When typing a professional document in Microsoft Word, you frequently need to use characters that do not exist on a standard physical keyboard. Whether you are writing a scientific paper that requires the degree symbol (°), a business contract that needs the copyright symbol (©), or a foreign name requiring specific accents (ñ), you must use Word’s built-in Symbol menu to insert them correctly.
How to Access the Symbol Menu
The Symbol menu contains thousands of specialized characters, categorized by font and language subset.
- Place your blinking text cursor exactly where you want the new symbol to appear in your document.
- Click on the Insert tab located in the top ribbon menu.
- Look all the way to the far-right side of the ribbon for the “Symbols” group.
- Click the button labeled Symbol (it usually has an Omega Ω icon).
- A small drop-down menu will appear showing the 20 most recently used symbols. If you see the degree or copyright symbol there, simply click it to insert it instantly.
- If the symbol you need is not in the quick list, click More Symbols… at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
Finding Specific Characters
The “More Symbols” dialog box can be overwhelming because it displays the entire character map for your currently selected font.
- To find the Copyright (©) or Trademark (™) symbols: Click on the Special Characters tab at the top of the dialog box. This tab contains a curated list of the most commonly used business and publishing symbols, along with their associated keyboard shortcuts.
- To find the Degree (°) or Math symbols: Stay on the “Symbols” tab. Look at the drop-down menu labeled Subset on the right side. Change this to Latin-1 Supplement (for the degree symbol) or Mathematical Operators (for advanced calculus symbols).
Once you find the character you want, click on it to highlight it in blue, and then click the Insert button at the bottom of the window.
Using Built-in Keyboard Shortcuts
If you use certain symbols constantly, opening the dialog box every time will drastically slow down your typing speed. Microsoft Word includes several built-in automatic shortcuts (known as AutoCorrect rules) for the most common business symbols.
- Copyright: Type an open parenthesis, a lowercase ‘c’, and a close parenthesis:
(c). When you press the spacebar, Word will instantly transform it into ©. - Trademark: Type
(tm)and press space to generate ™. - Registered Trademark: Type
(r)and press space to generate ®.
If these shortcuts do not work, it means your AutoCorrect settings have been altered. You can re-enable them by going to File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options.