Alt Codes List of Alt Keyboard Codes & Symbols

ALT Codes for Windows. Full list of ALT key codes for special characters and symbols. Learn How to use Alt Key Codes?

Tip: click any symbol to copy it instantly. Codes 1 to 255 are the classic set, codes starting with 0 are the extended ANSI set.

How to Use Alt Codes in Windows (and Apple Devices)

On Windows, hold down the Alt key, type the number code on the numeric keypad (the separate block of number keys on the right, with Num Lock turned on), then release the Alt key. The special character appears instantly. The top row of numbers above the letters will not work for Alt codes, you must use the numeric keypad.

On a laptop without a numpad, hold Fn + Alt and use the hidden embedded number keys (often printed in a second color on the M, J, K, L, U, I, O, 7, 8, 9 keys), or open the On-Screen Keyboard, or use Character Map (charmap.exe). The easiest option on any device is to just click a symbol in the table above to copy and paste it.

On a Mac, Windows Alt codes do not work. Macs use the Option key instead, for example Option + e then e gives e with an acute accent, and Option + 2 gives the trademark symbol. The simplest cross-platform method is copy and paste, which works the same on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Chromebook.

Check Marks and Tick Symbols

Check mark and tick symbols for lists, forms, and surveys. Click any symbol to copy and paste it, or use the Alt code shown.

Less Than and Greater Than Symbols

Less than, greater than, and comparison symbols for math and coding. Copy and paste any symbol below or type its Alt code.

Math Symbols (including Square Root)

Math symbols including the square root sign, division, multiplication, infinity, pi, and fractions. Copy and paste or use the Alt code.

Arrow Symbols (Up, Down, Left, Right)

Arrow symbols for directions and navigation. Up Arrow Copy and Paste, Down Arrow, Left Arrow, and Right Arrow are all below.

Heart Symbols

Heart symbols and card suits. Heart Copy and Paste, hollow heart, and the classic card symbols are listed below.

Music Note Symbols

Music note symbols including the single note, beamed notes, flat, and sharp signs. Copy and paste or use the Alt code.

Accent Letters (Letters with Accents)

Accented letters for Spanish, French, German, Italian, and more. Every letter below can be copied and pasted, or typed with its Windows Alt code or Mac Option shortcut. For a full A to Z breakdown of letters with accents, see our individual letter pages across letteraccents.com.

Spanish Letters with Accents

Spanish accent marks and special characters, including the n with tilde (enye), accented vowels, and the inverted question and exclamation marks. Copy and paste any Spanish letter or type its Alt code.

French Letters with Accents

French accented letters including e with acute (accent aigu), e with grave (accent grave), circumflex, cedilla, and the oe ligature. Copy and paste or use the Alt code shown.

German Letters with Accents (German Keyboard)

Common German special characters, the umlauts and the eszett (sharp S). On a German keyboard many of these are direct keys, on other keyboards use the Windows Alt code or copy and paste.

Common German Special Characters

Additional Characters Available Through a German Keyboard

Italian Letters with Accents

Italian accented vowels (lettere accentate) used in everyday Italian writing. On an Italian keyboard most are direct keys, elsewhere use the Alt code or copy and paste.

Trademark, Copyright and Registered Symbols

Trademark, copyright, registered, and service mark symbols for business and legal text. Copy and paste or type the Alt code.

Money and Currency Symbols

Currency symbols including the Euro, Pound, Yen, Cent, Rupee, Ruble, and Won. Copy and paste any currency sign or use its Alt code.

Male and Female Symbols (Gender Symbols)

Male, female, and other gender symbols. Copy and paste or type the Alt code shown.

Shape Symbols

Shape symbols including squares, circles, triangles, stars, and diamonds. Copy and paste or use the Alt code.

Greek Letter Symbols

Greek letters used in math, science, and engineering, including pi, sigma, omega, and delta. Copy and paste or type the Alt code.

Punctuation and General Symbols

Common punctuation and text symbols including the bullet point, section sign, ellipsis, dashes, curly quotes, and inverted marks. Copy and paste or use the Alt code.

Fun Emojis and Smiley Symbols

Classic smiley faces plus modern emojis you can copy and paste anywhere. The old Alt code smileys work on Windows, and the color emojis work everywhere by copy and paste.

What Are Alt Codes?

Alt codes are a Windows shortcut method for typing special characters and symbols that are not printed on your keyboard. You hold the Alt key, type a number on the numeric keypad, and release Alt to produce the character. They were inherited from the original IBM PC and are still built into Windows today.

How Alt codes work: hold down the Alt key, type a specific number sequence on your numeric keypad (NumPad), then release the Alt key. You must have Num Lock turned on, and you must use the separate numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard rather than the number row across the top.

Two types of Alt codes:

• Standard codes (1 to 3 digits): these map to the legacy OEM character set (Code Page 437) and produce symbols like hearts (Alt + 3), smiley faces (Alt + 1), and box drawing lines.
• Extended codes (with a leading zero, for example 0128 to 0255): these map to the Windows ANSI character set and produce accented letters (Alt + 0233 gives e with acute), currency symbols (Alt + 0128 gives the Euro), and math signs (Alt + 0177 gives plus or minus).

How to Print an ALT Symbol Using the Keyboard

To print an Alt symbol using the keyboard, make sure Num Lock is on, hold the Alt key, type the full code on the numeric keypad (include the leading zero for extended codes), then let go of Alt. The symbol prints wherever your cursor is. If nothing appears, your keyboard layout may lack a numeric keypad, in which case use the On-Screen Keyboard, Character Map, or copy and paste from the tables above.

How to Print the ALT Code Sheet

Web browsers do not always show a direct “Print” option when you right-click an online image. Use these steps instead:
• Open in a new tab: Right-click the image on the webpage and select Open image in new tab.
• Use shortcut: Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Cmd + P (Mac) to open the print menu.
• Alternative (Save): Right-click the image, select Save image as, open the saved file from your computer, and use the right-click Print method.

How to Type an Alt Symbol on the Keyboard

Typing an Alt symbol is the same three step process in every Windows app (Word, Excel, Chrome, Notepad, and more): press and hold Alt, type the number on the numeric keypad, release Alt. For Unicode characters above 255, enable hexadecimal input, then hold Alt, press the plus (+) key on the numpad, and type the hex code. In Microsoft Word you can also type the hex code and press Alt + X.

Keyboard Shortcuts on Windows vs Apple (iOS and macOS)

Windows uses Alt codes with the numeric keypad. Apple devices do not use Alt codes at all. On a Mac, hold the Option key (sometimes labeled Alt) for one symbol, for example Option + g gives the copyright symbol, or Option + 2 gives the trademark symbol. Accents on Mac use Option plus a letter, then the vowel, for example Option + e then e gives e with an acute accent. On an iPhone or iPad, press and hold a letter on the on-screen keyboard to see accent options. Copy and paste works on every device.

Frequently Asked Questions About Alt Codes

Why are my Alt codes not working?

The most common reason Alt codes do not work is that Num Lock is off or you are using the number row instead of the numeric keypad. Turn on Num Lock, use the separate keypad on the right, hold Alt the whole time you type the digits, and release Alt only at the end. If codes still fail, your laptop may not have a numpad, or an app may be intercepting the Alt key, so try the On-Screen Keyboard, Character Map, or copy and paste instead.

How do I use Alt codes on a laptop without a number pad (numpad)?

On a laptop without a numpad, hold Fn + Alt and use the hidden embedded number keys, usually the second-color digits printed on the M, J, K, L, U, I, O, 7, 8, 9 keys. If your laptop has no embedded numpad or Num Lock key, use the Windows On-Screen Keyboard (search osk), the Character Map tool (charmap.exe), or simply copy and paste the symbol from the tables on this page, which is the fastest method.

Why do Alt codes not work with my external USB or Bluetooth numpad?

Windows requires the Alt key and the number keys to be on the same physical device. When you hold Alt on your laptop keyboard and press numbers on a separate USB or Bluetooth numpad, Windows does not combine them, so nothing happens. Workarounds include an AutoHotkey remap, pressing Alt on the external numpad itself if it has one, or using copy and paste.

Do I need Num Lock on to use Alt codes?

Yes. Num Lock must be turned on so the numeric keypad sends number input rather than arrow or navigation commands. If Num Lock is off, Alt + 4 can be read as Alt + Left Arrow and send your browser back a page instead of typing a symbol.

What is the difference between Alt codes with and without a leading zero?

Codes without a leading zero (Alt + 1 to Alt + 255) use the old OEM character set, Code Page 437, and produce symbols like hearts and smiley faces. Codes with a leading zero (Alt + 0128 to Alt + 0255) use the Windows ANSI set and produce accented letters, currency signs, and typographic marks. The same number can give two different characters depending on the leading zero.

Why does Alt + 3 (heart) or other codes under 32 not work in some programs?

Codes below 32 are control characters in some applications, so an app like Notepad++ or a web form may ignore them or show a question mark. Try the four digit version with leading zeros (Alt + 0003), test in plain Notepad or WordPad, or copy and paste the heart symbol directly from the Hearts table above.

Do Alt codes work on a Mac?

No, Windows Alt codes do not work on macOS. Macs use the Option key instead. For example, Option + e then a gives a with an acute accent, Option + g gives the copyright symbol, and Option + 2 gives the trademark symbol. The easiest cross-platform method is to copy and paste the symbol, which works the same on Mac, Windows, and mobile.

Do Alt codes work on a Chromebook or ChromeOS?

ChromeOS does not use Windows Alt codes. On a Chromebook, use Ctrl + Shift + u, then type the four character hex Unicode value and press Enter or Space, or simply copy and paste the symbol from this page.

How do I type an Alt code using letters (hexadecimal Unicode)?

To enter Unicode characters beyond the basic 255, enable hexadecimal numpad input in the Windows registry (EnableHexNumpad), then hold Alt, press the plus (+) key on the numeric keypad, and type the hex code using the number keys and the A to F letter keys. In Microsoft Word you can skip the registry edit and type the hex code, then press Alt + X.

Why does pressing Alt and a number open a menu instead of a symbol?

Some programs reserve the Alt key for their own menus and shortcuts, so Alt plus a number triggers a menu rather than a symbol. Try the app in a plain text field, use copy and paste, or use the Character Map tool to insert the character instead.

How many characters can Alt codes type?

Standard Alt codes reach the first 256 characters of the code page. For anything beyond that, such as colored emojis or less common Unicode symbols, use hexadecimal Unicode input, the Character Map, or copy and paste, which has no limit.

Why do my Alt codes produce the wrong character?

A wrong character usually means you left out or added a leading zero, or your system is using a different code page or keyboard language. Double check whether the code needs a leading zero, confirm your keyboard language setting, and if it still differs, copy and paste the exact symbol from the table above.

What is the Alt code for a check mark?

The check mark (tick) is Alt + 10003 for a thin check mark and Alt + 10004 for a heavy check mark, entered using hexadecimal or Unicode input. Because these are high Unicode values, the simplest method is to copy and paste the check mark from the Check Marks table on this page.

How do I type the degree symbol with an Alt code?

The degree symbol is Alt + 0176 or Alt + 248 on Windows. Hold Alt, type the code on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. On a Mac use Option + Shift + 8, or copy and paste the degree symbol from the Math table above.

How do I type the Euro or Pound sign?

The Euro sign is Alt + 0128 and the Pound sign is Alt + 0163 on Windows. On a Mac the Euro is Option + Shift + 2 and the Pound is Option + 3. You can also copy and paste either currency sign from the Money table above.

How do I type accented letters like e with acute, n with tilde, or u with umlaut?

On Windows use the extended Alt codes: Alt + 0233 for e with acute, Alt + 0241 for n with tilde, and Alt + 0252 for u with umlaut, typed on the numeric keypad with Num Lock on. On a Mac use Option + e then the vowel for acute accents, and Option + u then the vowel for umlauts. Copy and paste works everywhere.

Can I use Alt codes in Word, Excel, and Google Docs?

Alt codes work in Microsoft Word, Excel, and most Windows programs. In Google Docs, standard Alt codes also work on Windows for the basic set, and you can use Insert then Special characters for anything else. On any platform, copy and paste from this page is the reliable fallback.

How do I copy and paste a symbol instead of using an Alt code?

Click any symbol on this page and it is copied to your clipboard instantly, then press Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac) to paste it anywhere. This is the fastest method and needs no numeric keypad, no Num Lock, and no code to memorize.