In Windows, you can type any character you want by holding down the ALT key, typing a sequence of numbers, then releasing the ALT key.
You can type a lot of characters that may not have a corresponding key on your keyboard – such as European language alphabetic characters, ASCII symbols, and even Chinese characters (also known as Hanzi, Kanji, or Hanja).
These Alt codes are also helpful if you have a keyboard with a stuck or missing key.
Below I will break down the entire list of alt keys by category. But first, here's the full list. (Note: this does not include the many, many characters from non-western European languages – otherwise it would be 100,000s of codes long.)
Below is a nice ASCII-formatted table of the most commonly-used symbols and characters. It took me a while to assemble all of these get them looking good.
As a developer, when I search for these codes I often get results that are image-based. These are inaccessible to people with visual disabilities, and make it hard for everyone to copy-paste the codes.
Alt Code Symbol ---------- -------- alt 1 ☺ alt 2 ☻ alt 3 ♥ alt 4 ♦ alt 5 ♣ alt 6 ♠ alt 7 • alt 8 ◘ alt 9 ○ alt 10 ◙ alt 11 ♂ alt 12 ♀ alt 13 ♪ alt 14 ♫ alt 15 ☼ alt 16 ► alt 17 ◄ alt 18 ↕ alt 19 ‼ alt 20 ¶ alt 21 § alt 22 ▬ alt 23 ↨ alt 24 ↑ alt 25 ↓ alt 26 → alt 27 ← alt 28 ∟ alt 29 ↔ alt 30 ▲ alt 31 ▼ alt 32 alt 33 ! alt 34 " alt 35 # alt 36 $ alt 37 % alt 38 & alt 39 ' alt 40 ( alt 41 ) alt 42 * alt 43 + alt 44 , alt 45 - alt 46 . alt 47 / alt 48 0 alt 49 1 alt 50 2 alt 51 3 alt 52 4 alt 53 5 alt 54 6 alt 55 7 alt 56 8 alt 57 9 alt 58 : alt 59 ; alt 60 < alt 61 = alt 62 > alt 63 ? alt 64 @ alt 65 A alt 66 B alt 67 C alt 68 D alt 69 E alt 70 F alt 71 G alt 72 H alt 73 I alt 74 J alt 75 K alt 76 L alt 77 M alt 78 N alt 79 O alt 80 P alt 81 Q alt 82 R alt 83 S alt 84 T alt 85 U alt 86 V alt 87 W alt 88 X alt 89 Y alt 90 Z alt 91 [ alt 91 [ alt 92 \ alt 92 \ alt 93 ] alt 93 ] alt 94 ^ alt 95 _ alt 96 ` alt 97 a alt 98 b alt 99 c alt 100 d alt 101 e alt 102 f alt 103 g alt 104 h alt 105 i alt 106 j alt 107 k alt 108 l alt 109 m alt 110 n alt 111 o alt 112 p alt 113 q alt 114 r alt 115 s alt 116 t alt 117 u alt 118 v alt 119 w alt 120 x alt 121 y alt 122 z alt 123 { alt 124 | alt 125 } alt 126 ~ alt 127 ⌂ alt 155 ¢ alt 156 £ alt 157 ¥ alt 158 ₧ alt 159 ƒ alt 164 ñ alt 165 Ñ alt 166 ª alt 167 º alt 168 ¿ alt 169 ® alt 170 ¬ alt 171 ½ alt 172 ¼ alt 173 ¡ alt 174 « alt 175 » alt 176 ░ alt 177 ▒ alt 178 ▓ alt 179 │ alt 180 ┤ alt 181 ╡ alt 182 ╢ alt 183 ╖ alt 184 ╕ alt 185 ╣ alt 186 ║ alt 187 ╗ alt 188 ╝ alt 189 ╜ alt 190 ╛ alt 191 ┐ alt 192 └ alt 193 ┴ alt 194 ┬ alt 195 ├ alt 196 ─ alt 197 ┼ alt 198 ╞ alt 199 ╟ alt 200 ╚ alt 201 ╔ alt 202 ╩ alt 203 ╦ alt 204 ╠ alt 205 ═ alt 206 ╬ alt 207 ╧ alt 208 ╨ alt 209 ╤ alt 210 ╥ alt 211 ╙ alt 212 ╘ alt 213 ╒ alt 214 ╓ alt 215 ╫ alt 216 ╪ alt 217 ┘ alt 218 ┌ alt 219 █ alt 220 ▄ alt 221 ▌ alt 222 ▐ alt 223 ▀ alt 224 α alt 225 ß alt 226 Γ alt 227 π alt 228 Σ alt 229 σ alt 230 µ alt 231 τ alt 232 Φ alt 233 Θ alt 234 Ω alt 235 δ alt 236 ∞ alt 237 φ alt 238 ε alt 239 ∩ alt 240 ≡ alt 241 ± alt 242 ≥ alt 243 ≤ alt 244 ⌠ alt 245 ⌡ alt 247 ≈ alt 248 ° alt 249 · alt 250 · alt 251 √ alt 252 ⁿ alt 254 ■ alt 255 alt 0128 € alt 0130 ‘ alt 0132 „ alt 0133 … alt 0134 † alt 0135 ‡ alt 0137 ‰ alt 0138 Š alt 0139 ‹ alt 0140 Œ alt 0142 Ž alt 0145 ‘ alt 0146 ’ alt 0147 “ alt 0148 ” alt 0151 — alt 0153 ™ alt 0154 š alt 0155 › alt 0156 œ alt 0158 ž alt 0159 Ÿ alt 0164 ¤ alt 0166 ¦ alt 0168 ¨ alt 0169 © alt 0175 ¯ alt 0178 ² alt 0179 ³ alt 0180 ´ alt 0183 · alt 0184 ¸ alt 0185 ¹ alt 0188 ¼ alt 0189 ½ alt 0190 ¾ alt 0192 À alt 0193 Á alt 0194  alt 0195 à alt 0196 Ä alt 0197 Å alt 0198 Æ alt 0199 Ç alt 0200 È alt 0201 É alt 0202 Ê alt 0203 Ë alt 0204 Ì alt 0205 Í alt 0206 Ï alt 0207 Ï alt 0208 Ð alt 0210 Ò alt 0211 Ó alt 0212 Ô alt 0213 Õ alt 0214 Ö alt 0215 × alt 0216 Ø alt 0217 Ù alt 0218 Ú alt 0219 Û alt 0220 Ü alt 0221 Ý alt 0222 Þ alt 0223 ß alt 0224 à alt 0225 á alt 0226 â alt 0227 ã alt 0228 ä alt 0229 å alt 0230 æ alt 0231 ç alt 0232 è alt 0233 é alt 0234 ê alt 0235 ë alt 0236 ì alt 0237 í alt 0238 î alt 0239 ï alt 0240 ð alt 0242 ò alt 0243 ó alt 0244 ô alt 0245 õ alt 0246 ö alt 0247 ÷ alt 0248 ø alt 0249 ú alt 0250 û alt 0251 ü alt 0252 ù alt 0253 ý alt 0254 þ alt 0255 ÿ OK – now let's break this list down by sections.
The first 31 alt codes are dedicated to fun characters like happy faces, arrows, and other common symbols:
Alt Code Symbol ---------- -------- alt 1 ☺ alt 2 ☻ alt 3 ♥ alt 4 ♦ alt 5 ♣ alt 6 ♠ alt 7 • alt 8 ◘ alt 9 ○ alt 10 ◙ alt 11 ♂ alt 12 ♀ alt 13 ♪ alt 14 ♫ alt 15 ☼ alt 16 ► alt 17 ◄ alt 18 ↕ alt 19 ‼ alt 20 ¶ alt 21 § alt 22 ▬ alt 23 ↨ alt 24 ↑ alt 25 ↓ alt 26 → alt 27 ← alt 28 ∟ alt 29 ↔ alt 30 ▲ alt 31 ▼ As I mentioned earlier, you can use Alt codes to type characters you could otherwise type on your keyboard. This is helpful if one of your keyboard keys is non-operational.
Alt codes 32 through 126 are dedicated to these keys. And yes, Alt 32 is the space character.
Alt Code Symbol ---------- -------- alt 32 alt 33 ! alt 34 " alt 35 # alt 36 $ alt 37 % alt 38 & alt 39 ' alt 40 ( alt 41 ) alt 42 * alt 43 + alt 44 , alt 45 - alt 46 . alt 47 / alt 48 0 alt 49 1 alt 50 2 alt 51 3 alt 52 4 alt 53 5 alt 54 6 alt 55 7 alt 56 8 alt 57 9 alt 58 : alt 59 ; alt 60 < alt 61 = alt 62 > alt 63 ? alt 64 @ alt 65 A alt 66 B alt 67 C alt 68 D alt 69 E alt 70 F alt 71 G alt 72 H alt 73 I alt 74 J alt 75 K alt 76 L alt 77 M alt 78 N alt 79 O alt 80 P alt 81 Q alt 82 R alt 83 S alt 84 T alt 85 U alt 86 V alt 87 W alt 88 X alt 89 Y alt 90 Z alt 91 [ alt 91 [ alt 92 \ alt 92 \ alt 93 ] alt 93 ] alt 94 ^ alt 95 _ alt 96 ` alt 97 a alt 98 b alt 99 c alt 100 d alt 101 e alt 102 f alt 103 g alt 104 h alt 105 i alt 106 j alt 107 k alt 108 l alt 109 m alt 110 n alt 111 o alt 112 p alt 113 q alt 114 r alt 115 s alt 116 t alt 117 u alt 118 v alt 119 w alt 120 x alt 121 y alt 122 z alt 123 { alt 124 | alt 125 } alt 126 ~ The next few Alt codes are focused on currencies, with a few Spanish-specific characters as well. These are helpful if you need to type the Spanish ñ letter or make upside down question marks or exclamation marks.
Alt Code Symbol ---------- -------- alt 127 ⌂ alt 155 ¢ alt 156 £ alt 157 ¥ alt 158 ₧ alt 159 ƒ alt 164 ñ alt 165 Ñ alt 166 ª alt 167 º alt 168 ¿ alt 169 ® alt 170 ¬ alt 171 ½ alt 172 ¼ alt 173 ¡ alt 174 « alt 175 » Alt Codes for ASCII Symbols, for Building Command Line Interfaces and ASCII Art
This is my favorite section – the many, many ASCII symbols you can use to make command line menus and ASCII art.
Alt Code Symbol ---------- -------- alt 176 ░ alt 177 ▒ alt 178 ▓ alt 179 │ alt 180 ┤ alt 181 ╡ alt 182 ╢ alt 183 ╖ alt 184 ╕ alt 185 ╣ alt 186 ║ alt 187 ╗ alt 188 ╝ alt 189 ╜ alt 190 ╛ alt 191 ┐ alt 192 └ alt 193 ┴ alt 194 ┬ alt 195 ├ alt 196 ─ alt 197 ┼ alt 198 ╞ alt 199 ╟ alt 200 ╚ alt 201 ╔ alt 202 ╩ alt 203 ╦ alt 204 ╠ alt 205 ═ alt 206 ╬ alt 207 ╧ alt 208 ╨ alt 209 ╤ alt 210 ╥ alt 211 ╙ alt 212 ╘ alt 213 ╒ alt 214 ╓ alt 215 ╫ alt 216 ╪ alt 217 ┘ alt 218 ┌ alt 219 █ alt 220 ▄ alt 221 ▌ alt 222 ▐ alt 223 ▀ Alt Codes for Mathematical Symbols and Other Non-English Characters
And of course, you can type the Greek letters using alt codes. These are super helpful for typing out mathematical formats wherever you need to. For any real heavy lifting, you'd probably want to use something like TeX, but if you're just trying to send a mathematical expression through an instant message, these alt codes can come in hand.
Alt Code Symbol ---------- -------- alt 224 α alt 225 ß alt 226 Γ alt 227 π alt 228 Σ alt 229 σ alt 230 µ alt 231 τ alt 232 Φ alt 233 Θ alt 234 Ω alt 235 δ alt 236 ∞ alt 237 φ alt 238 ε alt 239 ∩ alt 240 ≡ alt 241 ± alt 242 ≥ alt 243 ≤ alt 244 ⌠ alt 245 ⌡ alt 247 ≈ alt 248 ° alt 249 · alt 250 · alt 251 √ alt 252 ⁿ alt 254 ■ alt 255 alt 0128 € alt 0130 ‘ alt 0132 „ alt 0133 … alt 0134 † alt 0135 ‡ alt 0137 ‰ alt 0138 Š alt 0139 ‹ alt 0140 Œ alt 0142 Ž alt 0145 ‘ alt 0146 ’ alt 0147 “ alt 0148 ” alt 0151 — alt 0153 ™ alt 0154 š alt 0155 › alt 0156 œ alt 0158 ž alt 0159 Ÿ alt 0164 ¤ alt 0166 ¦ alt 0168 ¨ alt 0169 © alt 0175 ¯ alt 0178 ² alt 0179 ³ alt 0180 ´ alt 0183 · alt 0184 ¸ alt 0185 ¹ alt 0188 ¼ alt 0189 ½ alt 0190 ¾ alt 0192 À alt 0193 Á alt 0194  alt 0195 à alt 0196 Ä alt 0197 Å alt 0198 Æ alt 0199 Ç alt 0200 È alt 0201 É alt 0202 Ê alt 0203 Ë alt 0204 Ì alt 0205 Í alt 0206 Ï alt 0207 Ï alt 0208 Ð alt 0210 Ò alt 0211 Ó alt 0212 Ô alt 0213 Õ alt 0214 Ö alt 0215 × alt 0216 Ø alt 0217 Ù alt 0218 Ú alt 0219 Û alt 0220 Ü alt 0221 Ý alt 0222 Þ alt 0223 ß alt 0224 à alt 0225 á alt 0226 â alt 0227 ã alt 0228 ä alt 0229 å alt 0230 æ alt 0231 ç alt 0232 è alt 0233 é alt 0234 ê alt 0235 ë alt 0236 ì alt 0237 í alt 0238 î alt 0239 ï alt 0240 ð alt 0242 ò alt 0243 ó alt 0244 ô alt 0245 õ alt 0246 ö alt 0247 ÷ alt 0248 ø alt 0249 ú alt 0250 û alt 0251 ü alt 0252 ù alt 0253 ý alt 0254 þ alt 0255 ÿ Thanks for making use of this Alt Codes Reference
I hope this little cheat sheet has been helpful for you. If it has, I encourage you to link to it and share it with your friends, so more people can benefit from it.
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FAQs
How do you type special characters and keyboard symbols in windows using the Alt keys? ›
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 I type Alt codes in Windows? ›To use an Alt code, press and hold down the Alt key and type the code using the numeric key pad on the right side of your keyboard. If you do not have a numeric keypad, copy and paste the symbols from this page, or go back try another typing method.
How do you type special characters without numpad? ›- Open Character Map by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking Character Map.
- In the Font list, type or select the font you want to use.
- Click the special character you want to insert into the document.
| COMMAND | ACTION |
|---|---|
| alt + 0176 | degree symbol ° |
| alt + 0252 | check symbol √ |
| alt + 38 | and symbol & |
| alt + 7 | bullet symbol • |
To type special characters in Windows, hold the Alt key, type the number code associated with the special character you want using the numpad that's located on the right side of your keyboard. The row of numbers above your letter keys won't work.
Why doesn't my alt codes work? ›The most common reason for ALT codes not working is that the number lock setting has been turned off. This setting controls how numbers on the numeric keypad function, so check it if you're having trouble with your ALT codes. Another cause of this problem is incorrect language settings on Windows.
How do I activate my Alt key? ›The key combination [Ctrl] + [Alt] offers the same function as Alt Gr.
How do I enable Alt codes in Windows 10? ›Solution 4: Use the Character Map to Add ALT Characters
Step 1: Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Then, type charmap and press Enter to open the Character Map. Step 2: Click the special character that you want to insert. Then, click the Select button to copy it to your clipboard.
The magic sequence of keys Alt-255 typed at numeric keypad places an Invisible Character symbol into text. This character looks like a blank space in the program code and SAS output but is processed and printed by many programs as a valid text character.
How do I type Unicode characters in Windows without numpad? ›Select a character and press Alt + X to convert that character into it's unicode number. The code is shown on the left hand side of the status bar in Character Map in the form U + <hexadecimal code>, e.g., U + 0061 for the letter a.
What is Alt F7 used for? ›
Alt + F7 = Find the next misspelling or grammatical error.
What does pressing Alt F4 do? ›Pressing the Alt and F4 keys together is a keyboard shortcut to close the currently active window. For example, if you press this keyboard shortcut while playing a game, the game window will close immediately.
Does Alt F12 anything? ›Alt F12 Customize local layout.
How do you pull up special characters? ›In Windows, you can type any character you want by holding down the ALT key, typing a sequence of numbers, then releasing the ALT key.
How do I access special keyboard? ›Make sure the NumLock key is on, and then hold the Alt key. While holding Alt , use the numeric keypad to type one of the three-digit numbers listed below. When you are done typing, release the Alt key, and the associated extended character will appear.
What are the 7 special keys in keyboard? ›- Ctrl-S - save.
- Ctrl-O - open.
- Ctrl-N - new.
- Ctrl-C - copy.
- Ctrl-V - paste.
- Ctrl-X - cut.
- Ctrl-Z - undo.
- Ctrl-A - select all.
Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. Go to Special Characters. Double-click the character that you want to insert.
How do I add special characters to my keyboard Windows 10? ›Step 1: Click the Windows button and type Character Map into it and open the app. Alternatively, Press Windows Key + R to launch Run, and type charmap and hit Enter to open Character Map on your computer. Step 2: In the Character Map app, you can select different types of fonts from the top menu.
What key can I use instead of Alt? ›The following image of a keyboard shows the location of the Alt keys, which are highlighted in blue. Apple computer keyboards use the option key instead of the Alt key.
What happens when you press Alt F11? ›Alt+F11 opens the Microsoft Visual Basic For Applications Editor, in which you can create a macro by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
How do I type Unicode characters in Windows 10? ›
- Alt – x. In Microsoft Word you can insert Unicode characters by typing the hex value of the character then typing Alt-x. ...
- Alt – + Another approach which works with more applications is as follows. ...
- UnicodeInput. Another option is to install the UnicodeInput utility.
Degree Sign Symbols
Press and hold the ALT key and type the number 0176 to make a degree sign. Example usage of degree symbol: weather is now 60° Fahrenheit. Use unicode Degree symbols in a html document or copy paste the character.
The lowercase ñ can be made in the Microsoft Windows operating system by typing Alt + 164 or Alt + 0241 on the numeric keypad (with Num Lock turned on); the uppercase Ñ can be made with Alt + 165 or Alt + 0209 . Character Map in Windows identifies the letter as "Latin Small/Capital Letter N With Tilde".
What is Alt 248? ›To get the letter, character, sign or symbol "°" : ( Degree symbol ) on computers with Windows operating system: 1) Press the "Alt" key on your keyboard, and do not let go. 2) While keep press "Alt", on your keyboard type the number "248", which is the number of the letter or symbol "°" in ASCII table.
How do I enable Unicode in Windows? ›In the Region Settings window, click Language and then click Administrative language settings. In the Region dialog, on the Administrative tab, click Change system locale. In the resulting dialog, select the desired Unicode language from the Current system locale list.
Can you use Alt codes without a Numpad? ›How do you use alt codes without a number pad? If you have no Numpad then you should use Character Map. It's pre-installed in Windows and free to use, just type character map in windows search and then open it. It will help you to use hundreds or thousands of characters for free.
What is Alt F8 used for? ›Alt+F8 displays the Macro dialog box to create, run, edit, or delete a macro.
What does Ctrl Alt F8 do? ›CTRL+ALT+F8 goes to the standard console/terminal which is what lies behind when you have X running. TTY8, which usually doesn't have anything running, is therefore blank - sometimes with a blinking cursor in top left corner. If you hit CTRL+ALT+F7, you should be back in X, which is usually the "TTY" where X is at.
What is F8 used for? ›F8. Function key used to enter the Windows startup menu, commonly used to access Windows Safe Mode. Used by some computers to access the Windows recovery system, but may require a Windows installation CD.
What happens if you press Alt F5? ›Alt + F5 : Restore. Alt + F4 : Close.
What does Alt F6 do? ›
More specifically, the Alt + F6 hotkey is for switching among top-level windows in an application. For example, start Notepad, type some text, and then press Ctrl + F to call up the search dialog. At this point, you can use Alt + F6 to switch between the search dialog and the main Notepad window.
What is F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 f7 f8 f9 f10 f11 F12? ›The function keys or F-keys on a computer keyboard, labeled F1 through F12, are keys that have a special function defined by the operating system, or by a currently running program. They may be combined with the Alt or Ctrl keys.
What is shift F12 for? ›Shift+F12 saves the Microsoft Word document (like Ctrl+S). Ctrl+Shift+F12 prints a document in the Microsoft Word. Preview a page in the Microsoft Expression Web. Open browser debug tool or Firebug.
What does shift F12 do? ›Shift+F7 Runs a Thesaurus check on the selected word. Shift+F12 Save the open document. Just like Ctrl+S.
What happens if you press F12? ›F12 is the short cut key that is used to open save as file window in Microsoft office..
How do I type special characters in Windows 10 without numpad? ›- You must engage the keypad. Find and hold the fn key and press the Num Lock key. On my laptop it is located on the Scroll Lock key. A little led bulb should light to show that the keypad function is engaged.
- Now you can type in the alt symbols ALT + Fn + MJ89 = ½ symbol.
Alt-F4 (countable and uncountable, plural Alt-F4s) (computing, graphical user interface) A keyboard shortcut in Windows that completely closes the application or a focused window.
What does Alt and F7 do? ›Alt + F7 does a spelling and grammar check in Microsoft Word. Shift + F7 open Thesaurus in Microsoft Word.
Why don't my alt codes work on my laptop? ›- Mouse keys don't work when Num Lock is on. The use of mouse keys is not permitted when Num lock is on, which can be one of the main reasons.
- The entry of Unicode is not enabled via Registry Editor. ...
- Third-party interference. ...
- Special character registry is corrupted.
The magic sequence of keys Alt-255 typed at numeric keypad places an Invisible Character symbol into text. This character looks like a blank space in the program code and SAS output but is processed and printed by many programs as a valid text character.
What does Alt F5 do? ›
Alt + F6 : Switch windows within an app. Alt + F5 : Restore. Alt + F4 : Close.
What does Alt F11 do? ›Alt+F11 opens the Microsoft Visual Basic For Applications Editor, in which you can create a macro by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
What is F1 F2 F3 F4 f5 f6 F7 F8 F9 F10? ›The function keys or F-keys on a computer keyboard, labeled F1 through F12, are keys that have a special function defined by the operating system, or by a currently running program. They may be combined with the Alt or Ctrl keys.
What does Alt F9 do? ›If you work with Microsoft Excel on a regular basis, you know that it has a ton of keyboard shortcuts that can make your life a lot easier. One of the most useful shortcuts is Ctrl+Alt+F9, which allows you to quickly recalculate all the formulas in your worksheet.