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Alt Codes on Mac

A Mac does not use Windows-style number codes — it uses the Option (⌥) key and the Character Viewer. Find the shortcut for any symbol below, or click a symbol to copy it straight away.

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Symbols you copy will show up here — star one to keep it.

Symbol	Name	Mac shortcut (⌥)	Unicode hex	HTML
	Copyright
	Registered
	Trademark
	Section
	Pilcrow
	Dagger
	Double dagger
	Degree
	Bullet
	Ellipsis
	Em dash
	En dash
	Euro
	Pound
	Yen
	Cent
	Currency sign	Char Viewer
	Rupee	Char Viewer
	Won	Char Viewer
	Bitcoin	Char Viewer
	Plus-minus
	Multiply	Char Viewer
	Divide
	Not equal
	Less or equal
	Greater or equal
	Approximately
	Square root
	Infinity
	Sum
	Product
	Integral
	Partial
	Micro
	Pi
	Omega
	One half	Char Viewer
	One quarter	Char Viewer
	Three quarters	Char Viewer
	a acute
	e acute
	i acute
	o acute
	u acute
	a grave
	e grave
	a circumflex
	e circumflex
	a umlaut
	o umlaut
	u umlaut
	n tilde
	a tilde
	o tilde
	c cedilla
	o slash
	a ring
	ae ligature
	oe ligature
	sharp s
	N tilde (capital)
	U umlaut (capital)
	E acute (capital)
	C cedilla (capital)
	Inverted question
	Inverted exclamation
	Left guillemet
	Right guillemet
	Low double quote
	Left single quote
	Right single quote
	Left double quote
	Right double quote
	Middle dot
	Pi (small)
	Omega (capital)
	Mu / micro
	Alpha (small)	Char Viewer
	Beta (small)	Char Viewer
	Gamma (small)	Char Viewer
	Delta (small)	Char Viewer
	Theta (small)	Char Viewer
	Lambda (small)	Char Viewer
	Sigma (capital)	Char Viewer
	Delta (capital)	Char Viewer
	Phi (capital)	Char Viewer
	Heart	Char Viewer
	Star (solid)	Char Viewer
	Star (outline)	Char Viewer
	Check	Char Viewer
	Cross	Char Viewer
	Music note	Char Viewer
	Right arrow	Char Viewer
	Left arrow	Char Viewer
	Up arrow	Char Viewer
	Down arrow	Char Viewer
	Smiley	Char Viewer
	Sun	Char Viewer
	Lozenge
	Increment
	Slashed O (capital)

Nothing matches that. Try a name like “arrow” or a hex like “00B0”.

⌥ is the Option key (sometimes labelled Alt). “Char Viewer” means open it with Control + Command + Space and search by name.

Three ways to type a symbol on a Mac

Pick whichever is fastest for the character you need. The Character Viewer is the catch-all that always works.

Option shortcut

Hold ⌥ and a key for one-step symbols, like ⌥ G for ©. Some use a dead key — ⌥ E then a letter adds an acute accent.

Character Viewer

Press Control + Command + Space, search the name, and double-click. Layout-proof and covers every symbol.

Unicode Hex Input

After enabling it in System Settings, hold ⌥ and type the four-digit hex code shown in the table.

About the dead-key accents

A few shortcuts are written as two presses, like ⌥ E, e. These are dead keys: the first combination arms an accent, and the next letter receives it.

⌥ E → acute

Then a, e, i, o, u for á é í ó ú.

⌥ U → umlaut

Then a, o, u for ä ö ü.

⌥ N → tilde

Then n, a, o for ñ ã õ.

Questions

Does a Mac have Windows-style alt codes?

Not really. A Mac uses Option-key shortcuts instead of numeric alt codes, so each row here lists the Option combination. For anything without one, the Character Viewer covers every symbol.

How do I open the Character Viewer?

Press Control + Command + Space in any text field, then search the symbol by name — “degree”, “copyright”, “heart” — and double-click it to insert. It works no matter your keyboard layout.

What does “⌥ E, e” mean?

It is a dead-key combination. Press Option + E and let go, then press the letter. Option + E primes an acute accent, so following it with e gives é and with a gives á.

Can I type a symbol by its Unicode hex on a Mac?

Yes, after a one-time setup. Add the Unicode Hex Input source in System Settings → Keyboard, switch to it, then hold Option and type the four-digit hex code shown in the table.

Can I copy the shortcut instead of the symbol?

Yes. Click the symbol to copy the character, or click the Option shortcut, Unicode hex, or HTML entity to copy that text on its own.