Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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 Special Symbol.

Inserting a Special Symbol

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 29, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

In typography there are many special symbols defined in fonts. An example of special symbols would be the bullets used at the front of bulleted lists. Word allows you to quickly and easily insert a special symbol into your document. To do so, follow these instructions:

Position the insertion point where you want the special symbol inserted.
Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click Symbol in the Symbols group. Word displays a palette of various symbols you can insert.
If you see the symbol you want, click it and skip the rest of these steps.
If the symbol is not available, click More Symbols. Word displays the Symbol dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Symbol dialog box.

Since the symbols shown are nothing more than alternate typefaces, you can pick a different symbol typeface by changing the Font box.
Select a symbol from among those displayed.
Click on Insert.
Repeat steps 6 through 8 to insert other symbols, if desired.
Click on the Cancel button to close the 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 (10025) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting a Special Symbol.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inserting the Edit Time

One of the things that Word keeps track of is how long, in minutes, you've been editing your current document. This ...

Discover More

Fixing a Numeric Keypad Key

We all expect the keyboard keys to operate as normal, and when they don't, it can be bothersome. Geraldine had such a ...

Discover More

Cannot Use Dotted Diagonal Borders

Excel allows you to apply borders to cells, including with the cells. However, understanding the effects of the borders ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Searching for Paragraph Marks and Line Breaks

Word allows you to search for special characters that normally do not print such as paragraph marks and line breaks.

Discover More

Understanding Nonprinting Characters

Even characters that print nothing still take space in your document. Characters such as tabs, spaces, breaks, and the ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is eight minus 8?

2026-01-08 09:17:51

Timothy J. McGowan

To expand a bit on Kiwerry's comment, Windows users can use WinKey+semicolon or WinKey+period.

WinKey (Windows key) is the key with the four-paned Windows logo, usually found bottom left on the keyboard, between Ctrl and Alt. Press and hold Winkey and then tap the period key or the semicolon key, and you'll see a dialog of emoji, GIFs, kaomoji, and symbols.

2026-01-08 05:29:03

Kiwerry

Windows users can apply the "(Win Key) ." hot key to access symbols in a rather different way: (see Figure 1 below)

It is less typographically oriented than the method described by Allen, has the advantage that it can be used all over Windows, not just in Word, it includes coloured emoticons, and it also has a "recently used" collection. It has a bit of a learning curve, but some may nevertheless find it useful, as have I.

Figure 1.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.