Symbols using alt. How to type special characters on the keyboard

Existing symbols - and these are not only letters, numbers, mathematical and punctuation signs, and many others - are much larger than the keys on a computer keyboard. Microsoft employees who developed Windows system, solved this problem by assigning each character a unique code, which is entered using the Alt key.

To get acquainted with the list of all existing symbols, you need to go to the "Start" menu and then:
All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Symbol Table
This will open the character table in Unicode.

For reference: Unicode is a character encoding standard that allows you to represent the characters of almost all written languages. Unicode was originally created to eliminate encoding errors.

To translate the table into an encoding convenient for you, you need to check the box next to "Advanced viewing options" and use the drop-down menu to select the required character set ("Cyrillic" for the Russian language).

Alt codes
To dial the Alt code, you need to hold down the Alt key and press the indicated digits of the code one by one, after which the Alt key is released. The symbol will appear when the key is released.

HTML mnemonics
In addition to Alt codes, the table contains HTML mnemonics.

A mnemonic is the encoding of a character in HTML that begins with the ampersand "&" and ends with a semicolon ";".

Accordingly, in HTML, for example, the greater than symbol can be written in two ways:
> - as a regular character
> - as a mnemonic code;

A character can only be displayed if it is represented in the font being used. AT otherwise, you'll see a rectangle, a question mark, and something else indicating no image for the specified character.
Now this problem successfully solved thanks to the included fonts.

Keyboard special character table

Symbol	Alt+	Mnemonics	Name/purpose
Most Useful Symbols
-	151	—	em dash(m-dash), for Russian, the spelling is the only correct one
«	171	«	opening quotation mark "Christmas tree"
»	187	»	closing quotation mark "Christmas tree"
	160		non-breaking space (words separated by such a space are always on the same line)
…	133	…	ellipsis
„	132	„	double bottom quote
“	147	“	double left quote
”	148	”	double right quote
‚	130	‚	single bottom quote
‘	145	‘	single left quote
’	146	’	single right quote
©	169		copyright (mark of copyright protection)
™	153	™	trademark
®	174	®	security sign trademark
–	150	-	middle dash (n-dash)
"	34	"	programmer's double quote
<	60	<	"less than" sign
>	62	>	greater than sign
‘	39	"	ordinary single quote(located to the left of the Enter key)
&	38	&	ampersand
°	248 (176)	°	degree sign
№	252 (185)	№	number sign (Shift+3 in Russian layout)
√	251	√	Square root
·	250 (183)	·	interpunct (point for word separation in Latin writing)
¤	253 (164)	¤	currency sign
€	0136 (0128)	€	Euro symbol
¥	165	¥	yen symbol
¢	162	¢	cent symbol (American)
£	163	£	pound symbol (British)
×	215	×	multiplication sign
÷	247	÷	division sign
−	-	−	minus sign (correct, not the same as minus-hyphen)
+	43	+	plus sign
±	177	±	plus or minus
¹	185	¹	superscript"one"
²	178	²	superscript "2"
³	179	³	superscript "3"
‰	137	‰	ppm
	173	-	"soft" transfer (meaning that in this place the browser, at its discretion, can transfer part of the word)
Arrows
	16		right
◄	17	◄	to the left
▲	30	▲	up
▼	31	▼	way down
	18	↕	up down
↔	29	↔	left-right
	24		up
↓	25	↓	way down
→	26	→	right
←	27	←	to the left
¶	20(182)	¶	paragraph character
§	21(167)	§	paragraph symbol
`	96	-	typewritten backtick (to the left of the 1 key, above Tab)
Other symbols
	1	-	smiley
☻	2	-	inverted emoticon
	3		hearts (heart)
♦	4	♦	diamonds
♣	5	♣	clubs (crosses)
♠	6	♠	peaks
	7(149)	.	list marker
♂	11	-	male gender designation (symbol of the planet Mars)
♀	12	-	female designation (mirror of Venus)
ƒ	131	ƒ	latin f with "tail"
†	134	†	cross
‡	135	‡	double cross
¡	161	¡	inverted exclamation mark
¦	166	¦	"torn" vertical bar
¬	172	¬	negation sign
µ	181	µ	symbol "micro" (used in the SI system to indicate the corresponding prefix)
Greek lowercase letters
α	-	α	alpha
β	-	β	beta
γ	-	γ	gamma
δ	-	δ	delta
ε	-	ε	epsilon
ζ	-	ζ	zeta
η	-	η	this
θ	-	θ	theta
ι	-	ι	iota
κ	-	κ	kappa
λ	-	λ	lambda
μ	-	μ	mu
ν	-	ν	nude
ξ	-	ξ	xi
ο	-	ο	omicron
π	-	π	pi
ρ	-	ρ	ro
σ	-	σ	sigma
τ	-	τ	tau
υ	-	υ	upsilon
φ	-	φ	fi
χ	-	χ	hee
ψ	-	ψ	psi
ω	-	ω	omega
Greek capital letters
Α	-	Α	alpha
Β	-	Β	beta
Γ	-	Γ	gamma
Δ	-	Δ	delta
Ε	-	Ε	epsilon
Ζ	-	Ζ	zeta
Η	-	Η	this
Θ	-	Θ	theta
Ι	-	Ι	iota
Κ	-	Κ	kappa
Λ	-	Λ	lambda
Μ	-	Μ	mu
Ν	-	Ν	nude
Ξ	-	Ξ	xi
Ο	-	Ο	omicron
Π	-	Π	pi
Ρ	-	Ρ	ro
Σ	-	Σ	sigma
Τ	-	Τ	tau
Υ	-	Υ	upsilon
Φ	-	Φ	fi
Χ	-	Χ	hee
Ψ	-	Ψ	psi
Ω	-	Ω	omega
Fractions
½	189	½	fraction "one-half"
⅓	-	⅓	fraction "one third"
¼	188	¼	fraction "one quarter"
⅕		⅕	fraction "one fifth"
⅙	-	⅙	fraction "one sixth"
⅛	-	⅛	fraction "one eighth"
⅔	-	⅔	fraction "two thirds"
⅖	-	⅖	fraction "two-fifths"
¾	190	¾	fraction "three-fourths"
⅗	-	⅗	three-fifths fraction
⅜	-	⅜	fraction "three eighths"
⅘	-	⅘	fraction "four-fifths"
⅚	-	⅚	fraction "five sixths"
⅝	-	⅝	fraction "five-eighths"
⅞	-	⅞	fraction "seven eighths"

Greetings, dear readers! Today I will show you how to print Special symbols on the keyboard using the Alt key. If you didn’t quite understand what I was talking about from the title of the article, I’ll explain in more detail.

There are symbols that are simply not on the keyboard, but at the same time they can be used quite often (paragraph icon, arrow, suit, heart). The question immediately arises, how to write this or that character, which is not on the keyboard. How to do this will be discussed in this article.

Here are examples of such characters:

☻☺ ♣♠◘○♀♪♂☼ ↕☼↓→§

Naturally, these are not all symbols, there are many more. You can find the full table with these symbols below.

And now I will tell you how to print these characters.

So, already from the name it is clear that we will use the Alt key! But we need other keys too!

In the picture below you can see all the keys we need and where they are located:

So, in order to print a particular character, you need to hold down the Alt key and use the additional panel with numbers to type the code of the character we need (character codes can be taken from the table below). Moreover, it is important to follow the sequence, that is, if you first press 1, and then 2, then the symbol with the number 12 will pop up for you, and if you do the opposite: first 2, and then 1, then you will get a completely different symbol with the number 21.

For example, the emoticon code (☺) is 1. So, to print a smiley, you need to press the Alt key and, without releasing it, press "1" in the additional panel with numbers, then you need to release the Alt key and the character will be printed.

To print an arrow (→) with code 26, you need to hold down the Alt key, then alternately press first "2", then "6", and then release the Alt key. The character will be printed immediately.

Here is a table of the most common symbols with their numbers:

This was the easiest way to print these characters, but not the only one.

There is also such a thing as a symbol table. No, we are not talking about the yellow table above. Every Windows computer has such a "Character Map" application.

This application is located in this location:

This folder contains a lot of system files, among which "charmap". In order not to look for it in that giant list, use the hot combination Ctrl keys+ F and search for "charmap". After starting the application, the following table will open:

You need to find and select the symbol you need, then copy it from the bottom line and paste it in the place you need. Quite convenient too!

Knowing what ALT codes are and how to use them, you can quickly enter many characters from the keyboard, for which there are no separate keys initially.

We often see them on the pages of websites. Especially a lot of them in user statuses social networks. In addition, they are also found in various printed materials: magazines, newspapers, books ... Almost everywhere where there is a place for any typography, you can find alt codes.

It all started with a dash

The idea for this article was prompted by the situation with the correction at work in one of the many documents of hyphens to a normal em dash. To enter the latter, I used the keyboard shortcut CTRL + - on the numeric keypad in Word. However, knowing a little HTML and remembering that it has two types of dashes (long - - and short - -), I wondered if it was possible to enter its different types from the keyboard?

Starting to look in this direction, I came across the 97th paragraph of "ru.Kovodstva" from the famous domestic designer Artemy Lebedev. It says that you need to distinguish between 4 dash characters: a hyphen, a minus, an en dash and an em dash.

But on the keyboard, we only have a hyphen (and not quite a hyphen, as it turns out), so the rest of the characters need to be added in a special way: using special alt codes. To enter them, you need to hold down the ALT key and press certain combinations of numbers on the side numeric keypad with the active NumLock switch. On laptops without additional number keys, their functions are usually performed by the buttons on the right side of the keyboard while holding down the Fn modifier key. All this is indicated in the form: ALT + numeric code:

But that, it turns out, is not all! Digging deeper, I found another very curious one, where the author says that there are at least 9 (!) Different lines in total, which can be not only hyphens and dashes! So, for example, I found out that on the keyboard, the button that many people call a minus or a hyphen actually enters at all single character- hyphen-minus, which is slightly longer than a hyphen, but shorter than a minus!

In general, the topic of alt codes and HTML codes turned out to be very interesting and I decided to study the issue more thoroughly...

Where do ALT codes come from?

The history of alt codes dates back to the days of the MS-DOS operating system. There, while holding down the ALT key and entering a certain numeric sequence on the numeric keypad, this sequence was interpreted by the BIOS and output directly as an ASCII character with the corresponding code.

With the advent and spread Windows tables ASCII characters migrated to various text encodings, retaining partial compatibility, character sets and the mechanism of ALT codes. To see all the characters available in a particular font and find out their codes, you can use the regular program symbol table(WIN + R - charmap - Enter). By the way, you can also copy the necessary icons from it in visual mode:

There are currently three types of alt codes:

1. Ordinary- are entered by holding down the ALT key and dialing numbers from 1 to 255. In this case, the code 256 (like 0) does not give any character, and after 256 all characters are repeated with a frequency of 256, that is, 1=257=513=769 .. ., 2=258=514=770... etc. In fact, we have an 8-bit character set (28 = 256) defined for the Windows encoding.
2. 0-leading- are entered in the same way as usual, but they always use zero as the first digit. 0-leading ALT codes do not match regular ALT codes, but contain partially repeated characters. For example, a paragraph icon in normal codes is inserted using ALT+21, and in 0-leading codes ALT+0167. Like regular ones, they contain 256 characters and repeat in the same way after code 0256, but the character set in them corresponds to the old ASCII set. What is characteristic, when entering in the Russian and English layouts, characters with the same code differ (see tables below).
3. hexadecimal or Unicode - usually not available for input under normal conditions. Unicode characters can only be displayed properly on web pages (entered in HTML code according to the "character_code" scheme or using special mnemonics) or in word processors like Microsoft Office Word or Open Office Writer. In the latter, they can be entered as ordinary ALT codes, taking into account the transfer of the number system from hexadecimal to 10-decimal. That is, to add, for example, the same paragraph icon that has the code "00A7" in the symbol table, you need to enter the code "0167" while holding down the ALT button. You can quickly convert a hexadecimal number to a 10-decimal system in the standard Windows Calculator, by activating "View" - "Programmer", switching the input mode from "Hex" to "Dec":

Let's pay a little more attention to hexadecimal codes. Unlike regular ALT codes and 0-leading codes, they can contain up to 65536 characters (216 = 65536). In this case, the first 256 characters coincide with the classic ASCII set and, accordingly, with 0-leading characters, but are not limited to them. In order to distinguish Unicode characters from ordinary ALT codes, they are often written according to the "U + character_code" scheme (we can find such an entry in the Character Table).

In Windows, it is possible to activate the direct input of hexadecimal ALT codes without converting them to a 10-decimal system. To do this, open Registry Editor(WIN + R - regedit - Enter), go to section HKCU\Control Panel\Input Method and add a new one String Section(REG_SZ type) named EnableHexNumpad and meaning 1 and then restart your computer:

After the reboot, you will be able to enter U-codes in the same form in which they are written in the Symbol Table. The only caveat is that while entering a number, you will need to not only hold ALT, but also press the "+" button on the numeric keypad before the code itself (if the desired character is not added, "+" must be held together with ALT).

Alt codes tables

Full list all characters of the font, as we found out, can be viewed in the Character Table, and here we will provide complete tables of ordinary ALT codes and 0-leading ones.

Table of common alt codes

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
0	(empty)	1	☺	2	☻	3		4	♦
5	♣	6	♠	7		8	◘	9	○
10	◙	11	♂	12	♀	13	♪	14	♫
15	☼	16		17	◄	18	↕	19	‼
20	¶	21	§	22	▬	23	↨	24
25	↓	26	→	27	←	28	∟	29	↔
30	▲	31	▼	32	(space)	33	!	34	"
35	#	36	$	37	%	38	&	39	"
40	(	41	)	42	*	43	+	44	,
45	-	46	.	47	/	48	0	49	1
50	2	51	3	52	4	53	5	54	6
55	7	56	8	57	9	58	:	59	;
60	<	61	=	62	>	63	?	64	@
65	A	66	B	67	C	68	D	69	E
70	F	71	G	72	H	73	I	74	J
75	K	76	L	77	M	78	N	79	O
80	P	81	Q	82	R	83	S	84	T
85	U	86	V	87	W	88	X	89	Y
90	Z	91	[	92	\	93	]	94	^
95	_	96	`	97	a	98	b	99	c
100	d	101	e	102	f	103	g	104	h
105	i	106	j	107	k	108	l	109	m
110	n	111	o	112	p	113	q	114	r
115	s	116	t	117	u	118	v	119	w
120	x	121	y	122	z	123	{	124	|
125	}	126	~	127	⌂	128	BUT	129	B
130	AT	131	G	132	D	133	E	134	AND
135	W	136	And	137	Y	138	To	139	L
140	M	141	H	142	O	143	P	144	R
145	FROM	146	T	147	At	148	F	149	X
150	C	151	H	152	W	153	SCH	154	Kommersant
155	S	156	b	157	E	158	YU	159	I
160	a	161	b	162	in	163	G	164	d
165	e	166	and	167	h	168	and	169	th
170	to	171	l	172	m	173	n	174	about
175	P	176	░	177	▒	178	▓	179	│
180	┤	181	╡	182	╢	183	╖	184	╕
185	╣	186	║	187	╗	188	╝	189	╜
190	╛	191	┐	192	└	193	┴	194	┬
195	├	196	─	197	┼	198	╞	199	╟
200	╚	201	╔	202	╩	203	╦	204	╠
205	═	206	╬	207	╧	208	╨	209	╤
210	╥	211	╙	212	╘	213	╒	214	╓
215	╫	216	╪	217	┘	218	┌	219	█
220	▄	221	▌	222	▀	223	▀	224	R
225	With	226	t	227	at	228	f	229	X
230	c	231	h	232	w	233	sch	234	b
235	s	236	b	237	uh	238	Yu	239	I
240	Yo	241	yo	242	Є	243	є	244	Ї
245	ї	246	Ў	247	ў	248	°	249	∙
250	·	251	√	252	№	253	¤	254	■
255	(space)	256	(empty)

Table of 0-leading alt codes (Russian layout)

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
00	null (empty)	01	SOH (beginning of "header")	02	STX (beginning of "text")	03	ETX (end of "text")	04	EOT (end of transmission)
05	ENQ (request confirmation)	06	ACK (acknowledge)	07	BEL (signal)	08	BS (backspace)	09	TAB (tab)
010	LF (line feed)	011	VT (vertical tab)	012	ff( new page)	013	CR (carriage return)	014	SO (encoding switch)
015	SI (revert encoding)	016	DLE (data shielding)	017		018	DC2 (turn on puncher)	019
020	DC4 (turn off puncher)	021		022	SYN (data sync)	023	ETB (end of text block)	024	CAN (cancel)
025	EM (end of media)	026	SUB (substitute)	027	ESC (escape)	028	FS (file separator)	029	GS (group separator)
030	RS (record separator)	031	US (unit separator)	032	space	033	!	034	"
035	#	036	$	037	%	038	&	039	"
040	(	041	)	042	*	043	+	044	,
045	-	046	.	047	/	048	0	049	1
050	2	051	3	052	4	053	5	054	6
055	7	056	8	057	9	058	:	059	;
060	<	061	=	062	>	063	?	064	@
065	A	066	B	067	C	068	D	069	E
070	F	071	G	072	H	073	I	074	J
075	K	076	L	077	M	078	N	079	O
080	P	081	Q	082	R	083	S	084	T
085	U	086	V	087	W	088	X	089	Y
090	Z	091	[	092	\	093	]	094	^
095	_	096	`	097	a	098	b	099	c
0100	d	0101	e	0102	f	0103	g	0104	h
0105	i	0106	j	0107	k	0108	l	0109	m
0110	n	0111	o	0112	p	0113	q	0114	r
0115	s	0116	t	0117	u	0118	v	0119	w
0120	x	0121	y	0122	z	0123	{	0124	|
0125	}	0126	~	0127		0128	Ђ	0129	Ѓ
0130	‚	0131	ѓ	0132	„	0133	…	0134	†
0135	‡	0136	€	0137	‰	0138	Љ	0139	‹
0140	Њ	0141	Ќ	0142	Ћ	0143	Џ	0144	ђ
0145	‘	0146	’	0147	“	0148	”	0149
0150	–	0151	-	0152	SOS (help)	0153	™	0154	љ
0155	›	0156	њ	0157	ќ	0158	ћ	0159	џ
0160	non-breaking space	0161	Ў	0162	ў	0163	Ј	0164	¤
0165	Ґ	0166	¦	0167	§	0168	Yo	0169	©
0170	Є	0171	«	0172	¬	0173	­	0174	®
0175	Ї	0176	°	0177	±	0178	І	0179	і
0180	ґ	0181	µ	0182	¶	0183	·	0184	yo
0185	№	0186	є	0187	»	0188	ј	0189	Ѕ
0190	ѕ	0191	ї	0192	BUT	0193	B	0194	AT
0195	G	0196	D	0197	E	0198	AND	0199	W
0200	And	0201	Y	0202	To	0203	L	0204	M
0205	H	0206	O	0207	P	0208	R	0209	FROM
0210	T	0211	At	0212	F	0213	X	0214	C
0215	H	0216	W	0217	SCH	0218	Kommersant	0219	S
0220	b	0221	E	0222	YU	0223	I	0224	a
0225	b	0226	in	0227	G	0228	d	0229	e
0230	and	0231	h	0232	and	0233	th	0234	to
0235	l	0236	m	0237	n	0238	about	0239	P
0240	R	0241	With	0242	t	0243	at	0244	f
0245	X	0246	c	0247	h	0248	w	0249	sch
0250	b	0251	s	0252	b	0253	uh	0254	Yu
0255	I	0256	(empty)

Table of 0-leading alt codes (English layout)

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
00	null (empty)	01	SOH (beginning of "header")	02	STX (beginning of "text")	03	ETX (end of "text")	04	EOT (end of transmission)
05	ENQ (request confirmation)	06	ACK (acknowledge)	07	BEL (signal)	08	BS (backspace)	09	TAB (tab)
010	LF (line feed)	011	VT (vertical tab)	012	FF (new page)	013	CR (carriage return)	014	SO (encoding switch)
015	SI (revert encoding)	016	DLE (data shielding)	017	DC1 (enable punched tape reading)	018	DC2 (turn on puncher)	019	DC3 (disable punched tape reading)
020	DC4 (turn off puncher)	021	NAK (no acknowledgment)	022	SYN (data sync)	023	ETB (end of text block)	024	CAN (cancel)
025	EM (end of media)	026	SUB (substitute)	027	ESC (escape)	028	FS (file separator)	029	GS (group separator)
030	RS (record separator)	031	US (unit separator)	032	space	033	!	034	"
035	#	036	$	037	%	038	&	039	"
040	(	041	)	042	*	043	+	044	,
045	-	046	.	047	/	048	0	049	1
050	2	051	3	052	4	053	5	054	6
055	7	056	8	057	9	058	:	059	;
060	<	061	=	062	>	063	?	064	@
065	A	066	B	067	C	068	D	069	E
070	F	071	G	072	H	073	I	074	J
075	K	076	L	077	M	078	N	079	O
080	P	081	Q	082	R	083	S	084	T
085	U	086	V	087	W	088	X	089	Y
090	Z	091	[	092	\	093	]	094	^
095	_	096	`	097	a	098	b	099	c
0100	d	0101	e	0102	f	0103	g	0104	h
0105	i	0106	j	0107	k	0108	l	0109	m
0110	n	0111	o	0112	p	0113	q	0114	r
0115	s	0116	t	0117	u	0118	v	0119	w
0120	x	0121	y	0122	z	0123	{	0124	|
0125	}	0126	~	0127		0128	€	0129	HOP (HIGH OCTET PRESET)
0130	‚	0131	ƒ	0132	„	0133	…	0134	†
0135	‡	0136	ˆ	0137	‰	0138	Š	0139	‹
0140	Œ	0141	RI (reverse line feed)	0142	Ž	0143	SS3 (3rd value for next character)	0144	DSC (Device Control String)
0145	‘	0146	’	0147	“	0148	”	0149
0150	–	0151	-	0152	˜	0153	™	0154	š
0155	›	0156	œ	0157	OSC (operating system command)	0158	ž	0159	Ÿ
0160	non-breaking space	0161	¡	0162	¢	0163	£	0164	¤
0165	¥	0166	¦	0167	§	0168	¨	0169	©
0170	ª	0171	«	0172	¬	0173	­	0174	®
0175	¯	0176	°	0177	±	0178	²	0179	³
0180	´	0181	µ	0182	¶	0183	·	0184	¸
0185	¹	0186	º	0187	»	0188	¼	0189	½
0190	¾	0191	¿	0192	À	0193	Á	0194	Â
0195	Ã	0196	Ä	0197	Å	0198	Æ	0199	Ç
0200	È	0201	É	0202	Ê	0203	Ë	0204	Ì
0205	Í	0206	Î	0207	Ï	0208	Ð	0209	Ñ
0210	Ò	0211	Ó	0212	Ô	0213	Õ	0214	Ö
0215	×	0216	Ø	0217	Ù	0218	Ú	0219	Û
0220	Ü	0221	Ý	0222	Þ	0223	ß	0224	à
0225	á	0226	â	0227	ã	0228	ä	0229	å
0230	æ	0231	ç	0232	è	0233	é	0234	ê
0235	ë	0236	ì	0237	í	0238	î	0239	ï
0240	ð	0241	ñ	0242	ò	0243	ó	0244	ô
0245	õ	0246	ö	0247	÷	0248	ø	0249	ù
0250	ú	0251	û	0252	ü	0253	ý	0254	þ
0255	ÿ	0256	null (empty)

A few explanations for the tables. With the usual alt codes, I think everything is clear. But a number of initial and some subsequent 0-leading ALT codes, as we could see in the tables, give out incomprehensible characters (they are followed by explanations in brackets). These characters are called control characters and came to modern operating systems along with ASCII codes, which at one time were also used to control punched tapes!

Also note that in the English and Russian layouts, the 0-leading alt codes only half match. The second half, where the Cyrillic alphabet is entered in the Russian-language layout, is reserved for all kinds of letters with diacritical marks in the English-language layout.

Character fonts and alternate keyboard layouts

Undoubtedly, ALT codes are a very useful thing. But remembering all of them is quite difficult, and given the presence of Unicode characters, it’s almost impossible at all! From here we have at least three options:

1. Remember only the most commonly used ALT codes for punctuation.
2. Create a special layout with an extended character set available for input.
3. Use alternative fonts with desired characters instead of letters.

The first option at first glance seems to be the most optimal. It does not require any additional actions, except for memorizing the codes to enter the desired characters. For faster memorization, I recommend that you find on the Internet or make yourself a plate with the most useful alt codes and print it out. Here is an example of one of these tablets that is freely available on the Web:

Similar tables can be found for memorizing HTML code and mnemonics. The most successful version of the latter, in my opinion, is collected in the corresponding Wikipedia article.

The second option is more tricky and requires intervention in the system. It consists in change the default keyboard layout to an alternate one, which uses modifier keys more efficiently, inserting certain characters with given combinations.

To date, one of the best alternative Russian-language layouts for Windows and MacOS is Ilya Birman's Typographic layout:

The principle of operation of the Birman layout is similar to the principle of operation of ALT codes. Only, unlike them, not the left one is used here, but right ALT(ALT GR). To enter the characters indicated in the top row, in addition to ALT GR, you also need to hold down SHIFT. For faster memorization, you can cut and paste layout symbols on the keyboard or print them out and use them as a cheat sheet.

To install the Birman layout, you need to download it from the site at the link above and install it as a regular program. Then from Control Panel or Properties language bar open the Language settings and click the "Options" button to the right of the "Russian" option. In the window that opens, in the "Input methods" group, click "Add input method" and in the list of layouts, select a new typographic layout, and then remove the standard one. A reboot may be required to save the changes:

The most interesting option for solving the problem of entering non-traditional characters can be called the use of alternative symbolic or icon fonts. Such fonts have recently become most popular in web design, since they contain scalable vector images, which can be used for various buttons and infographics on modern websites.

Character fonts, when you press the keyboard keys, allow you to display certain icons instead of ordinary letters. Since there are usually a lot of such icons, they are also contained in the extended character table, from where they are displayed using Unicode-style ALT codes or HTML codes:

most popular in modern web design fonts can be called FontAwesome , GLYPHICONS , Web Symbols and others. In addition, we cannot fail to mention the Fontello service, which allows you to independently assemble your own set of icons from popular character fonts and save them into a single file!

conclusions

Knowing how to insert a particular character into the text using ALT codes, you can always quickly and competently compose any web page or draw up a document. In extreme cases, with the help of them you can decorate your VKontakte or Odnoklassniki profile with hearts and suns, as many do :)

Well, what if the characters in standard fonts If you don't have enough, you can always use alternative ones that contain high-quality graphics instead of letters. True, in social networks, alas, you can’t show off with such fonts, but you can use them on your own website or blog! The main thing is not to overdo it;)

P.S. Permission is granted to freely copy and quote this article, provided that the open active link on the source and preservation of the authorship of Ruslan Tertyshny.

Welcome to our site again! Did you know that using the most ordinary keyboard, you can enter many more characters than it is drawn on it? Well, you probably knew if you landed on this article from a search. If not, then today you will find out what are alt codes and how to use them and also why they might not work.

If you only need tables of alt codes with all symbols, then immediately scroll through the article to pictures with tables. If you want to know something else, then read the article carefully.

What are alt codes for?

Let's say you're writing some paper, let's say, in physics, and you need to write "60 degrees Celsius". If you write in MS Word, then you can always find the Celsius symbol in special characters. But not everyone knows how to do it. And besides, the search for some rare characters can take a lot of time.

I assure you, when you learn how to use alt codes, then inserting a Celsius degree will take you no more than a couple of seconds.

Another common situation is when a hyphen stubbornly does not want to automatically turn into a dash (lengthen). The problem with the dash will also help you solve Alt codes.

How to take advantage of these hidden characters

Using characters that are not on the keyboard is extremely simple. You just need to hold down the left Alt on the keyboard and at the same time type the numeric character code.

For example, Alt + 1 will give you this smiley ☺. You can practice in the comments. PS: in text documents the smiley will not be in color, but in black and white.

There is really one caveat here - the numbers that are located above the letters will not work. You need to click on the numbers located on the right side of the keyboard. Therefore, the codes do not work for such alt.

Alt codes of the most requested characters

Some characters are used less often, some more often. Now we will give examples of the most commonly used symbols that it is desirable to learn by heart. The rest you can always peep in the cheat sheet if you leave this article bookmarked or repost it so that it stays in your mind.

Alt codes of characters that will definitely come in handy for you:

Name	Symbol	Alt codes	Note
Degree Celsius	°	Alt+0176
Diameter	Ø	Alt+0216	Alt code diameter is only available on latin keyboard layout
Dash	– -	Alt+0150 Alt+0151	There are two of them. Works on both layouts.
herringbone quotes	«»	Alt+0171 Alt+0187	If your default font has these quotes “”
plus/minus	±	Alt+0177
Check mark	√ ✓ ✔	Alt+251 Alt+10003 Alt+10004	Several options that can be called ticks.
Check mark in a square	☑	Alt+9745	In case of important negotiations!
Arrow right, left, up, down	←→↓	Alt + 26 Alt + 27 Alt + 24 Alt + 25	Right arrow alt code is needed when you need to show the consequence of something.
accent sign	stress	alt+769	We put the cursor after the desired letter and type the alt accent code. Important! Through the search, this word will no longer be found, since the characters "e" and "eʹ" are completely different characters.
Copyright sign	©	Alt+0169
heart		Alt + 3	There is also a white heart alt code, but for some reason it does not work for me, so I do not give it to you. We only have verified information.
Infinity	∞	alt+8734
Non-breaking space	Example: a, b, c, d, e, f	Alt+0160	We applied the alt code of non-breaking space between letters. Despite the fact that "a" and "b" could fit on the first line, they stuck to the rest of the letters.
Paragraph	§	Alt+0167

Alt codes of all main characters in the table

These tables contain all the main characters that can be entered using alt codes. However, I do not presume to assert that these are absolutely all symbols. There are a lot of them, and it often happens that several codes can produce the same character. If something is not found, then ask in the comments, we will try to figure it out together.

Only for Russian keyboard layout

Only for English keyboard layout

Why use alt codes for letters

You, of course, noticed that in addition to all sorts of unusual characters and symbols in the table, there are also al codes of ordinary letters. These are exactly the same letters that you enter from the keyboard, and even through the search you can find a word in which one of the letters is inserted with an Alt code.

This, perhaps, can be useful to you if some key does not work on your keyboard. This is inconvenient, but for the first time it can save you if there are urgent matters.

I have not found any other useful use of such letters. If you have interesting ideas, show them off in the comments.

If alt codes do not work, then ...

It means you are doing something wrong. In principle, alt codes may not work for several reasons.

For example, you didn't read the instructions very carefully and you're trying to use the numbers above the letter keys. They won't work. You only need to use the numbers on the right (numpad).

If you have a small laptop, then the keyboard on it is most likely stripped down. In this case, there is a small chance that you can use the upper numbers if you additionally hold down the key fn. This method did not work for me, but it is actively advised on the Internet.

Also, if alt codes do not work correctly for you (it turns out not the character that should be), then try changing the keyboard layout (Alt + Shift).

Another very commonplace reason is to check if the numpad is enabled (the NUM button above it).

Instead of total

I don't even know how to sum it up. Just enjoy your health. You can practice right here in the comments. Let's see how much you have mastered the topic. If you have any difficulties, then do not hesitate to ask for advice and they will help you (either me or other users). In order not to remember all the codes, just bookmark this article in your browser.

For systems using English language, code page 437 is used. For most other systems using the Latin alphabet, code page  850 is used. For a complete list, see the Code page article

These codes became so well known that Microsoft was forced into a new operating system Windows 95 use Windows-1252 and similar international sets in order to retain the ability to use Alt codes. Holding Alt and typing three digits (the first is not zero) can translate the character from CP437 to the corresponding character in the Windows page code. By typing a leading 0 (zero) first, and then a number, you can write a character from the Windows code page.

For example, the combination Alt + 161 produces "í" (Latin letter i with an acute dot on top), which is in the 161st position in CP437 and CP850. Alt+0161 gives the character "¡" (inverted exclamation point) which is in the 161st position in Windows-1252.

When Windows switched to Unicode, Alt-characters were preserved: 0-leading codes became even more popular. There is also another way: to enable it, the user must set or create the HKCU \ Control Panel \ Input Method \ EnableHexNumpad registry key with REG_SZ type and value 1 and restart the computer. After that, you can use the third method:

• Hold down the Alt key. Press the "+" key on the numeric keypad.
• While holding Alt, enter a hexadecimal number using the numeric keypad for the numbers 0-9 and the normal keys for the characters a-f.

For example, Alt + 11b will produce ě ("e" with "cap").

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 3

✪ We print a character that is not on the keyboard. Table of Alt (Alt) codes.

✪ Hindi Typing Complete Alt Code For Kruti Dev Font || Hindi Special Character Keyboard.

✪ Write umlaut a (ä) and o (ö) with Alt+

Subtitles

List of codes

English layout

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
1	☺	21	§	41	)	61	=	81	Q	101	e	121	y
2	☻	22	▬	42	*	62	>	82	R	102	f	122	z
3		23	↨	43	+	63	?	83	S	103	g	123	{
4	♦	24		44	,	64	@	84	T	104	h	124	|
5	♣	25	↓	45	-	65	A	85	U	105	i	125	}
6	♠	26	→	46	.	66	B	86	V	106	j	126	~
7		27	←	47	/	67	C	87	W	107	k	127	⌂
8	◘	28	∟	48	0	68	D	88	X	108	l	128	A
9	○	29	↔	49	1	69	E	89	Y	109	m	129	B
10	◙	30	▲	50	2	70	F	90	Z	110	n	130	AT
11	♂	31	▼	51	3	71	G	91	[	111	o	131	G
12	♀	32	<пробел>	52	4	72	H	92	\	112	p	132	D
13	♪	33	!	53	5	73	I	93	]	113	q	133	E
14	♫	34	"	54	6	74	J	94	^	114	r	134	AND
15	☼	35	#	55	7	75	K	95	_	115	s	135	W
16		36	$	56	8	76	L	96	`	116	t	136	And
17	◄	37	%	57	9	77	M	97	a	117	u	137	Y
18	↕	38	&	58	:	78	N	98	b	118	v	138	To
19	‼	39	"	59	;	79	O	99	c	119	w	139	L
20	¶	40	(	60	<	80	P	100	d	120	x	140	M

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
141	H	161	b	181	╡	201	╔	221	▌	241	yo
142	O	162	in	182	╢	202	╩	222	▐	242	Є
143	P	163	G	183	╖	203	╦	223	▀	243	є
144	R	164	d	184	╕	204	╠	224	R	244	Ї
145	FROM	165	e	185	╣	205	═	225	With	245	ї
146	T	166	and	186	║	206	╬	226	t	246	Ў
147	At	167	h	187	╗	207	╧	227	at	247	ў
148	F	168	and	188	╝	208	╨	228	f	248	°
149	X	169	th	189	╜	209	╤	229	X	249	∙
150	C	170	to	190	╛	210	╥	230	c	250	·
151	H	171	l	191	┐	211	╙	231	h	251	√
152	W	172	m	192	└	212	╘	232	w	252	№
153	SCH	173	n	193	┴	213	╒	233	sch	253	¤
154	Kommersant	174	about	194	┬	214	╓	234	b	254	■
155	S	175	P	195	├	215	╫	235	s	255	<неразрывный пробел>
156	b	176	░	196	─	216	╪	236	b	256	Ā
157	E	177	▒	197	┼	217	┘	237	uh	257	☺
158	YU	178	▓	198	╞	218	┌	238	Yu	258	☻
159	I	179	│	199	╟	219	█	239	I	259
160	a	180	┤	200	╚	220	▄	240	Yo	260	♦

German layout

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
0127	"?" (empty character)	0144	ђ	0160	<неразрывный пробел>	0176	°	0192	À	0208	Ð	0224	à	0240	ð
0128	Ђ	0145	‘	0161	¡	0177	±	0193	Á	0209	Ñ	0225	á	0241	ñ
0129	Ѓ	0146	’	0162	¢	0178	²	0194	Â	0210	Ò	0226	â	0242	ò
0130	‚	0147	”	0163	£	0179	³	0195	Ã	0211	Ó	0227	ã	0243	ó
0131	ƒ	0148	”	0164	¤	0180	´	0196	Ä	0212	Ô	0228	ä	0244	ô
0132	„	0149		0165	¥	0181	µ	0197	Å	0213	Õ	0229	å	0245	õ
0133	…	0150	–	0166	¦	0182	¶	0198	Æ	0214	Ö	0230	æ	0246	ö
0134	†	0151	-	0167	§	0183	·	0199	Ç	0215	×	0231	ç	0247	÷
0135	‡	0152	˜	0168	¨	0184	¸	0200	È	0216	Ø	0232	è	0248	ø
0136	ˆ	0153	™	0169	©	0185	¹	0201	É	0217	Ù	0233	é	0249	ù
0137	‰	0154	š	0170	ª	0186	º	0202	Ê	0218	Ú	0234	ê	0250	ú
0138	Š	0155	›	0171	«	0187	»	0203	Ë	0219	Û	0235	ë	0251	û
0139	‹	0156	œ	0172	¬	0188	¼	0204	Ì	0220	Ü	0236	ì	0252	ü
0140	Œ	0157	ќ	0173	n	0189	½	0205	Í	0221	Ý	0237	í	0253	ý
0142	Ž	0158	ž	0174	®	0190	¾	0206	Î	0222	Þ	0238	î	0254	þ
0143	Џ	0159	Ÿ	0175	¯	0191	¿	0207	Ï	0223	ß	0239	ï	0255	ÿ

Russian layout

Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol	Alt code	Symbol
0127	?	0144	ђ	0161	Ў	0178	І	0195	G	0212	F	0229	e	0246	c
0128	Ђ	0145	‘	0162	ў	0179	і	0196	D	0213	X	0230	and	0247	h
0129	Ѓ	0146	’	0163	Ј	0180	ґ	0197	E	0214	C	0231	h	0248	w
0130	‚	0147	“	0164	¤	0181	µ	0198	AND	0215	H	0232	and	0249	sch
0131	ѓ	0148	”	0165	Ґ	0182	¶	0199	W	0216	W	0233	th	0250	b
0132	„	0149		0166	¦	0183	·	0200	And	0217	SCH	0234	to	0251	s
0133	…	0150	–	0167	§	0184	yo	0201	Y	0218	Kommersant	0235	l	0252	b
0134	†	0151	-	0168	Yo	0185	№	0202	To	0219	S	0236	m	0253	uh
0135	‡	0152	˜	0169	©	0186	є	0203	L	0220	b	0237	n	0254	Yu
0136	€	0153	™	0170	Є	0187	»	0204	M	0221	E	0238	about	0255	I
0137	‰	0154	љ	0171	«	0188	ј	0205	H	0222	YU	0239	P
0138	Љ	0155	›	0172	¬­	0189	Ѕ	0206	O	0223	I	0240	R
0139	‹	0156	њ	0173	­­-	0190	ѕ	0207	P	0224	a	0241	With
0140	Њ	0157	ќ	0174	®	0191	ї	0208	R	0225	b	0242	t
0141	Ќ	0158	ћ	0175	Ї	0192	BUT	0209	FROM	0226	in	0243	at
0142	Ћ	0159	џ	0176	°	0193	B	0210	T	0227	G	0244	f
0143	Џ	0160	<