How to use the Mac Character Viewer on macOS

1. Opening the Character Viewer on macOS

To launch the Mac Character Viewer in any application on macOS, use either of these methods:

• Keyboard shortcut: Press Control + Command + Space. This works in Safari, Mail, Pages, Notes, Slack, Word, and text editors.
• Menu bar: In any active application, click the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Emoji & Symbols (usually the last item in the list).
• Input Menu icon: If you have the Input Menu enabled in your top menu bar (via System Settings > Keyboard), click it and select Show Emoji & Symbols.

2. Expanding the viewer for full symbol access

When you first press Control + Command + Space, macOS displays a compact floating emoji popover window. To access the true power of the Character Viewer, you must expand it:

Look at the upper-right corner of the popover window and click the small square window icon. The popover expands into a full desktop window divided into three functional columns: category navigation on the left, character glyph grid in the center, and character inspector on the right.

3. Customizing visible categories (Math, Arrows, Currency)

By default, macOS only displays a handful of general categories. To unlock the full depth of the Unicode catalog:

1. In the expanded Character Viewer window, click the gear icon (Action menu) in the top-left corner.
2. Select Customize List....
3. A dialog appears with checkboxes for dozens of character categories. Check the boxes for:
   • Math Symbols: Integrals, square roots, summation, logic operators, set theory.
   • Arrows: Single, double, curved, and heavy directional arrows.
   • Currency Symbols: Euro, yen, pound, rupee, bitcoin, and global currencies.
   • Letterlike Symbols & Technical: Ohm, degree, electrical symbols, Apple keyboard keys.
   • Dingbats & Stars: Decorative florettes, checkmarks, bullets, geometric shapes.
   • Phonetic Alphabet: IPA pronunciation symbols.
   • Code Tables: Full Unicode block tables.
4. Click Done. Your selected categories are now permanently pinned to your left sidebar.

4. Searching by character name, keyword, or hex code

The search bar in the top-right corner of the expanded viewer is exceptionally capable. You can search using:

• Everyday English keywords: Search “infinity”, “registered”, “triangle”, “degree”, or “smile”.
• Official Unicode names: Search “BLACK RIGHT-POINTING TRIANGLE” or “EURO SIGN”.
• Unicode code points: If you know the hex code, type U+00B0 for degree or U+2713 for check mark to jump directly to that glyph.

5. Inspecting Font Variations and Favorites

Select any character in the central grid and look at the right inspector column. The Font Variation preview box renders that exact character across all installed system fonts (such as Helvetica, Apple Symbols, Times, Courier, and Hiragino). This allows designers to verify how a symbol looks before inserting it into a publication.

Below the font preview, click Add to Favorites. This pins the symbol to your permanent Favorites tray in the left sidebar, giving you instant access to your regular symbols without searching every time.

6. Exploring Code Tables and Unicode Planes

For software developers and computational linguists, enabling the Code Tables > Unicode category in the Character Viewer unlocks a raw hexadecimal map of every Unicode block and plane. You can explore Plane 0 (the Basic Multilingual Plane) or venture into Plane 1 (Supplementary Multilingual Plane) to inspect mathematical alphanumeric symbols, ancient cuneiform, and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The viewer displays exact byte breakdowns, decomposition sequences, and related characters, making it the most powerful native character inspection tool bundled with any major operating system.

7. Copying character codes for developers

Software engineers and web developers can right-click any glyph in the viewer to access developer shortcuts:

• Copy Character Info: Copies the character, its official name, and code point to the clipboard.
• Copy Code Point: Copies the clean hex value (such as U+20AC).
• Copy UTF-8 Code: Copies the exact UTF-8 byte sequence for programming.

Compare Apple's Character Viewer with Windows' counterpart in our guide on Windows Character Map, explore instant typing methods in our guide on how to type symbols on Mac, or master instant keystrokes in our guide to Mac Option key shortcuts.