ASCII symbols
Special ASCII symbols can be generated in common versions of Windows applications by activating the keyboard NUM LOCK function, pressing the ALT key, and entering certain numbers in the numeric keypad (located on the right-hand end of the keyboard) while the ALT key is held down. The symbol appears when the ALT key is released, after the number has been entered.
The following table denotes the symbols available using this technique. These symbols are generally not found on keyboards, but they are viewable in most word processors and Web browsers.
An extended set of symbols is viewable in more advanced Web browsers. We are currently preparing a table of extended symbols available with Unicode.
| Symbol | Activate NUM LOCK, hold ALT down, and enter these numerals |
Description | Example of usage |
| ¤ | 15 | Wingding | |
| ¶ | 20 | Section or paragraph symbol | ... as seen in ¶2.3 ... |
| § | 21 | Section or subsection symbol | Please refer to §3.5.5. ... |
| Ç | 128 | Non-English text | |
| ü | 129 | Non-English text | |
| é | 130 | Accented letter e | café |
| â | 131 | Non-English text | |
| ä | 132 | Non-English text | |
| à | 133 | Non-English text | |
| å | 134 | Non-English text | |
| ç | 135 | Non-English text | garçon |
| ê | 136 | Non-English text | |
| ë | 137 | Non-English text | |
| è | 138 | Non-English text | |
| ï | 139 | Non-English text | |
| î | 140 | Non-English text | |
| ì | 141 | Non-English text | |
| Ä | 142 | Non-English text | |
| Å | 143 | Non-English text | Ångström |
| É | 144 | Non-English text | |
| æ | 145 | Latin or ancient plural, technical text |
formulæ, antennæ |
| Æ | 146 | Ancient spelling | Æsop's fables |
| ô | 147 | Non-English text | |
| ö | 148 | Non-English text | Ångström |
| ò | 149 | Non-English text | |
| û | 150 | Non-English text | |
| ù | 151 | Non-English text | |
| ÿ | 152 | Non-English text | |
| Ö | 153 | Non-English text | |
| Ü | 154 | Non-English text | |
| ¢ | 155 | Cents in American currency | $0.25 = 25¢ |
| £ | 156 | Pounds in English currency | The magazine costs £1.56 |
| ¥ | 157 | Yen in Japanese currency | The book costs ¥2,530 |
| ƒ | 159 | Mathematical function symbol | ƒ(x) = 2x⊃2; + 3x + 5 |
| á | 160 | Accented letter a | Bogotá, Tenochtitlán |
| í | 161 | Non-English text | |
| ó | 162 | Non-English text | |
| ú | 163 | Non-English text | |
| ñ | 164 | Non-English text | señor, El Niño |
| Ñ | 165 | Non-English text | |
| ª | 166 | Superscript letter a | |
| º | 167 | Degree symbol (thermal or angular) |
68 ºF = 20 ºC cos 60º = 0.500 |
| ¿ | 168 | Inverted query symbol | ¿Tequila, señor? |
| ¬ | 170 | Logical negation symbol | ¬(¬A) = A |
| ½ | 171 | Text representation of 1/2 | 7½ inches of snow |
| ¼ | 172 | Text representation of 1/4 | Less than ¼ inch of rain |
| ¡ | 173 | Inverted exclamation mark | ¡Tequila, por favor! |
| « | 174 | Opening quotation marks (alternative) |
|
| » | 175 | Closing quotation marks (alternative) |
|
| ¦ | 179 | Technical text | |
| ß | 225 | Technical text | |
| µ | 230 | Lowercase Greek mu Symbol for micro (10-6) |
1 µF = 10-6 F |
| ± | 241 | Plus-or-minus sign | 220 ohms ± 5 % |
| ÷ | 246 | Division sign | 24 ÷ 6 = 4 |
| · | 250 | Multiplication sign (alternative), especially used in unit descriptors |
25 kg · m / s⊃2; |
| ⊃2; | 253 | Exponent 2 (quantity squared) | x⊃2; + y⊃2; = z⊃2; |
This was last updated in February 2010