Merlin's
Blue*
Fact
Sheets

How to Insert
Special Characters

   
 

Feel free to
print this page
for future reference.

A Web page of Special Characters
and the codes to use to easily insert them into your documents.

 
Special Characters and their Codes

Special Character

4-digit code

Description

–

0150

en-dash

—

0151

em-dash

™

0153

TradeMark

©

0169

Copyright

®

0174

R in circle

¢

0162

cents

£

0163

pound

€

0128

euro

°

0176

degree

±

0177

plus/minus

Special Character

4-digit code

Description

¼

0188

1/4 fraction

½

0189

1/2 fraction

¾

0190

3/4 fraction

÷

0247

divide by

‘

0145

single quote left

’

0146

single quote right

“

0147

double quote left

”

0148

double quote right

•

0149

solid round bullet

To use these codes, see the Power User Method notes below.

Inserting Special Characters
There are a number of characters in the printable character sets that do not have a corresponding key on the keyboard. These characters can be inserted into a document (or spreadsheet, etc.) by a couple of different ways.
Windows Character Map
In some versions of Windows there is the Character Map facility (depending on the Windows version, the menu option to run it might be: Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, System Tools). This facility can be used to locate the characters and then copy them to the Windows Clipboard for pasting into the document. Alternatively, some applications have a facility to Insert a Symbol.		 Power User method
With some applications you can enter the special character by following these steps:
(1) placing the cursor at the point in the document where the special character is to be inserted, and
(2) with the <NumLock> key set to on,
(3) hold down the <Alt> key and type the corresponding 4-digit number on the numeric keypad (see the table below for the 4-digit number for the more common special characters).
On a laptop, or other limited-key keyboard, you may need to also hold down the special Function <Fn> key.

* - Merlin's Blue Fact Sheets are so named because the first versions (produced in 1989) were printed onto blue paper to help them stand out in a pile of plain paper. And today on the Web, the page background is blue.

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Please feel free to print this web page, and/or pass it on to others, provided that it is printed in entirety including the Copyright notice and home page web address below. Some of the computer terms used here are explained in our on-line Glossary of (Computer) Terms (it will open in a new Window). For a more complete glossary have a look at our Merlin's Techno-Guide. To search this web site for specific information, you can use the PicoSearch facility on our home page. Or to search the Web using a search engine, try browsing a Search Engine, Directory, Portal Web site from our (extensive list) Search Engines page, or the abridged version of the same page.

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Last revised: 26 September, 2011.

Important: The information provided here is not advice. It is intended as a guide only, and may not be complete, nor relevant to every situation. It should not be relied upon. Any product or company names that might be mentioned here may be registered trade marks or trade names and owned by the respective companies, and they are are quoted here in good faith, without recommendation or endorsement.