How to Type Alt Codes and Special Characters on a Mac
Quick answer: Windows-style Alt + number-pad codes do not work on a Mac. Instead use Option combinations (Option+G is the copyright sign), press and hold a letter for accents, or open the Character Viewer with ⌃⌘Space to search any symbol by name.
Why Alt codes do not transfer
Windows Alt codes work by holding Alt and typing a decimal code on the numeric keypad. macOS has no equivalent input method, and most Mac keyboards have no numeric keypad. The Mac approach is different: characters are on Option and Option+Shift layers of the normal keyboard.
Method 1: Option key combinations
| Character | Windows Alt code | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| © | Alt+0169 | Option+G |
| ® | Alt+0174 | Option+R |
| ™ | Alt+0153 | Option+2 |
| ° | Alt+0176 | Option+Shift+8 |
| é | Alt+0233 | Option+E, then E |
| – (en dash) | Alt+0150 | Option+Hyphen |
| — (em dash) | Alt+0151 | Option+Shift+Hyphen |
| ≠ | Alt+8800 | Option+= |
| ± | Alt+241 | Option+Shift+= |
| € | Alt+0128 | Option+Shift+2 |
To see the whole layer live, open Keyboard Viewer (System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Input menu) and hold Option, then Option+Shift.
Method 2: Press and hold for accents
Hold a letter such as e, a, n or o for about a second and an accent menu appears. Type the number shown, or click the accent you want. This covers most European diacritics without memorising Option codes.
Method 3: Character Viewer
Press ⌃⌘Space in any app to open the Character Viewer. Search by name ("arrow", "check mark", "bullet"), double-click to insert, and pin favourites. This is the fastest route for symbols you use rarely.
Method 4: Unicode Hex Input
If you know a character’s Unicode value, add the Unicode Hex Input source in System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Text Input ▸ Edit. Then hold Option and type the four-digit hex code. Switch back to your normal source afterward, or ordinary typing behaves oddly.
Method 5: Dead keys for accented letters
Some Option combinations do not type a character straight away. They add an accent to the next letter you type. On a US keyboard layout:
Option+E, then a vowel: acute accent, for example é, á or ú.
Option+I, then a vowel: circumflex, for example ê.
Option+U, then a vowel: umlaut, for example ü or ö.
Option+N, then n, a or o: tilde, for example ñ.
Option+the grave accent key, then a vowel: grave accent, for example è.
Press Space instead of a letter to type the accent on its own. These are US-layout combinations. On other layouts the Option letters differ, so check the Keyboard Viewer if a combination gives you something unexpected.
Type any symbol in Excel without Alt codes
Excel for Mac gives you two ways to insert characters that do not depend on Windows Alt codes:
The Insert menu or Insert tab, then Symbol, which opens a character picker inside Excel.
The UNICHAR function. Type =UNICHAR(169) in a cell to get the copyright sign. =UNICODE("©") goes the other way and returns the number.
Be careful when comparing Windows Alt codes with Unicode numbers. For many Latin-1 characters they match, so Alt+0169 and UNICHAR(169) both give ©. For others they do not: the euro sign is Alt+0128 on Windows, but its Unicode number is 8364, so on a Mac you would type =UNICHAR(8364). When in doubt, search the symbol by name in the Character Viewer instead of converting numbers.
Where this trips people up
Typing Alt codes on an external keyboard. On a Windows keyboard connected to a Mac the Alt key acts as Option, so number-pad Alt codes still do nothing. Use one of the methods above.
Expecting the same Option letter on every keyboard. The table above is for a US layout.
Pasting symbols into a formula. A symbol inside quotation marks is fine as text, but a symbol used as an operator is not understood by Excel.
In Excel for Mac
All four methods work inside a cell. Two Excel-specific notes:
A line break inside a cell is ⌃⌥Return, not Alt+Enter.
Symbols in formulas such as ≠ still need the function form (
<>) — the typed symbol is display text only.
If what you are really trying to reproduce is a Windows Ribbon sequence like Alt, N, S, U for Symbol, that is a different problem — see What replaces Ribbon access keys in Excel on Mac? or use the Mac Excel Shortcuts app to run the sequences directly.
FAQs
Is there a numeric Alt-code method on a Mac at all?
Only Unicode Hex Input, and it uses hexadecimal Unicode values, not Windows decimal Alt codes. The two numbering systems are unrelated.
How do I type the Apple logo?
Option+Shift+K on most layouts. It only renders correctly on Apple systems.
Can I make my own text shortcuts for symbols?
Yes. System Settings ▸ Keyboard ▸ Text Input ▸ Text Replacements. For example replace "(c)" with the copyright sign.
Why does Option+E not type anything by itself?
Because it is a dead key. It waits for the next letter and adds the accent to it. Press Space afterwards if you want the accent alone.
How do I type the euro sign?
On a US layout it is Option+Shift+2. In Excel you can also use =UNICHAR(8364).
Is there a faster way than remembering Option codes?
Yes. Open the Character Viewer with ⌃⌘Space and search by name, or set up a Text Replacement so a short phrase expands to the symbol.