Instructions
Special characters are characters that are not present on your keyboard layout. They are accessible by pressing a combination of keys on the keyboard or using the Character Map within Windows.
Some examples of special characters include:® Ὠ∞√
Affected Operating Systems:
How to open the Character Map (Windows11 and Windows10)
The Character Map can be used to search for available characters in selected fonts. You can copy and paste the selected character in the appropriate location.
- From the search box, type Character Map and then select Character Map (App) from the results.
Figure 1: Character Map
How to type special characters in Windows
You can use alt codes to display special characters in Windows. By holding down the Alt key and pressing a specific sequence of numbers, you can display characters without using software tools like the Character Map.
How to type special characters on a Windows laptop:
For laptops that have a number lock-activated keyboard integrated into the keyboard, turning on the Number Lock activates the number pad option of your integrated keyboard. These keys have the numbers in different colors below the letters or symbols. To activate the number pad keys on some models, you must enable the Number Lock by pressing the Fn+F2 combination.
Note: If a laptop does not have an integrated or dedicated numeric keypad, then either an external numeric keypad or the character map is needed for inserting special characters or symbols. The number row across the top of the keyboard does not work for this task.
Figure 2: Example of a laptop keyboard
How to type special characters on a Windows desktop:
For desktops, turn on the Number Lock on your keyboard and use the Number Pad section of keys.
Figure 3: Example of a desktop keyboard
Alt codes
The table below contains an example of common special characters and their associated alt codes.
| Special Character (Symbol) | Alt code to type |
| ™ (Trademark Sign) | Alt+0153 |
| ® (Registered Sign) | Alt+0174 |
| ° (Degree Sign) | Alt+0176 |
| € (Euro Sign) | Alt+0128 |
| ¢ (Cent Sign) | Alt+0162 |
| ¶ (Pilcrow Sign) | Alt+0182 |
| Ω (Omega) | Alt+234 |
| ∞ (Infinity) | Alt+236 |
| √ (Square Root) | Alt+251 |
More information about alt codes can be found at https://www.alt-codes.net/.
Affected Products
Alienware, Inspiron, OptiPlex, Vostro, XPS, G Series, G Series, Alienware, Inspiron, Latitude, Vostro, XPS, Fixed Workstations, Mobile Workstations
FAQs
Press and hold down the ALT key while you type the four number Unicode value for the character. Note that NUM LOCK must be on, and you have to use the number pad keys to type the Unicode character value.
How to write special characters on Windows? ›
How to type special characters in Windows. You can use alt codes to display special characters in Windows. By holding down the Alt key and pressing a specific sequence of numbers, you can display characters without using software tools like the Character Map.
How do you insert special characters in symbols? ›
Click or tap where you want to insert the special character. Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. Go to Special Characters. Double-click the character that you want to insert.
What is the shortcut key for accessing symbols and special characters? ›
b)ctrl+F11.
What is an example of special character on the keyboard? ›
Special characters are the punctuation characters on your keyboard, such as: ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) - _ = + \ | [ ] { } ; : / ? . > For example, on many keyboards, to access the Pound sign “#”, press Shift plus the number “3”.
How do I type é on my keyboard? ›
Using the Alt Code
- Ensure your Num Lock is on.
- Hold down the Alt key.
- While holding the Alt key, type 0233 on the numeric keypad.
- Release the Alt key, and voilà, the é appears!
ö = Hold down the Control and Shift keys and type a : (colon), release the keys, and type an o. Ö = Hold down the Control and Shift keys and type a : (colon), release the keys, hold down the Shift key and type an o.
Where can I find symbols on my keyboard? ›
Type all the symbols like a pro
- Press Windows logo key + . ( period), then select Symbols in the emoji panel.
- Scroll through symbols like punctuation marks, accented keys, and more!
Special characters are symbols or punctuation marks that are used to add emphasis or clarity to sentences and phrases. They can also be used for formatting purposes and to add visual appeal. Special characters are not considered alphanumeric, as they do not represent any numbers or letters.
How do you add symbols to letters? ›
First, press the "Ctrl," "Shift," and the "6" keys simultaneously. Then, press the key for your desired letter. For example, to create "ô," press "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "^," then "o." In some operating systems, you may press the "Command" key instead of the "Ctrl" key.
To create a special character, follow these steps: Press and hold the ALT key, and then press the Shift key. Press the key to which a special character is assigned.
How do you unlock special characters on keyboard? ›
Most text editors and word processors allow you to type special symbols that do not appear on the keyboard, including foreign language characters and accents. To access these, use the numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard. Make sure the NumLock key is on, and then hold the Alt key.
What is the key for allowing to type symbols? ›
Additionally, some keyboards may have a dedicated "Alt" or "Alt Gr" (alternate graphic) key that, when pressed in combination with other keys, allows access to additional special characters and symbols.
How do I enter special characters? ›
Inserting ASCII characters
To insert an ASCII character, press and hold down ALT while typing the character code. For example, to insert the degree (º) symbol, press and hold down ALT while typing 0176 on the numeric keypad. You must use the numeric keypad to type the numbers, and not the keyboard.
How do you check if a character is a special character? ›
Follow the steps below to solve the problem:
- Traverse the string and for each character, check if its ASCII value lies in the ranges [32, 47], [58, 64], [91, 96] or [123, 126]. If found to be true, it is a special character.
- Print Yes if all characters lie in one of the aforementioned ranges. Otherwise, print No.
On the Symbol pop up window, click AutoCorrect. Type a word in the Replace This field. You can use whatever text you want (as long as it is not a real word or letter combination that you would use) to create the AutoCorrect entry. Then in the Replace With field, paste the symbol you had copied.
How do I type accents on Windows? ›
Certain characters are as follows:
- ç (cedilla) = APOSTROPHE + C (type apostrophe first and then c) ...
- á (acute accent) = ALT-GR + A. ...
- ä (umlaut) = QUOTATION_MARK (SHIFT + APOSTROPHE) + A. ...
- â (circumflex) = CARET (SHIFT + 6) + A. ...
- ñ (tilde) = ALT-GR + N. ...
- à (grave) = GRAVE + A. ...
- ß = ALT-GR + S.
- æ = ALT-GR + Z.
Open a document in Microsoft Word. Press “Ctrl" plus the apostrophe key and then the letter to insert an acute accent. Press “Ctrl" plus the grave accent key and then the letter to insert a grave accent.
How to type ü on Windows? ›
ü: alt +0252.
How to type ø on Windows? ›
All you need is a windows computer with a full-size keyboard. Let's start with the basics; the ALT code for a diameter symbol (Ø) is ALT+0216, so you press and hold down the left ALT key and then type 0216 on the number pad. when you let go of the ALT key the symbol will appear at the cursor.
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