Unicode Symbols

Unicode symbols: names, code points and how to type them

Every symbol in the library is a Unicode character with a fixed code point and an official name, so it pastes as text and can be selected, resized and coloured like a letter. Its exact shape comes from the font of the app that displays it.

Reading a Unicode name

Official names describe shape, not colour. BLACK means filled and WHITE means outlined, which is why ★ is BLACK STAR and ☆ is WHITE STAR whatever colour the text is. A name never changes once it is assigned, so it is the reliable thing to look up when you need the same symbol again. The code point, written U+ followed by hexadecimal digits, is what software asks for when it wants a character code.

The search box above matches a symbol you paste into it or a category name such as arrows. It does not search official names.

Text symbols that turn into emoji

Some older symbols also have an emoji form. ⚡ is shown as a colour emoji by default. ☀ and ❤ are plain text symbols by default and become emoji when followed by the invisible variation selector U+FE0F. Phones and chat apps often pick the emoji form on their own, so a black symbol copied here can arrive in colour. Adding U+FE0E after the symbol requests the text form, though not every app honours it.

Typing a symbol without copying it

On a Mac, Control + Command + Space opens the Character Viewer, which searches by name. On Windows, the Windows key plus the full stop key opens a panel with a symbols tab. In Microsoft Word for Windows, type the hexadecimal code, for example 2605, then press Alt + X to turn it into the symbol.

More questions

Why does a symbol show as an empty box or a question mark?

The device has no font containing that character, so it draws a placeholder. The symbol is still there in the text and will appear for readers whose devices do have it.

What is the difference between a symbol and an emoji?

A text symbol is drawn in one colour by the current font and takes the colour and size of the text around it. An emoji is drawn as a small colour picture by the system's emoji font, and its artwork differs between platforms.

How do I find the code point of a symbol I already have?

In Microsoft Word for Windows, put the cursor directly after the symbol and press Alt + X to convert it to its code. On a Mac, paste it into the Character Viewer's search field to see its name and code.