Type an emoji, symbol or arrow on a Mac without hunting for it
Press Control-Command-Space (⌃⌘Space), or Globe-E on a keyboard with a Globe key, and the emoji picker opens at your text cursor with its search field ready. Type a word such as “arrow”, “check” or “heart”, pick a result with the arrow keys, and press Return to insert it. For a symbol you use every day, set up a Text Replacement in System Settings so a short code turns into it as you type, or learn its Option-key combination and skip the picker altogether.
Which of those suits you depends on how often you need the character. Here is each one, from the occasional emoji to the arrow you type twenty times a day.
The emoji picker: search instead of scrolling
The picker that opens with Control-Command-Space is the same one you get from Edit > Emoji & Symbols, a menu item most Mac apps include. It opens right where you are typing.
The trick is to ignore the grid. The search field is already active, so start typing:
- Press Control-Command-Space.
- Type part of a name: “thumbs”, “fire”, “check”, “arrow”.
- Use the arrow keys to move between results, or just press Return to insert the highlighted one.
The emoji you use most collect in a Frequently Used row at the top of the picker, so after a week or two, your regulars are a press of Return away without any typing.
If you have a keyboard with a Globe key, you can make the picker one key press away. Open System Settings > Keyboard and set “Press 🌐 key to” to Show Emoji & Symbols. On keyboards without a Globe key, the same setting reads “Press fn key to”. What the fn and Globe key does on a Mac covers the other choices for that key.
The full Character Viewer, for arrows and symbols
The compact picker is built for emoji. For typographic symbols such as →, ≈, ✓ or ⌘, expand it into the full Character Viewer with the button at the top-right corner of the picker.
The Character Viewer has a list of categories down the left. Out of the box it shows Emoji, Arrows, Bullets & Stars, Currency Symbols, Math Symbols, Letterlike Symbols, Pictographs, Punctuation and a few more. A few worth knowing:
- Arrows has every direction, in plain, double, heavy and dashed styles.
- Technical Symbols has the Mac key symbols: ⌘, ⌥, ⌃, ⇧, ⎋ and the rest, which is handy when you write instructions. It is not in the list by default, so add it as described below.
- Math Symbols has ≠, ≤, ≥, ±, ×, ÷ and friends.
To add a category that is missing, such as Technical Symbols, choose Customize List from the viewer’s action menu and tick it.
The search field at the top searches by Unicode name, which is more precise than browsing. “Rightwards arrow”, “check mark”, “degree” and “multiplication” each find exactly what they say. Click a character to see its name, code and related characters, and double-click it to insert it into your document.
Keep favorites. Select a character and click Add to Favorites. Favorites gets its own place in the list, so the five symbols you rely on are always one click away, without searching again.
Text Replacements: let the symbol type itself
For symbols you type often, a Text Replacement beats any picker. You type a short code, and macOS swaps in the symbol as soon as you type a space or punctuation after it.
- Open System Settings > Keyboard and click Text Replacements.
- Click the add button.
- Under Replace, type the code. Under With, paste the symbol (copy it from the Character Viewer first).
Pick codes you would never type as a real word. Some that work well:
| Type | Get |
|---|---|
| rarr | → |
| larr | ← |
| uarr | ↑ |
| darr | ↓ |
| chkk | ✓ |
| cmdd | ⌘ |
Text Replacements work in Apple’s own apps, such as Notes, Mail, Messages, Pages and TextEdit, and in many others that use the standard Mac text system. Some apps ignore them; Terminal is one. If one stops working in an app that normally supports them, check that Text Replacement is ticked under Edit > Substitutions in that app.
Your replacements also sync through iCloud, so the same codes work on an iPhone or iPad signed in to the same account.
Option-key symbols: no window at all
Many common symbols are already on your keyboard, one Option press away. On the U.S. and ABC layouts:
| Keys | Types |
|---|---|
| ⌥G | © |
| ⌥R | ® |
| ⌥2 | ™ |
| ⌥8 | • |
| ⌥; | … |
| ⌥⇧8 | ° |
| ⌥= | ≠ |
| ⌥⇧= | ± |
| ⌥, | ≤ |
| ⌥. | ≥ |
| ⌥X | ≈ |
| ⌥5 | ∞ |
| ⌥3 | £ |
| ⌥⇧2 | € |
Other layouts put these on different keys, and the U.S. layout has no arrows on its Option keys at all. To find out what your own keyboard types, open the Keyboard Viewer from the Input menu and hold Option. If you have no Input menu in the menu bar, go to System Settings > Keyboard, click Edit next to Input Sources, and turn on Show Input menu in menu bar. Find any character with the Keyboard Viewer shows how, and type special characters with the Option key lists more of them, including accents.
Typebar shows the same thing on a full on-screen keyboard: hold Option for a moment and every key relabels with the character it types on your current input source. It is a quick way to learn the handful you will use, and to check before you press.
Arrows by code: Unicode Hex Input
If you already know the codes, macOS has an input source that types any character by its Unicode number. Add Unicode Hex Input in System Settings > Keyboard: click Edit next to Input Sources, click the add button, and find Unicode Hex Input under Others. Switch to it from the Input menu, hold Option, and type the four-digit code:
- Option-2192 types →
- Option-2190 types ←
- Option-2191 types ↑
- Option-2193 types ↓
- Option-2713 types ✓
It is a niche tool, but for people who write documentation full of arrows, it is fast and precise. The Character Viewer shows the code for any character you select, so you can look them up there once and remember them.
Which method for which job
- An emoji now and then: Control-Command-Space and search.
- A symbol you need once: expand to the Character Viewer and search by name.
- The same few symbols every day: Text Replacements, or Add to Favorites.
- Common marks like ©, ° and …: the Option key.
If you write tutorials, Typebar also puts the keys you press on screen with each shortcut’s name. It is $9 once, with a 24-hour free trial, on macOS 14 or later.
Questions
What is the shortcut for emoji on a Mac?
Control-Command-Space, or Globe-E on keyboards with a Globe key. You can also choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols in most apps.
How do I type an arrow on a Mac?
Search “arrow” in the Character Viewer, or set up a Text Replacement such as rarr for →. There is no arrow on the Option keys of the U.S. layout.
Why does my text replacement not work?
The app may not support Text Replacements, or Text Replacement may be turned off under Edit > Substitutions. The replacement also waits until you type a space or punctuation after the code.