Guides
Practical guides to symbols and special characters: how to type them on every system, what they mean, how Unicode works, and how to fix them when they break.
Typing and keyboards
23- Alt codes not workingNum Lock, laptop keypads, registry fixes, zero prefix
- Compose keyIntuitive multi-key sequences on Linux, ChromeOS, and Windows
- Emoji on MacControl + Command + Space, Globe key, Character Viewer
- Emoji on WindowsWin + . keyboard shortcut, kaomoji panel, touch keyboard
- Emoji vs text symbolsColor emoji vs monochrome dingbats, variation selectors VS15 & VS16
- How to type accentsAcute, grave, circumflex, umlauts across PC, Mac, mobile
- How to type fractionsAlt codes, auto-formatting, fraction slash, custom vulgar fractions
- How to type superscriptWord shortcuts, Docs, Unicode exponents, plain-text math
- Insert symbols in ExcelSymbol menu, UNICHAR formulas, custom formatting
- Insert symbols in WordRibbon dialog, Alt + X hex codes, AutoCorrect shortcuts
- Keyboard symbol namesTilde, pipe, caret, ampersand, hash, backslash reference
- Mac Character ViewerControl + Command + Space, search by code point, favorites tray
- Mac Option shortcutsTwo hidden symbol layers, dead keys, complete keymap
- Special characters in HTMLEntities, numeric references and what you must escape
- Symbols in Google DocsDrawing search, Unicode lookup, substitution shortcuts
- Symbols on AndroidGboard symbol pages, long-press and shortcuts
- Symbols on ChromebookCtrl + Shift + U, the emoji picker and international layouts
- Symbols on iPhoneHidden long-press symbols and text replacement
- Symbols on MacOption shortcuts, Character Viewer and press-and-hold
- Symbols on WindowsAlt codes, the emoji panel, Character Map and more
- Unicode on LinuxCtrl + Shift + U, the Compose key and character apps
- US-International keyboardDead keys, AltGr symbol layer, complete keyboard map
- Windows Character MapCharmap navigation, advanced search, alt code lookup
Meanings and usage
5- Curly quotes vs straight quotesTypographic smart quotes vs code syntax primes and apostrophes
- Discord symbolsAesthetic channel icons, server headers, role dividers
- Em dash vs en dashWidths, usage rules, spacing conventions, keyboard shortcuts
- Instagram bio symbolsAesthetic stars, hearts, dividers, sparkles for profiles
- Symbols and meaningsHistorical origins and cultural symbolism of 25 universal signs
Unicode, encoding and the web
7- Emoji vs text symbolsColor emoji vs monochrome dingbats, variation selectors VS15 & VS16
- Special characters in HTMLEntities, numeric references and what you must escape
- Symbols showing as boxesTofu glyphs, missing fonts, font fallback, encoding errors
- Unicode in CSS and JavaScriptEscapes, string length, emoji and normalization for developers
- Unicode on LinuxCtrl + Shift + U, the Compose key and character apps
- UTF-8 explainedHow characters become bytes, and how to fix é mojibake
- What is UnicodeCode points, planes, blocks and versions explained