Your Mac offers a series of special characters to make the work of translators and mathematicians easier, but also to satisfy the needs of all the people who want to use symbols instead of emojis. The hotkey combinations and the "Emoji and Symbols" menu ("Special Characters" in older versions of OS X) should be sufficient to type all the symbols you use most frequently. If you need to use special symbols or are working on a project that requires frequent use of special characters, consider taking a few minutes to configure your keyboard's "Input Sources" menu.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Shortcut Key Combinations
Step 1. Press and hold certain letter keys to display the alternative symbol menu
While you are creating a text document or typing inside a text field on a web page, hold down the letter "a" key to display a context menu related to the symbols present in the alphabet of other languages linked with that letter. While holding down the key in question, click with the mouse on the symbol you want to type. Alternatively, press the number corresponding to the symbol you want to appear. Here are some examples:
- Press and hold the a key to type the special characters "à", "á", "â", "ä", "æ", "ã", "å" and "ā". All other vowels have similar options.
- Hold down the c key to type the special characters "ç", "ć" and "č".
- Press and hold the n key to type the special characters "ñ" and "ń".
- Note that most of the letters do not have such a context menu.
- This context menu will not be displayed if the "Key Repeat" slider in the "Keyboard" panel of "System Preferences" is disabled.
Step 2. Press and hold the ⌥ Option key
You can also type some special symbols by simultaneously pressing the ⌥ Option key (or the alt="Image" key on some keyboards) and another key on the keyboard. This mechanism allows you to quickly type dozens of symbols that are most used in mathematics and finance. Eg:
- ⌥ Option + p = π.
- ⌥ Option + 3 = £.
- ⌥ Option + g = ©.
- Read the section at the end of this article for a complete list of available key combinations. Alternatively, follow the instructions for configuring the keyboard input sources to see the special symbols available on the screen.
Step 3. Hold down the ⌥ Option keys And ⇧ Shift.
To be able to type other additional symbols, hold down both of these keys simultaneously while pressing the desired key on the keyboard. Refer to the section at the end of this article for the complete list of available key combinations or start from these:
- ⌥ Option + ⇧ Shift + 2 = €
- ⌥ Option + ⇧ Shift + / = ¿
Method 2 of 3: Emoji and Various Symbols
Step 1. Enter the "Composition" menu
Select the text field where you want to insert an emoji. This procedure works for most text fields on the web (e.g. in emails or online forms). If you want to make sure this works, try it out using the TextEdit text editor.
If you want the "Special Characters" window to appear as you type, click anywhere on the Desktop
Step 2. Open the "Special Characters" menu
This option is present in the "Edit" menu. Depending on the version of OS X you are using, this menu is called Emoji and Symboli or Special Characters.
You can access this menu using the hotkey combination ⌘ Command + Control + Spacebar
Step 3. Check the available options
The "Special Characters" menu is divided into several categories. In the lower part of the pop-up window that appeared there are the icons of these categories, click the relative button to access them. To view other categories, click the arrow icon on the far right.
- If you have trouble finding the right symbol for your needs, scroll up the list of special characters to see the search field.
- You can switch between thumbnail and extended view using the button in the upper right corner of the popup window. In order to see this button, you may need to scroll up the list.
Step 4. Select the symbol you want
To insert the chosen symbol in the text, select it with a double click of the mouse. Alternatively, you can drag it directly into the desired document or text field or select it with the right mouse button, choose "Copy font info" from the contextual menu that appeared and then paste it in the desired point.
- In some older versions of OS X you will need to use the "Insert" button.
- The next time you access the "Special Characters" menu, the "Frequently Used" tab will appear, where you will find a list of all the symbols you have used recently.
Method 3 of 3: Use the Input Sources Option
Step 1. Access the "System Preferences" window
You can do this through the "Apple" menu or by accessing the "Applications" folder. Its icon may also be in the Dock at the bottom of the desktop.
Step 2. Search with the keyword "Input"
In the search field in the upper right corner of the "System Preferences" window, type the keyword "Input". One or more icons should be highlighted within the window. Select one of the following:
- Keyboard (choose this icon if your OS X version is up to date);
- International (in some older versions of OS X);
- Language and Text (in previous versions of OS X).
Step 3. Go to the "Input Sources" tab
After opening the correct window, go to the "Input Sources" tab. Depending on the version of OS X you are using you should see a list of flags appear, followed by the name of the respective country or the image of your keyboard.
Step 4. Select the checkbox "Show keyboard menu in menu bar."
" This option is located at the bottom of the window. After selecting it, you will see a new icon appear on the right side of the menu bar at the top of the screen. The icon could be a flag or a black and white keyboard.
Step 5. Use the new menu to open the "Character Viewer"
Select the new icon on the menu bar, then choose the "Show Character Viewer" option. A new window will appear containing a large selection of symbols (the same as using the previous method). Use the window that appeared in the following way:
- Use the left panel to select the category name.
- Now scroll through the list of symbols that appeared in the center pane to find the one you want to use. To see all the available variations of a particular symbol, select it, then scroll through the list that appears in the right pane.
- To type the desired symbol, select it with a double click of the mouse. Alternatively, you can drag it directly to the point where you want to insert it or select it with the right mouse button and choose the "Copy font info" option. In older versions of OS X press the "Insert" button instead.
Step 6. Display the "Character Viewer"
Another option in the same menu is "Show Character Viewer". Choosing this function will display an image of the keyboard in use. This mechanism is useful for identifying all those symbols that are not physically printed on the keyboard. For example, try holding down the ⌥ Option and / or ⇧ Shift key to see how the on-screen keyboard changes accordingly.
You can move the "Character Viewer" window anywhere on the screen. You can also resize it by dragging any of the four corners
Step 7. Enable the use of other keyboard layouts (optional)
If you need to write text in multiple languages, access the "Input Sources" tab of the "Keyboard" panel again through the "System Preferences" window. Press the + button, then browse the list of available languages. Once you have selected the one you are interested in, press the Add button. While you don't need to write text in other languages, installing some of these keyboard layouts can be very useful:
- For example, the "English" language section might have the "U. S. Extended" keyboard. Installing this keyboard will also automatically add new symbols, which can be used with the ⌥ Option key, as described above.
- Some languages have the option to simulate the keyboard of normal computers. Normally this function only changes the position of some keys.
- If you are using a normal Italian keyboard, temporarily switching to the "U. S. International" keyboard layout will allow you to use the list of hotkey combinations in the last section of this article.
Step 8. Switch between keyboard layouts
You can have multiple keyboards installed on your Mac at the same time. To switch between them, use the same drop-down menu you use to access the "Character Viewer" and the "Keyboard Viewer". Select the desired keyboard from the drop-down menu that appeared.
You can also create a key combination to cycle through all keyboard layouts installed on your system. Within the "System Preferences" window, perform a search using the keyword "Abbreviations". Once inside the "Abbreviations" tab of the "Keyboard" window, from the left panel, choose the "Input sources" category, then select the "Select previous input source" check button
List of keyboard shortcuts
The symbols on the left side of the page can be typed by holding down the ⌥ Option key and using the indicated key. The symbols on the right side of the page require you to press the ⌥ Option, ⇧ Shift and the key indicated by the combination.
Symbols generated by pressing the ⌥ Option / Alt key
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Symbols generated by simultaneously pressing the ⌥ Option / alt="Image" + ⇧ Shift keys
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Advice
- The shortcut key combinations featured in this article have been tested and therefore guaranteed to work only using the standard US keyboard. If you cannot type the correct symbol using the keyboard layout you normally use, temporarily switch to the corresponding one. to the American keyboard shown.
- If a simple rectangle appears instead of one of the special symbols shown in this article, it means that your browser cannot display it correctly. All major internet browsers available for Mac should be able to display these symbols.
