How to Insert Symbols in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide

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A guide for adding special characters, symbols, accents, & more

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: October 18, 2024

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On Windows

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On Mac

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

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.

How to Insert Symbols in Word

Open your Word document and place your cursor where you want to insert the symbol. On Windows, click Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. Choose the symbol you want and click Insert and Close. On Mac, click Insert > Symbol > Advanced Symbol. Choose your symbol and click Insert and Close.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Windows

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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.
This will set that location as the point at which your symbol will be inserted.

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It's in the upper-left side of the blue ribbon that's at the top of the Word window.
This option is on the far-right side of the Insert toolbar. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
5
Click More Symbols. It's at the bottom of the drop-down menu. This opens the Symbol pop-up window.
- If you see the symbol you want in the drop-down menu, click it instead to insert it immediately.
6
Select a symbol to insert. Simply click a symbol to select it. You can scroll through the available symbols by clicking the ↑ or ↓ arrows on the right side of the Symbol window.
- You can also click the Special Characters tab at the top of the Symbol window to browse additional characters.
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Click Insert. This button is at the bottom of the Symbol window. Doing this will insert the selected symbol at the cursor's point.
- You can repeat this process with as many symbols as you like.
It's at the bottom of the Symbol window. Your symbol(s) will remain in the Microsoft Word document.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On Mac

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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.
This will set that location as the point at which your symbol will be inserted.
3
Click the Insert tab. It's in the upper-left side of the blue ribbon that's at the top of the Word window.^{[1]
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- Do not click the Insert menu item that's in the bar at the top of your Mac's screen.
This option is on the far-right side of the Insert toolbar. Doing so opens the Symbol window.^{[2]
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5
Select a symbol you wish to insert. Click a symbol on the page to do so.
- You can also click the Special Characters tab at the top of the Symbol window to browse additional symbols.
6
Click Insert. It's in the bottom-right corner of the Symbol window. Doing so will place the symbol in your document.
- You can insert as many symbols as you like in this way.
It's at the bottom of the Symbol window. Your symbol(s) should now be in your Microsoft Word document.

Community Q&A

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Question

How do I find the alternate code for a particular symbol?

Community Answer

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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Question

I'm working on Microsoft Word 2013 and trying to make the symbol for a trademark. How do I do this?

Community Answer

Click Alt + to insert symbols in Word 2013. Find the symbol you prefer for trademark.

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How do I replace (C), (R) and (TM) with the correct symbols in MS Word?

Community Answer

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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Tips

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.

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Keyboard shortcuts for some common symbols include the following:
- (r) or (R) - ®
- (c) or (C) - ©
- (tm) or (TM) - ™
- e or (E) - €
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