Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Inserting a Section Mark.
In legal and scholarly documents, it is sometimes necessary to use a character commonly known as a section mark. This character looks like a stylized S with a small circle in the middle of it. This character is not available from the keyboard, but can be inserted in a document in two ways. The first is to hold down the Alt key and type the numbers 0167 on the numeric keypad. The second method involves these steps:
Figure 1. The Special Characters tab of the Symbol dialog box.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7119) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting a Section Mark.
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2022-04-11 08:45:38
Rebecca
For a Section symbol, ALT + 21 (from number pad) also works. I thank you for all your tips, they are most helpful for refreshing and learning new. Most appreciated!
2016-06-28 11:32:22
Rebecca Schaffer
You can also use ALT + 21 (from number pad) to get the Section symbol §
2016-06-27 16:56:47
Tom Barron
Why not just set up a shortcut key, like ALT+CTRL+S?
Same thing for the paragraph symbol: ALT+CTRL+P?
I've been doing this for years and it makes adding these symbols very, very easy, especially when you need to do so repetitively in a brief or other legal writing.
2016-06-27 11:26:20
Paul Ramshaw
Using AutoCorrect allows you to insert a section symbol with fewer strokes--after you create the AutoCorrect entry.
To create the AutoCorrect entry:
a) Open a blank Word document.
b) Insert a section symbol using the steps outlined in the above tip. Add a space after the symbol, and make sure your paragraph is formatted as single-spaced.
c) Select just the section symbol and copy it to your clipboard (Ctrl-c).
d) Open AutoCorrect (click "File" tab on ribbon; click "Options" in left column; click "Proofing" in left column; in the AutoCorrect options section, click on "AutoCorrect Options..."
e) Create the new AutoCorrect entry:
Since you just copied the symbol, it may already appear in the "With" box. If it's not already there, click in the "With" box and paste it there (Ctrl-v). Now click in the "Replace" box and put letters and/or numbers you want to use to summon the symbol. I use "ss" (because the symbol looks like an "s" on top of another "s").
f) Click "Add" and "OK," and close Word Options.
Now all you need to do to get a section symbol is type ss and a space.
2016-06-25 13:13:28
Ted Duke
This character can be selected in some windows fonts such as Times New Roman. It has Character code 0047 and appears in the Symbols dialog. Once selected, Word adds it to the Symbols dialog
2016-06-25 10:38:24
Sarna
Thanks for this handy tip. I have so far used my own crude macro. I had copied the "s" character from a website and created a macro to insert it where I wanted. This needed further steps to format the character to match rest of the document.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
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