How to type any symbol, on any system.
Copying a character from this site is the fastest route on any device. These guides cover the other routes: the alt codes, the Option key combinations, the menus and the escapes, plus what to do when a character refuses to render.
Windows Alt Codes
Hold Alt, type a number on the numeric keypad, release. The full alt code list, what to do on a laptop with no keypad, and why Alt 26 and Alt 8594 differ.
Special characters on a Mac
Option key combinations, the Character Viewer and Unicode Hex Input, with the shortcuts for the degree sign, the em dash and the bullet. No alt codes.
Special characters in Microsoft Word
Alt+X, Insert Symbol and AutoCorrect, with the exact steps for a check mark, a degree sign and an arrow, plus how to stop Word rewriting your quotes.
Special characters in Google Docs
Search the picker by name or code point, or draw the shape you want. Plus your own substitutions, and the UNICHAR trick for Sheets, which has no picker.
HTML entities explained
The named, decimal and hex forms of the same character, the five you must always escape, and why a UTF-8 page usually needs no entities at all.
Why symbols show as boxes
An empty rectangle means the font has no glyph for that character. How to tell tofu from mojibake, and from a missing Unicode variation selector.
Looking for a specific character instead? Search the symbol grid, browse the category hubs, or open the full reference for every glyph on a single page.