How to Make Keyboard Bullets, Stars, Hearts, French Accents, Copyright Symbols & More with the Alt Key
A New Radiance Online Tutorial
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215 Symbols: Computer keyboard & Alt Key symbols - Download &
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Do you ever need to type
symbols or foreign letters that aren't on your computer keyboard? Like © for
Copyright or the Trademark symbol (™) or a real bullet • instead of an
asterisk (*)? Even though I write in English, I've often needed to type a name or word in French, German or Spanish, using letters with accents such as à, é, ü or ñ. But they aren't on my English keyboard. So many times I had to use e' when what I really wanted was the accented é. There are many words in common usage that require these accents: résumé, tête-à-tête, à la carte.... For a long time, I never knew the secret to these "missing" keyboard symbols... until one day I was given a list of them. Ah-ha! No more mystery... I just had to unlock the "secret method," which I had never learned before. Actually, there are three methods you can use:
(1) How to Use the "Insert" Function:
In many Windows programs (including Word, Publisher and FrontPage), there's an easy way to insert symbols for copyright, trademark,
cents and French, German and Spanish accents. You never again have to use
e', when what you really want is é. (2) How to Use the "Character Map" in Windows: Another method is to use the "Character Map" to copy and paste the required symbols. In Windows (XP) you'll find the Character Map by clicking on the Windows Start Menu, then All Programs, then Accessories, System Tools and Character Map. The Character Map box pops up.
Choose the font you wish to use from the
drop-down menu at the top. Place your curser where you'd like to insert the
symbol, click on the symbol you wish to insert, click on the Select
Button, then the Copy Button and then paste the symbol onto your
page (using Edit, Paste or the "Control v" shortcut). You'll also see the Alt
Key shortcut at the bottom of the Character Map, for future reference.
(3) How to Make Keyboard Symbols with the "Alt" Key and Numeric Keypad:
Another way is to use the "Alt" key and numbers - making sure to
use your numeric keypad, not the
numbers on the top of the keyboard. NumLock needs to be ON. The basic symbols below will work with most text fonts. Copyright (©) is
Alt, 0, 1, 6, 9 Pound (£) is Alt 0, 1, 6, 3 French accent (ç) is Alt, 0, 2, 3, 1 French accent (è) is Alt, 0, 2, 3, 2 French accent (é) is Alt, 0, 2, 3, 3 French accent (ê) is Alt, 0, 2, 3, 4 German accent (ü) is Alt, 0, 2,
5, 2
To get your
own downloadable,
A
few Dingbat-style symbols come with your text fonts! Smiley face☺ is Alt, 1 Heart ♥ is Alt, 3 Diamond ♦ is Alt, 4 Club ♣ is Alt, 5 Spade ♠ is Alt, 6 Bullet • is Alt, 7 Bullet ◘ is Alt, 8 Music Notes ♫ is Alt, 1, 4 Sun ☼ is Alt, 1, 5
(Heart border = Alt, 3 repeated, using Times New Roman 12 point
font.)
Graphic Text Symbols For graphic text symbols, change your font to Wingdings (comes with Microsoft Word and Publisher) or Zapf Dingbats (for hearts). You can resize these symbols the same way you'd resize any text.
Either use the "Insert" function or the following sampling of keyboard shortcuts: Pencil ( ! ) is Alt, 0, 3, 3 Scissors ( " ) is Alt, 0, 3, 4 Envelope ( * ) is Alt, 0, 4, 4 Smiley face ( J) is Alt, 0, 7, 4 Yin-Yang ( [ ) is Alt, 0, 9, 1 Check box ( o) is Alt, 0, 1, 1, 1 Bullet ( v) is Alt, 0, 1, 1, 8 Small bullet ( w ) is Alt, 0, 1, 1, 9 Divider ( –) is Alt, 0, 1, 5, 0 Divider ( —) is Alt, 0, 1, 5, 1 Bullet ( Ÿ ) is Alt, 0, 1, 5, 9 Bullet ( § ) is Alt, 0, 1, 6, 7 vvvvvvvvvvvvv (Alt, 0, 1, 1, 8 in Wingdings repeated) FOR 200+WINGDINGS, CHECK OUT THE DOWNLOADABLE & PRINTABLE WINGDINGS LIST ABOVE.
ITC Zapf Dingbats
(including hearts): Don't have Dingbats? You can get 'em at: Fonts.com. Either use the "Insert" function as instructed above, or the following sampling of keyboard shortcuts (you'll find more at Insert, Symbol): Heart symbol (¤) is Alt 0, 1, 6, 4 Heart symbol (ª) is Alt 0, 1, 7, 0 Divider heart symbol ( ¦ ) is Alt, 0, 1, 6, 6 Divider heart symbol (§) is Alt, 0, 1, 6, 7 Scissors symbol ( " ) is Alt, 0, 3, 4 (for coupon cutting) Checkmark symbol ( 4 ) is Alt, 0, 5, 2 X Checkmark Symbol ( 8 ) is Alt, 0, 0, 5, 6 Star Symbol ( H ) is Alt, 0, 7, 2 Check Box Symbol ( o ) is Alt, 0, 1, 1, 1 Arrow Symbol ( Ü ) is Alt, 0, 2, 2, 0 Another Cool Bullet (
u
) is Alt, 0, 1, 1, 7
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