How to Type Emoji and Symbols on Mac

Step by step

1. 10 sec

   Open the Emoji and Symbols picker

   Click into any text field and press Control + Command + Space. A small picker opens near the cursor. Type in its search field to filter, then click a character to insert it. The same picker sits under Edit, then Emoji and Symbols, in most native apps.

   Note: The picker only inserts into a field that already has focus. No cursor, no insert. It fails quietly, which is worse than failing loudly.
2. 15 sec

   Expand it into the Character Viewer

   Click the expand button at the top right of the small picker. It becomes a full window with a category list down the left side: Emoji, Arrows, Currency Symbols, Letterlike Symbols, Math Symbols, Punctuation, Pictographs, and more. The search field here covers every category at once.

   Note: This window has carried three different names across macOS releases. Same window, same contents, new label each time somebody redesigns the panel.
3. 15 sec

   Save the characters you reuse

   Select a character in the expanded window. The detail panel on the right shows related characters and font variations of the same glyph. Click Add to Favorites. Favorites gets its own entry at the top of the category list, so your working set stays one click away.

   Note: Favorites is the only part of this window that remembers you. Everything else resets to whichever category you opened last.
4. 30 sec

   Learn the Option key combinations

   Hold Option and press a key to produce a second character. On the US layout, Option + G gives the copyright sign, Option + 2 gives the trademark sign, Option + 8 gives a bullet, Option + semicolon gives an ellipsis, and Option + hyphen gives an en dash.

   Note: Option and Shift together shift the whole set again. Option + Shift + hyphen is the em dash, which is usually the one you actually wanted.
5. 20 sec

   Show the Input menu in the menu bar

   Open System Settings, click Keyboard, and find the Text Input section. Click Edit beside Input Sources. Turn on Show Input menu in menu bar. Click Done. A flag or keyboard icon now sits in the menu bar near the clock.

   Note: The Input menu is also how you switch keyboard layouts. If you never type in a second language, you are only here for the viewer.
6. 15 sec

   Watch the Option key live

   Click the Input menu in the menu bar and choose Show Keyboard Viewer. An on-screen keyboard appears. Hold Option and every key relabels itself with the character it will produce. Hold Option and Shift for the second layer. Click a key to type it.

   Note: Leave the viewer open on a second display while you learn the layout. It is the fastest way to stop looking symbols up.