256 verified Windows Alt codes, 156 Mac keyboard shortcuts — plus a guaranteed typing method for all 3,800 symbols in our library via Microsoft Word's Alt+X method. Click any card to copy the symbol.
Classic Windows Alt+Numpad codes (like Alt+0169 for ©) only ever work for the original 256-character Windows-1252 codepage — this is a hard limitation of Windows itself, not a gap in our data. No honest source can offer a "real" numpad Alt code beyond that range for arrows, math symbols, dingbats, or most other Unicode blocks, because Windows was never built to support one.
The good news: every single one of our 3,800 symbols — including all the ones without a numpad code — has a documented Microsoft Word Alt+X method: type the symbol's hex code, then press Alt+X, and Word converts it instantly. This works for the entire Unicode range, not just the legacy 256.
Check any individual symbol's page for its exact Word Alt+X code, alongside copy-paste, HTML entity, CSS, and JavaScript formats — every symbol, every method, in one place.
Many "Alt code" charts online list a code for nearly every symbol by simply writing "Alt +" in front of the character's decimal Unicode number (for example, showing "Alt+8800" for ≠ or "Alt+9733" for ★). On an unmodified Windows installation, typing those does not produce the symbol — Windows' numpad Alt-code method only reads the original 256-character codepage (0–255); anything listed beyond that range requires a non-default registry change most people never make.
Every Windows Alt code shown on How To Type Any Symbol is checked against that real 0–255 limit before being published. If a symbol doesn't have a genuine numpad code, we say so plainly and point you to copy-paste or the universal Word Alt+X method instead — rather than showing you a code that looks legitimate but silently fails when you try it.
Alt codes let you type special characters on Windows by holding Alt and typing a numeric code on the number pad. For example, Alt + 0169 produces the copyright symbol ©. Mac users use Option key combinations instead.
Make sure Num Lock is on (the light should be lit).
Press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard.
Using the numeric keypad, type the alt code number.
Release Alt and the symbol appears.
Unlike the numpad method, Word's Alt+X trick works across the entire Unicode range — this is how you type any of our 3,800 symbols directly inside Microsoft Word, even ones with no classic Alt code.
Type the symbol's Unicode hex code directly into your Word document (find it on the symbol's detail page).
With your cursor right after the code, press Alt and X together.
Word instantly converts the hex code into the actual symbol.
To undo — turn the symbol back into its hex code — press Alt+X once more.