The United States default differs from the one used across the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia, so the same zero-less code can produce different characters for different people. The leading-zero form is unaffected, which is why this tool gives you that one.

The full explanation is in Alt code vs Unicode vs HTML entity.

When there simply isn’t an Alt code

Of the 2,197 characters in this database, only 150 have a genuine Windows Alt code. The system covers a 256-character table from the 1980s, and almost everything added to Unicode since then falls outside it — most arrows, every zodiac sign, the newer currency symbols, the geometric shapes.

Where that’s the case, this tool says so rather than printing a number that quietly fails in Notepad. Your options then are the Windows emoji panel (Win + .), Character Map, the Word hex-then-Alt+X route, or simply pasting from the symbol library.

If Alt codes aren’t working at all

Three causes account for nearly every case:

No numeric keypad. Alt codes only read from the keypad, never the number row above the letters. Most laptops don’t have one. Some have an embedded keypad on the M, J, K and L keys, reached with Fn.
Num Lock is off. Even with a keypad, the codes won’t register.
You’re not on Windows. Mac and ChromeOS have no Alt code system at all, and plugging in a USB keypad doesn’t change that — it’s a Windows software feature, not a hardware one.

See why Alt codes fail on laptops and how to type symbols without a numeric keypad.

Common questions

What’s the difference between an Alt code and a Unicode number?

An Alt code is a Windows keyboard shortcut, typed on the numeric keypad. A Unicode code point is the character’s universal ID, written in hexadecimal as U+ followed by four or more digits. They are different numbering systems, so the euro is Alt+0128 but U+20AC. Typing the code point as an Alt code won’t work.

Why do I get a different character than expected?

Almost always a missing leading zero. Alt+0169 gives the copyright sign, Alt+169 gives the registered sign. Retype the code with the zero.

Do Alt codes work on a Mac?

No. macOS has no equivalent system. Use the Option-key shortcut shown for each character, or open Character Viewer with Ctrl + Cmd + Space. Any site telling you to type Alt+0128 on a Mac is wrong.

Can I search by pasting the character?

Yes, and it’s often the fastest route. Paste anything you’ve copied and the tool identifies it and returns every code for it, including its official Unicode name.

Why does one character say it has no Alt code?

Because it genuinely hasn’t. Only 150 of the 2,197 characters here do. The rest were added to Unicode after the Alt code system was designed, so no code exists to give you. The tool offers the routes that do work instead.

Are these codes checked?

Every code point, HTML entity and Alt code is generated directly from the Unicode character database rather than entered by hand, so they can’t drift. Mac shortcuts are verified individually, and where none exists the tool says so instead of inventing one.