Keyboard Shortcuts

by Christoph Koeberlin

Here you find all special characters that are accessible via the British/American keyboard. I compiled them in groups that I find quite sensible, most important ones on the top.

Windows Input Method

On Windows, many of the characters have to be inserted by entering an alt code; press and hold alt key and enter the code with the numeric keypad – e.g. en dash = Alt + 0 1 5 0.

macOS Input Method

In rare cases, e.g. for the real minus sign, the detour via Unicode is also necessary in macOS. To do this, the Unicode hex input must be added in System Preferences → Keyboard → Input Sources. The new icon in the menu bar can then be used to change the input source accordingly. Now, to stay with the example of the minus sign, it can be called up correctly via + 2 2 1 2.

Quotation

CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
Opening⌥ + [Alt + 0147
Closing⇧ + ⌥ + [Alt + 0148
Single opening⌥ + ]Alt + 0145
Apostrophe⇧ + ⌥ + ]Alt + 0146
«Opening Guillemet (angle quote)⌥ + \Alt + 0171
»Closing Guillemet (angle quote)⌥ + ⇧ + \Alt + 0187
Single opening Guillemet⇧ + ⌥ + 3Alt + 0139
Single closing Guillemet⇧ + ⌥ + 4Alt + 0155
German opening⇧ + ⌥ + WAlt + 0132
German single opening⇧ + ⌥ + 0Alt + 0130

Punctuation

CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
-Ascii hyphen---
En Dash⌥ + -Alt + 0150
Em Dash⇧ + ⌥ + -Alt + 0151
Ellipsis⌥ + ;Alt + 0133
Apostrophe⇧ + ⌥ + ]Alt + 0146
·Interpunct (interpoint, Centred point, Middle dot)⇧ + ⌥ + 9Alt + 0183
Bullet⌥ + 8Alt + 0149
¡Inverted exclamation mark⌥ + 1Alt + 0161
!Exclamation mark⇧ + 1⇧ + 1
¿Inverted question mark⇧ + ⌥ + /Alt + 0191
?Question mark⇧ + /⇧ + /
(Opening parenthesis (round bracket)⇧ + 9⇧ + 9
)Closing parenthesis (round bracket)⇧ + 0⇧ + 0
[Opening square bracket[[
]Closing square bracket]]
{Opening curly bracket (brace)⇧ + [⇧ + [
}Closing curly bracket (brace)⇧ + ]⇧ + ]
/Slash//
\Backslash\\
|Vertical bar⇧ + \⇧ + \

Currencies

CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
Euro⇧ + ⌥ + 2Alt + 0128
$Dollar⇧ + 4⇧ + 4
¥Yen⌥ + YAlt + 0165
£Pound⌥ + 3Alt + 0163
¢Cent⌥ + 4Alt + 0162
ƒFlorin⌥ + FAlt + 0131
¤Currencie SignAlt + 0164

Miscellaneous Symbols

CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
@At sign⇧ + 2⇧ + 2
&Ampersand⇧ + 7⇧ + 7
fi ligature⇧ + ⌥ + 5
fl ligature⇧ + ⌥ + 6
§Section sign§Alt + 21
%Percent⇧ + 5⇧ + 5
Permille sign⇧ + ⌥ + RAlt + 0137
Pilcrow (paragraph mark, alinea)⌥ + 7Alt + 0182
Trademark⌥ + 2Alt + 0153
©Copyright⌥ + GAlt + 0169
®Registered Trademark⌥ + RAlt + 0174
*Asterisk⇧ + 8⇧ + 8
Dagger (obelisk)⌥ + TAlt + 0134
Double dagger (diesis)⇧ + ⌥ + 7Alt + 0135
°Degree⇧ + ⌥ + 8Alt + 248
'Single code mark (Feet, minutes)''
"Double code mark (Inches, seconds)⇧ + '⇧ + '
ªFeminine ordinal indicator⌥ + 9Alt + 0170
ºMasculine ordinal indicator⌥ + 0Alt + 0186

Diacritics / Accented letters

These are all accented letters available via keyboard shortcuts! You can copy/paste the most important Latin characters at our tweeting symbols article.

iOS (left) and macOS (right): by pushing and holding keys, you can access a corresponding glyph palette; e.g. in iA Writer.
CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
ÀA with grave⌥ + ` + ⇧ + AAlt + 0192
àa with grave⌥ + ` + AAlt + 0224
ÁA with acute⇧ + ⌥ + YAlt + 0193
áa with acute⌥ + E + AAlt + 0225
ÂA with circumflex⌥ + ⇧ + MAlt + 0194
âa with circumflex⌥ + I + AAlt + 0226
ÃA with tilde⌥ + N + ⇧ + AAlt + 0195
ãa with tilde⌥ + N + AAlt + 0227
ÄA with diaeresis⌥ + U + AAlt + 0196
äa with diaeresis⌥ + U + AAlt + 0228
ÅA with ring⇧ + ⌥ + AAlt + 0197
åa with ring⌥ + AAlt + 0229
ÆAE ligature⇧ + ⌥ + ‘Alt + 0198
æae ligature⌥ + ‘Alt + 0230
ÇC with cedilla⇧ + ⌥ + CAlt + 0199
çc with cedilla⌥ + CAlt + 0231
ÈE with grave⌥ + ` + ⇧ + EAlt + 0200
èe with grave⌥ + ` + EAlt + 0232
ÉE with acute⌥ + E + ⇧ + EAlt + 0201
ée with acute⌥ + E + EAlt + 0233
ÊE with circumflex⌥ + I + ⇧ + EAlt + 0202
êe with circumflex⌥ + I + EAlt + 0234
ËE with diaeresis⌥ + U + ⇧ + EAlt + 0203
ëe with diaeresis⌥ + U + EAlt + 0235
ÌI with grave⌥ + ` + ⇧ + IAlt + 0204
ìi with grave⌥ + ` + IAlt + 0236
ÍI with acute⇧ + ⌥ + SAlt + 0205
íi with acute⌥ + E + IAlt + 0237
ÎI with circumflex⌥ + ⇧ + DAlt + 0206
îi with circumflex⌥ + I + IAlt + 0238
ÏI with diaeresis⇧ + ⌥ + FAlt + 0207
ïi with diaeresis⌥ + U + IAlt + 0239
ıDotless i⇧ + ⌥ + B
ÑN with tilde⌥ + N + ⇧ + NAlt + 0209
ñn with tilde⌥ + N +NAlt + 0241
ÒO with grave⌥ + ⇧ + LAlt + 0210
òo with grave⌥ + ` + OAlt + 0242
ÓO with acute⇧ + ⌥ + HAlt + 0211
óo with acute⌥ + E + OAlt + 0243
ÔO with circumflex⌥ + ⇧ + JAlt + 0212
ôo with circumflex⌥ + I + OAlt + 0244
ÕO with tilde⌥ + N + ⇧ + OAlt + 0213
õo with tilde⌥ + N + OAlt + 0245
ÖO with diaeresis⌥ + U + ⇧ + OAlt + 0214
öo with diaeresis⌥ + U + OAlt + 0246
ØO with stroke (slashed O)⇧ + ⌥ + OAlt + 0216
øo with stroke (slashed o)⌥ + OAlt + 0248
ŒOE ligature⇧ + ⌥ + QAlt + 0140
œoe ligature⌥ + QAlt + 0156
ŠS with caronAlt + 0138
šs with caronAlt + 0154
Capital eszettAlt + 7838
ßEszett⌥ + SAlt + 0223
ÙU with grave⌥ + ` + ⇧ + UAlt + 0217
ùu with grave⌥ + ` + UAlt + 0249
ÚU with acute⌥ + ⇧ + ;Alt + 0218
úu with acute⌥ + E + UAlt + 0250
ÛU with circumflex⌥ + I + ⇧ + UAlt + 0219
ûu with circumflex⌥ + I + UAlt + 0251
ÜU with diaeresis⌥ + U + ⇧ + UAlt + 0220
üu with diaeresis⌥ + U + UAlt + 0252
ÝY with acuteAlt + 0221
ýy with acuteAlt + 0253
ŸY with diaeresis⌥ + U + ⇧ + YAlt + 0159
ÿy with diaeresis⌥ + U + YAlt + 0255
ŽZ with caronAlt + 0142
žz with caronAlt + 0158
ÐEth (Icelandic)Alt + 0208
ðeth (Icelandic)Alt + 0240
ÞThorn (Icelandic)Alt + 0222
þthorn (Icelandic)Alt + 0254
`Grave``
´Acute⇧ + ⌥ + eAlt + 0180
ˆCircumflex⇧ + ⌥ + IAlt + 0192
˜Tilde (non-mathematical)⇧ + ⌥ + NAlt + 0152
¨Diaeresis (Umlaut)⇧ + ⌥ + UAlt + 0168
˚Ring accent (≠ degree °)⌥ + KAlt + 0000
ˇCaron⇧ + ⌥ + T
˝Double acute (hungarumlaut)⇧ + ⌥ + G
˙Dot accent⌥ + H
¯Macron⇧ + ⌥ + ,Alt + 0175
˘Breve⇧ + ⌥ + .
¸Cedilla⇧ + ⌥ + Z
˛Ogonek⇧ + ⌥ + X

Mathematical etc.

CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
+Plus⇧ + =⇧ + =
Minus Sign⌥ + 2212Alt + 8722
×MultiplicationAlt + 0215
÷Division⌥ + /Alt + 0247
=Equals==
Almost equal to⌥ + X
Not equal⌥ + =
EstimatesAlt + 2259Strg + ⇧ + U + 2259
<Less-than⇧ + ,⇧ + ,
>Greater-than⇧ + .⇧ + .
Greater-than or equal⌥ + .
Greater-than or equal⌥ + .
±Plus-minus⇧ + §Alt + 0177
¦Broken barAlt + 0166
^Caret (Ascii Circumflex)⇧ + 6Alt + 94
~tilde (mathematical)⇧ + `⇧ + `
¬Logical Not⌥ + LAlt + 0172
µMicro sign (mu)⌥ + MAlt Gr + M
ΩOhm sign (Omega)⌥ + Z
Symmetric Difference⌥ + J
πpi⌥ + PAlt + 0227
Partial derivative⌥ + D
Product⇧ + ⌥ + P
Summation⌥ + W
Square root⌥ + V
Infinity⌥ + 5
Integral⌥ + B
Lozenge (diamond)⇧ + ⌥ + V
Fraction slash⇧ + ⌥ + 1
¹Superscript 1Alt + 0185
²Superscript 2Alt + 253
³Superscript 3Alt + 0179
¼One quarterAlt + 0188
½One halfAlt + 0189
¾Three quartersAlt + 0190

Windows-only

CharacterNamemacOSWindowsLinux
SmileyAlt + 1Strg + ⇧ + U + 263A
Black smileyAlt + 2Strg + ⇧ + U + 263B
Hearts (suit)Alt + 3Strg + ⇧ + U + 2665
Diamonds (suit)Alt + 4Strg + ⇧ + U + 2666
Clubs (suit)Alt + 5Strg + ⇧ + U + 2663
Spades (suit)Alt + 6Strg + ⇧ + U + 2660
Inverse bulletAlt + 8Strg + ⇧ + U + 25D8
White circleAlt + 9Strg + ⇧ + U + 25CB
Inverse white circleAlt + 10Strg + ⇧ + U + 25D9
Male signAlt + 11Strg + ⇧ + U + 2642
Female signAlt + 12Strg + ⇧ + U + 2640
Eighth noteAlt + 13Strg + ⇧ + U + 266A
Beamed eighth notesAlt + 14Strg + ⇧ + U + 266B
SunAlt + 15Strg + ⇧ + U + 263C
Black right-pointing pointerAlt + 16Strg + ⇧ + U + 25BA
Black left-pointing pointerAlt + 17Strg + ⇧ + U + 25C4
Up down arrowAlt + 18Strg + ⇧ + U + 2195
Double exclamation markAlt + 19Strg + ⇧ + U + 203C
Black rectangleAlt + 22Strg + ⇧ + U + 25AC
Up down arrow with baseAlt + 23Strg + ⇧ + U + 21A8
Upwards arrowAlt + 24Strg + ⇧ + U + 2191
Downwards arrowAlt + 25Strg + ⇧ + U + 2193
Rightwards arrowAlt + 26Strg + ⇧ + U + 2192
Leftwards arrowAlt + 27Strg + ⇧ + U + 2190
Right angleAlt + 28Strg + ⇧ + U + 221F
Black up-pointing triangleAlt + 30Strg + ⇧ + U + 25B2
Black down-pointing triangleAlt + 31Strg + ⇧ + U + 25BC
HouseAlt + 127Strg + ⇧ + U + 2302
Pesetas signAlt + 158Strg + ⇧ + U + 20A7
Light shadeAlt + 176Strg + ⇧ + U + 2591
Medium shadeAlt + 177Strg + ⇧ + U + 2592
Dark shadeAlt + 178Strg + ⇧ + U + 2593
Box drawing elementAlt + 179Strg + ⇧ + U + 2502
Box drawing elementAlt + 180Strg + ⇧ + U + 2524
Box drawing elementAlt + 181Strg + ⇧ + U + 2561
Box drawing elementAlt + 182Strg + ⇧ + U + 2562
Box drawing elementAlt + 183Strg + ⇧ + U + 2556
Box drawing elementAlt + 184Strg + ⇧ + U + 2555
Box drawing elementAlt + 185Strg + ⇧ + U + 2563
Box drawing elementAlt + 186Strg + ⇧ + U + 2551
Box drawing elementAlt + 187Strg + ⇧ + U + 2557
Box drawing elementAlt + 188Strg + ⇧ + U + 255D
Box drawing elementAlt + 189Strg + ⇧ + U + 255C
Box drawing elementAlt + 190Strg + ⇧ + U + 255B
Box drawing elementAlt + 191Strg + ⇧ + U + 2510
Box drawing elementAlt + 192Strg + ⇧ + U + 2514
Box drawing elementAlt + 193Strg + ⇧ + U + 2534
Box drawing elementAlt + 194Strg + ⇧ + U + 252C
Box drawing elementAlt + 195Strg + ⇧ + U + 251C
Box drawing elementAlt + 196Strg + ⇧ + U + 2500
Box drawing elementAlt + 197Strg + ⇧ + U + 253C
Box drawing elementAlt + 198Strg + ⇧ + U + 255E
Box drawing elementAlt + 199Strg + ⇧ + U + 255F
Box drawing elementAlt + 200Strg + ⇧ + U + 255A
Box drawing elementAlt + 201Strg + ⇧ + U + 2554
Box drawing elementAlt + 202Strg + ⇧ + U + 2569
Box drawing elementAlt + 203Strg + ⇧ + U + 2566
Box drawing elementAlt + 204Strg + ⇧ + U + 2560
Box drawing elementAlt + 205Strg + ⇧ + U + 2550
Box drawing elementAlt + 206Strg + ⇧ + U + 256C
Box drawing elementAlt + 207Strg + ⇧ + U + 2567
Box drawing elementAlt + 208Strg + ⇧ + U + 2568
Box drawing elementAlt + 209Strg + ⇧ + U + 2564
Box drawing elementAlt + 210Strg + ⇧ + U + 2565
Box drawing elementAlt + 211Strg + ⇧ + U + 2559
Box drawing elementAlt + 212Strg + ⇧ + U + 2558
Box drawing elementAlt + 213Strg + ⇧ + U + 2552
Box drawing elementAlt + 214Strg + ⇧ + U + 2553
Box drawing elementAlt + 215Strg + ⇧ + U + 256B
Box drawing elementAlt + 216Strg + ⇧ + U + 256A
Box drawing elementAlt + 217Strg + ⇧ + U + 2518
Box drawing elementAlt + 218Strg + ⇧ + U + 250C
Full blockAlt + 219Strg + ⇧ + U + 2588
Lower half blockAlt + 220Strg + ⇧ + U + 2584
Left half blockAlt + 221Strg + ⇧ + U + 258C
Rigth half blockAlt + 222Strg + ⇧ + U + 2590
Upper half blockAlt + 223Strg + ⇧ + U + 2580
αGreek letter alphaAlt + 224Strg + ⇧ + U + 03B1
ΓGreek letter GammaAlt + 226Strg + ⇧ + U + 0393
ΣGreek letter SigmaAlt + 228Strg + ⇧ + U + 03A3
σGreek letter sigmaAlt + 229Strg + ⇧ + U + 03C3
τGreek letter tauAlt + 231Strg + ⇧ + U + 03C4
ΦGreek letter PhiAlt + 232Strg + ⇧ + U + 03A6
ΘGreek letter ThetaAlt + 233Strg + ⇧ + U + 0398
δGreek letter deltaAlt + 235Strg + ⇧ + U + 03B4
φGreek letter phiAlt + 237Strg + ⇧ + U + 03C6
εGreek letter epsilonAlt + 238Strg + ⇧ + U + 03B5
IntersectionAlt + 239Strg + ⇧ + U + 2229
Identical toAlt + 240Strg + ⇧ + U + 2261
Top half integralAlt + 244Strg + ⇧ + U + 2320
Bottom half integralAlt + 245Strg + ⇧ + U + 2321
Bullet operatorAlt + 249Strg + ⇧ + U + 2219
Superscript nAlt + 252Strg + ⇧ + U + 207F
Black squareAlt + 254Strg + ⇧ + U + 25A0

Hint: You can copy & paste all characters shown, even if there’s no keyboard shortcut available, like Ω on Windows.

Further Reading; Online

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