Miscellaneous. (Apple symbol): OPTION + SHIFT + k. # (number sign): OPTION + 3 The Keyboard Viewer Besides the symbols mentioned above, dozens more can be typed using a regular Apple keyboard. Mac OS has a rather useful built-in utility called the Keyboard Viewer – an onscreen keyboard that displays many of the possible symbols. To Activate the Keyboard Viewer: 1. Open System Preferences - Keyboard 2. Tick the box labelled Show Keyboard and Character Viewers in menu bar Enable the Keyboard and Character Viewers The Input menu now appears in the menu bar as shown (the 5th icon on the right): The Input menu in the menu bar 3.
Click on the Input menu icon. From the drop-down menu options choose Show Keyboard Viewer to open the utility The Keyboard Viewer displays common symbols The Keyboard Viewer shows key combinations such as those mentioned above, and many more. It can also be used to insert symbols – simply click on a symbol to insert into documents or emails. Try holding down the OPTION key, or OPTION + SHIFT to see the choices available. The Keyboard Viewer remains on top of other windows at all times, and even stays in position when you switch to another workspace in fullscreen mode. The Character Viewer Just like the Keyboard Viewer, the Character Viewer can be accessed via the top menu bar when the Input menu has been enabled.
Choose Show Character Viewer from the drop-down menu, which opens Character Viewer as shown below. Alternatively, it can be accessed within certain applications such as Safari and Pages by choosing Special Characters from the Edit menu (or COMMAND + OPTION + t). The Character Viewer There are literally thousands of symbols within the Character Viewer, grouped into useful categories such as Math Symbols, Punctuation, Arrows and Latin. Simply double-click any item to insert into the current document.
The other option is to enter the Unicode character of the symbol and then press Alt + X to convert in to a symbol. For example, on Microsoft Word enter 2721 and then press Alt and X to convert it in to a star.