Use emoji and symbols on Mac

Use the Character Viewer to enter emoji, symbols, accented letters and characters from other languages into your documents.

The Character Viewer window. Select a category on the left to browse characters or symbols. In the search field, enter a symbol name or code to find a specific character. In the upper-right corner, click to expand or collapse the viewer.

In an app on your Mac, do one of the following to open the Character Viewer:
- Choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols.
- Press Control-Command-Space.
- Click the Input menu in the menu bar and choose Show Emoji & Symbols.
- Press -E (if the Globe key is available on the keyboard).
  Depending on your Mac model, you can also set an option in Keyboard settings to access emoji and symbols by pressing the Fn key or the key by itself.
  To change Keyboard settings, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard . (You may need to scroll down.)
  Open Keyboard settings for me
  For more help with Keyboard options, click the Help button in Keyboard settings.
Click the expand or collapse button in the upper-right corner of the viewer.
To customise the Character Viewer, expand the viewer, then click the Action pop-up menu in the upper-left corner of the viewer. You can make the symbols larger so they’re easier to see. To change the categories shown in the viewer, choose Customise List, select or deselect categories, then click Done.
Do one of the following:
- Browse characters and symbols: Click the buttons across the bottom of the viewer (if it’s collapsed) or along the left edge of the viewer (if it’s expanded). When the viewer’s expanded, additional categories are visible.
  For some emoji, such as those for people, you can click and hold an emoji to see other variations.
- Search for a character or symbol: Enter a commonly used word or phrase (such as question mark) or code (such as U+003F) in the search field, then press Return.
To insert a character or symbol in a document, position the insertion point in the document where you want the item to appear, then click the item in the viewer. If the viewer is expanded, double-click the item.
Note: When the Character Viewer is expanded, you can add multiple characters at one time.
If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can tap , and then tap an emoji to add to your document.
To make a symbol or character a favourite, expand the viewer, select an item, then click Add to Favourites. Or drag the item onto Favourites (if shown) in the sidebar.

Tip: You can automatically insert an emoji or symbol every time you type certain text. See Replace text and punctuation in documents.

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macOS User Guide

Use emoji and symbols on Mac