How to Insert Symbols in an MS Word Document

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This wikiHow teaches you how to place a symbol, such as the copyright symbol or the division sign, in a Microsoft Word document. You can do this in Microsoft Word for both Windows and Mac.

On Windows

Open Microsoft Word document. Double-click a Microsoft Word file, or open Microsoft Word and then select the file from the home page. Doing so will open the last-saved version of the file.

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Place your cursor where you want to insert the symbol and click. This will set that location as the point at which your symbol will be inserted.

Click the Insert tab. It's in the upper-left side of the blue ribbon that's at the top of the Word window.

Click Symbol . This option is on the far-right side of the Insert toolbar. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.

• If you see the symbol you want in the drop-down menu, click it instead to insert it immediately.

• You can also click the Special Characters tab at the top of the Symbol window to browse additional characters.

• You can repeat this process with as many symbols as you like.

Click Close . It's at the bottom of the Symbol window. Your symbol(s) will remain in the Microsoft Word document.

On Mac

Open Microsoft Word document. Double-click a Microsoft Word file, or open Microsoft Word and then select the file from the home page. Doing so will open the last-saved version of the file.

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Place your cursor where you want to insert the symbol and click. This will set that location as the point at which your symbol will be inserted.

• Do not click the Insert menu item that's in the bar at the top of your Mac's screen.

Click Advanced Symbol . This option is on the far-right side of the Insert toolbar. Doing so opens the Symbol window. [2] X Research source

• You can also click the Special Characters tab at the top of the Symbol window to browse additional symbols.

• You can insert as many symbols as you like in this way.

Click Close . It's at the bottom of the Symbol window. Your symbol(s) should now be in your Microsoft Word document.

Community Q&A

In the Symbol menu (which you got to by clicking Insert > Symbol> More options) choose your font. Click once on a symbol. Look at the bottom of that window, there should be shortcut keys showing. If you change the option box at the right to ASCII (decimal), then you'll see a number in the Character code box : for small a with an acute mark á, the number is 225. Add a zero to the front of that. In your document (or wherever else that ascii codes work), hold down the ALT button and type 0225 on the number pad. Note that Alt+225 is different to Alt+0225. There you have it, an acute á. A degrees C/F sign is Alt+0176, that's a handy number to remember.

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Use ALT codes. That is, press ALT + (number). There are different numbers for all symbols, you can find them at alt-codes.net.

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On Windows computers, you'll see a code for each symbol you select in the "Character code" box. You can type this code into Word and then press Alt + X to convert the code into a symbol.

• (r) or (R) - ®
• (c) or (C) - ©
• (tm) or (TM) - ™
• e or (E) - €

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