Insert a symbol using the keyboard with ASCII or Unicode character codes

Symbols and special characters are either inserted using ASCII or Unicode codes. You can tell which is which when you look up the code for the character.

  1. Go to Insert >Symbol > More Symbols.

  2. Find the symbol you want.

    Tip: The Segoe UI Symbol font has a very large collection of Unicode symbols to choose from.

  3. On the bottom right you'll see Character code and from:. The Character code is what you'll enter to insert this symbol from the keyboard. The from: field tells you if it's a Unicode or an ASCII character.

Unicode character type  Unicode

Ascii character code type  ASCII

Inserting Unicode Characters

  1. Type the character code where you want to insert the Unicode symbol.

  2. Press ALT+X to convert the code to the symbol.

    If you're placing your Unicode character immediately after another character, select just the code before pressing ALT+X.

Tip: If you don't get the character you expected, make sure you have the correct font selected.

Inserting ASCII Characters

Use the numeric keypad with Num Lock on to type the ASCII numbers, not the numbers across the top of your keyboard.

All ASCII character codes are four digits long. If the code for the character you want is shorter than four digits, add zeros to the beginning to get to 4 digits.

  1. Go to Home tab, in the Font group, change the font to Wingdings (or other font set).

  2. Press and hold the ALT key and type the character code on the numeric keypad.

  3. Change the font back to your previous font after inserting the symbol.

For more character symbols, see the Character Map installed on your computer, ASCII character codes, or Unicode character code charts by script.

Glyph

Code

Glyph

Code

Currency symbols

£

ALT+0163

¥

ALT+0165

¢

ALT+0162

$

0024+ALT+X

ALT+0128

¤

ALT+0164

Legal symbols

©

ALT+0169

®

ALT+0174

§

ALT+0167

ALT+0153

Mathematical symbols

°

ALT+0176

º

ALT+0186

221A+ALT+X

+

ALT+43

#

ALT+35

µ

ALT+0181

<

ALT+60

>

ALT+62

%

ALT+37

(

ALT+40

[

ALT+91

)

ALT+41

]

ALT+93

2206+ALT+X

Fractions

¼

ALT+0188

½

ALT+0189

¾

ALT+0190

Punctuation and dialectic symbols

?

ALT+63

¿

ALT+0191

!

ALT+33

203+ALT+X

-

ALT+45

'

ALT+39

"

ALT+34

,

ALT+44

.

ALT+46

|

ALT+124

/

ALT+47

\

ALT+92

`

ALT+96

^

ALT+94

«

ALT+0171

»

ALT+0187

«

ALT+174

»

ALT+175

~

ALT+126

&

ALT+38

:

ALT+58

{

ALT+123

;

ALT+59

}

ALT+125

Form symbols

25A1+ALT+X

221A+ALT+X

For a complete list of the glyphs and their character codes, see the Character Map.

Glyph

Code

Glyph

Code

Ã

ALT+0195

å

ALT+0229

Å

ALT+143

å

ALT+134

Ä

ALT+142

ä

ALT+132

À

ALT+0192

à

ALT+133

Á

ALT+0193

á

ALT+160

Â

ALT+0194

â

ALT+131

Ç

ALT+128

ç

ALT+135

Č

010C+ALT+X

č

010D+ALT+X

É

ALT+144

é

ALT+130

È

ALT+0200

è

ALT+138

Ê

ALT+202

ê

ALT+136

Ë

ALT+203

ë

ALT+137

Ĕ

0114+ALT+X

ĕ

0115+ALT+X

Ğ

011E+ALT+X

ğ

011F+ALT+X

Ģ

0122+ALT+X

ģ

0123+ALT+X

Ï

ALT+0207

ï

ALT+139

Î

ALT+0206

î

ALT+140

Í

ALT+0205

í

ALT+161

Ì

ALT+0204

ì

ALT+141

Ñ

ALT+165

ñ

ALT+164

Ö

ALT+153

ö

ALT+148

Ô

ALT+212

ô

ALT+147

Ō

014C+ALT+X

ō

014D+ALT+X

Ò

ALT+0210

ò

ALT+149

Ó

ALT+0211

ó

ALT+162

Ø

ALT+0216

ø

00F8+ALT+X

Ŝ

015C+ALT+X

ŝ

015D+ALT+X

Ş

015E+ALT+X

ş

015F+ALT+X

Ü

ALT+154

ü

ALT+129

Ū

ALT+016A

ū

016B+ALT+X

Û

ALT+0219

û

ALT+150

Ù

ALT+0217

ù

ALT+151

Ú

00DA+ALT+X

ú

ALT+163

Ÿ

0159+ALT+X

ÿ

ALT+152

For more information about typographic ligatures, see Typographic ligature. For more, see Character Map.

Glyph

Code

Glyph

Code

Æ

ALT+0198

æ

ALT+0230

ß

ALT+0223

ß

ALT+225

Œ

ALT+0140

œ

ALT+0156

ʩ

02A9+ALT+X

ʣ

02A3+ALT+X

ʥ

02A5+ALT+X

ʪ

02AA+ALT+X

ʫ

02AB+ALT+X

ʦ

0246+ALT+X

ʧ

02A7+ALT+X

Љ

0409+ALT+X

Ю

042E+ALT+X

Њ

040A+ALT+X

Ѿ

047E+ALT+x

Ы

042B+ALT+X

Ѩ

0468+ALT+X

Ѭ

049C+ALT+X

FDF2+ALT+X

ASCII table numbers 0–31 are assigned for control characters used to control some peripheral devices such as printers.

Decimal

Character

Decimal

Character

null

0

data link escape

16

start of heading

1

device control 1

17

start of text

2

device control 2

18

end of text

3

device control 3

19

end of transmission

4

device control 4

20

inquiry

5

negative acknowledge

21

acknowledge

6

synchronous idle

22

bell

7

end of transmission block

23

backspace

8

cancel

24

horizontal tab

9

end of medium

25

line feed/new line

10

substitute

26

vertical tab

11

escape

27

form feed/new page

12

file separator

28

carriage return

13

group separator

29

shift out

14

record separator

30

shift in

15

unit separator

31

space

32

DEL

127

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