Why don't Alt codes work on Mac?

Alt codes are a legacy Windows feature reading from the numeric keypad. macOS uses Option-key combinations (e.g. ⌥+G for ©).

How do I type the degree symbol (°)?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0176 on the numpad. On Mac, press Option+Shift+8 (⌥+⇧+8).

An en dash (–, Alt+0150 / Option+-) marks a number range (e.g. 10–20). An em dash (—, Alt+0151 / Option+Shift+-) breaks a sentence thought.

Alt Codes & Mac Shortcuts·1-Click Copy·60+ Symbols

Search by symbol or name. Click any character to copy to clipboard or inspect its Windows Alt code and Mac shortcut.

88 symbols

Windows Alt Codes

1
Make sure Num Lock is on
Alt codes are read from the numeric keypad, not the top-row number keys. Press the Num Lock key until its indicator light turns on.
2
Hold Alt and type the digits
Press and hold Alt, then type the code on the numeric keypad (e.g. hold Alt and type 0169 for ©).
3
Release Alt to insert the symbol
Release Alt and the symbol immediately appears at the cursor.

macOS Option Shortcuts

1
Hold the Option (⌥) key
Special characters live behind Option (⌥). Hold Option alone with keys like G, R, 2 to emit symbols.
2
Add Shift for alternate variants
Many symbols have second characters behind Option+Shift (e.g. Option+Shift+8 for degree °).
3
Use dead keys for accents
Press Option+e then a to produce á, or Option+u then o for ö.

Symbol	Name	Windows Alt Code	Mac Shortcut
©	Copyright	`Alt+0169`	`⌥+G`
®	Registered	`Alt+0174`	`⌥+R`
™	Trademark	`Alt+0153`	`⌥+2`
€	Euro	`Alt+0128`	`⌥+⇧+2`
£	Pound	`Alt+0163`	`⌥+3`
°	Degree	`Alt+0176`	`⌥+⇧+8`
±	Plus-minus	`Alt+0177`	`⌥+⇧+=`
π	Pi	`Alt+960`	`⌥+P`
→	Right arrow	`Alt+26`	`(copy/paste)`
∞	Infinity	`Alt+8734`	`⌥+5`

Frequently asked questions about typing special symbols on keyboard.