MASTER SHORTCUT MATRIX

Master Special Characters Keyboard Shortcut Reference Matrix

Special characters are non-alphanumeric symbols, currency signs, mathematical operators, legal marks, and diacritics used in writing, science, design, and code. Below is your complete cross-platform shortcut reference table for the most popular special characters:

Symbol & Name Glyph Windows Alt Code Mac Shortcut Word Shortcut Unicode Code Point HTML Entity
At Symbol @ Alt+64 Shift+2 Shift+2 U+0040 @
Degree Symbol ° Alt+0176 / Alt+248 Opt+Shift+8 00B0 + Alt+X U+00B0 °
Euro Symbol € Alt+0128 Opt+2 (or Opt+Shift+2) Ctrl+Alt+E U+20AC €
Pound Sign £ Alt+0163 / Alt+156 Opt+3 00A3 + Alt+X U+00A3 £
Yen Sign ¥ Alt+0165 / Alt+157 Opt+Y 00A5 + Alt+X U+00A5 ¥
Copyright Symbol © Alt+0169 Opt+g Ctrl+Alt+C U+00A9 ©
Registered Trademark ® Alt+0174 Opt+r Ctrl+Alt+R U+00AE ®
Trademark Symbol ™ Alt+0153 Opt+2 Ctrl+Alt+T U+2122 ™
Section Sign § Alt+0167 / Alt+21 Opt+6 00A7 + Alt+X U+00A7 §
Bullet Point • Alt+7 / Alt+0149 Opt+8 Ctrl+Shift+L U+2022 •
Em Dash — Alt+0151 Opt+Shift+- Ctrl+Alt+Numpad - U+2014 —
Square Root √ Alt+251 Opt+v 221A + Alt+X U+221A √
Infinity Symbol ∞ Alt+236 Opt+5 221E + Alt+X U+221E ∞
Spanish Eñe ñ Alt+164 / Alt+0241 Opt+n, then n Ctrl+Shift+~, n U+00F1 ñ
WINDOWS OS

How to Type Special Characters on Windows (4 Proven Methods)

Windows personal computers provide four main input systems to type special characters and symbols:

Method 1: Windows Alt Codes (Numeric Keypad)

On full-size keyboards with a 10-key numeric keypad on the right (verify Num Lock is active), hold down Alt and enter the numerical sequence:

  • Degree Symbol (°): Alt + 0176 | Euro Sign (€): Alt + 0128
  • Copyright (©): Alt + 0169 | Registered (®): Alt + 0174 | Trademark (™): Alt + 0153
  • Section Sign (§): Alt + 0167 | Pilcrow (¶): Alt + 0182
  • Bullet Point (•): Alt + 7 or Alt + 0149 | Em Dash (—): Alt + 0151
  • Square Root (√): Alt + 251 | Plus-Minus (±): Alt + 0177

Method 2: Windows Emoji & Symbol Picker (Win + .)

For laptops without a physical numeric keypad:

  • Press Win + . (Windows Key + Period) or Win + ;.
  • Click the Symbols (Ω) icon at the top toolbar.
  • Browse categories: General Punctuation, Currency Symbols, Latin Symbols, Math Symbols, Technical Symbols.

Method 3: Windows Character Map (charmap)

  • Press Win + R, type charmap, press Enter.
  • Search for any character name (e.g., "degree", "euro", "bullet"), click Select, then Copy.
APPLE MACOS

How to Type Special Characters on Mac (macOS Shortcuts)

Apple macOS makes typing special symbols seamless using the Option (Alt) key:

macOS Option Key Combinations

  • Degree Symbol (°): Option + Shift + 8
  • Euro Sign (€): Option + 2 (or Option + Shift + 2 on UK keyboards)
  • Copyright (©): Option + g | Registered (®): Option + r | Trademark (™): Option + 2
  • Bullet Point (•): Option + 8 | Em Dash (—): Option + Shift + -
  • Square Root (√): Option + v | Infinity (∞): Option + 5 | Pi (π): Option + p

macOS Character Viewer (Ctrl + Cmd + Space)

Press Ctrl + Cmd + Space to open the full Emoji & Symbol Viewer. Double-click any symbol to insert it into your active text editor.

OFFICE & GOOGLE DOCS

How to Type Special Characters in Word, Excel & Google Docs

Microsoft Word Shortcuts & Hex Code Converter

  • Unicode Hex Shortcut (Alt + X): Type the 4-character hex code directly into your document and press Alt + X:
    00B0 + Alt+X = ° | 20AC + Alt+X = € | 00A9 + Alt+X = © | 00AE + Alt+X = ® | 2014 + Alt+X = —
  • Word AutoCorrect Shortcuts: Type (c) for ©, (r) for ®, (tm) for ™.

Microsoft Excel Formulas

  • Insert dynamic special characters into Excel cells using formulas:
    =UNICHAR(176) outputs ° | =UNICHAR(8364) outputs € | =UNICHAR(169) outputs © | =UNICHAR(8226) outputs •

Google Docs Insert Special Characters

  • Go to Insert → Special characters. Search by character name or draw the shape directly on the recognition canvas!
CATEGORIZED SYMBOL HUB DIRECTORY

Explore All WayToType Symbol Directories & Guides

Need specialized characters for math equations, technical diagrams, scientific formulas, legal contracts, or international languages? Click any pillar category below:

± × ÷ √ ∞ ∫ ∑ ∂

Math Symbols (300+)

Arithmetic, calculus integrals, algebra, set theory, and LaTeX codes.

Explore Math →
$ € £ ¥ ₹ ₿ ₩ ₱

Currency Symbols

Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen, Rupee, Bitcoin, and global financial codes.

Explore Currencies →
α β γ δ θ λ π Ω

Greek Letters (A–Ω)

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Theta, Pi, Delta, Omega, and scientific constants.

Explore Greek →
→ ← ↑ ↓ ↔ ⇄ ➔ ➔

Arrow Symbols

Right, left, double, curved, block, and directional arrow signs.

Explore Arrows →
© ® ™ § ¶ ℗ ℠

Legal & Copyright

Copyright, Registered, Trademark, Section sign, Pilcrow, and Service mark.

Explore Legal →
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♤ ♡ ♢ ♧

Playing Card Suits

Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, outline suits, and poker icons.

Explore Cards →
Ctrl+Shift+u • ° € ñ

Chromebook Guide

ChromeOS Ctrl+Shift+u Unicode codes, US-Intl dead keys, and AltGr shortcuts.

Chromebook Guide →
⌘ ⌥ ⇧ ⌫ ⎋ ⏎ ⇥ ␣

Technical & Mac Keys

Command, Option, Shift, Backspace, Escape, Return, and UI key glyphs.

Explore Tech Keys →
⇌ ⇇ ⇈ ⇋ ⚛ 🧪 ⚗

Chemical Symbols

Equilibrium arrows, reaction signs, isotopes, and lab chemistry notation.

Explore Chemistry →
á é í ó ú ñ ü

Accented Letters Master

All A–Z accents, Windows Alt codes, Mac Option dead keys, and Word formulas.

Read Accents Guide →
• ⦿ ■ ➔ ★ ❥

Bullet Point Guide (•)

Alt 7, Opt+8, Word Ctrl+Shift+L, and 200+ custom list bullets.

Read Bullet Guide →
° ℃ ℉ ⌖ ˚

Degree Symbol Guide (°)

Alt 0176, Opt+Shift+8, Celsius ℃, Fahrenheit ℉, and angles.

Read Degree Guide →
DEVELOPER CHEAT SHEET

Developer Reference (Unicode Code Points & HTML Entities)

Special Character Unicode Code Point HTML Named Entity HTML Decimal / Hex CSS Escape JavaScript String
@ (At Symbol) U+0040 None @ / @ \\0040 "\\u0040"
° (Degree Symbol) U+00B0 ° ° / ° \\00B0 "\\u00B0"
€ (Euro Sign) U+20AC € € / € \\20AC "\\u20AC"
√ (Square Root) U+221A √ √ / √ \\221A "\\u221A"
• (Bullet Point) U+2022 • • / • \\2022 "\\u2022"
— (Em Dash) U+2014 — — / — \\2014 "\\u2014"
© (Copyright) U+00A9 © © / © \\00A9 "\\u00A9"
® (Registered) U+00AE ® ® / ® \\00AE "\\u00AE"
™ (Trademark) U+2122 ™ ™ / ™ \\2122 "\\u2122"
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions About Typing Special Characters

Special characters are typographical symbols, punctuation marks, math operators, currency signs, diacritics, and arrows that do not appear as standard alphanumeric keys (A-Z, 0-9) on standard QWERTY keyboards. Examples include ®, ©, ™, °, €, √, •, —, and ñ.
On Windows with Num Lock active, hold the Alt key, type the numeric code on the 10-key keypad, and release Alt. For example: Alt + 0176 = °, Alt + 0128 = €, Alt + 0169 = ©, Alt + 0153 = ™, Alt + 7 = •.
On macOS, hold the Option (Alt) key and press another key. For example: Option + Shift + 8 = °, Option + 2 = €, Option + g = ©, Option + 2 = ™, Option + 8 = •. You can also press Ctrl + Cmd + Space for Character Viewer.
On ChromeOS, press Ctrl + Shift + u, release, type the 4-digit hex code (e.g. 00b0 for °, 20ac for €, 00f1 for ñ), and press Enter. You can also use the US-International layout for AltGr shortcuts.
In Word, type the 4-digit Unicode hex code and press Alt + X (e.g. 00B0 + Alt + X = °, 20AC + Alt + X = €). You can also use built-in shortcuts like Ctrl + Alt + C for ©, Ctrl + Alt + R for ®, and Ctrl + Shift + L for bullet lists.
In Google Docs, go to Insert > Special characters to open the interactive character palette. You can search by name or draw the symbol in the drawing canvas.
On Windows laptops without a numpad, press Win + . (Windows Key + Period) to open the Emoji & Symbol Panel. On Mac laptops, press Ctrl + Cmd + Space. You can also copy any symbol directly from WayToType.
ASCII represents 128 basic characters (English letters, numbers, basic punctuation). Unicode expands this to over 149,000 characters across all global scripts, math symbols, technical icons, emojis, and scientific notation.