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Dec 24, 2023 · This article describes all possible Excel symbols used in formulas, characters, mathematical symbols, text & notation symbols, units & measurement symbols, and Greek symbols. Also, the easiest ways are how you can insert special characters, symbols, and fractions in your worksheet.
Step 1: Select the cell where you want to insert the special character. Step 2: Enter the formula =CHAR (number), replacing number with the ASCII code of the character you want to insert. Step 3: Press Enter to see the character appear in the cell. Inserting Symbols and Emojis.
In Excel, to add a symbol into a cell by using the symbol dialog box, you need to follow the following steps, such as: Step 1: Place your cursor in the file where you want to insert the symbol. Step 2: Go to the Insert tab and click on the Symbol button. Step 3: Pick a symbol, or choose More Symbols.
- How to Insert A Symbol in Excel
- Using The Unichar and Unicode Functions
- Symbols in Data Validation drop-downs
- Data Bars and Pictographs
- Other Useful Symbols
- Symbols in Custom Number Formats
- Examples in Templates
- Emojis, Emoticons, and Other Miscellaneous Symbols
- Unicode Characters vs. Symbol/Wingdings Fonts
- Notes and References
1. From the Web: Copy and Paste
There are many places on the internet to find lists of unicode characters. Do a google search for "unicode ...". Usually, you can just select the unicode character from your browser and press Ctrl+c to copy it, then Ctrl+vto paste it into Excel. If you are editing the text or formula within a cell, then it will paste just the character (instead of the formatting from the web page). My favorite searchable resource for seeing what emojis look like in other software is unicode.org
2. Excel: Insert > Symbol
You can browse some of the unicode characters using the Insert > Symboldialog. It will tell you the name of the symbol as well as the character code. The Insert Symbol Tool in Excel 2016 IMPORTANT: The Arial font doesn't list many Unicode symbols, so change the Font to "Segoe UI Symbol" then in the Subset dropdown, select "Miscellaneous Symbols" and start scrolling down. Unfortunately, there isn't a good search feature to find what you want. You can use the hexidecimal Character code value to...
3. Windows: Inserting Special Symbols Using ALT Codes
Some special characters can be inserted by pressing ALT+#, where the # is entered using the number pad. Hold the Alt key while you press the number sequence then lift up on the ALT key. I've only learned one code by heart: ALT+0169 is the © symbol. See the references below for a list of ALT codes.
The UNICODE and UNICHAR functions have been available since Excel 2013 and are similar to the older CODE and CHAR functions. The UNICHAR function is perhaps the most useful, because it will return the character for a given decimal value (UTF-8 and UTF-16), like this: The UNICODE function does the reverse. It returns the numeric decimal Unicode valu...
Using special symbols or dingbats within drop-down lists is a great substitute for a checkbox in Excel. I've demonstrated this in various task list and action itemtemplates. You can also use stars or flag symbols for flagging priority items in a list. Try It - Create a Substitute for a Checkbox in Excel:Open a new worksheet in Excel, select cell A1...
Pictographs or Dot Plots
You can use the =REPT(text,number_times) function to repeat a character, as demonstrated in the article "Create a Dot Plot in Excel". Below is an example of a very basic in-cell pictograph. In-Cell Dot Plot using REPT One of the problems with using symbols for pictographs is that the REPT() function cannot display a fraction of a symbol. If you need a graph to show decimal values rather than just whole numbers, you can create a small picture (such as a screen capture of a Unicode character) a...
Data Bars
Data bars are often used in spreadsheet dashboards to show in-cell bar graphs. They can also be used for progress bars if the cell is scaled to 0%-100%. You may not need to use this technique for in-cell graphics in Excel any more because of the awesome conditional formatting options. However, Google Sheets does not have in-cell data bars yet, so using the REPT() function is one way to create something like a data bar (see the image below). Data Bar in Google Sheets The table below lists the...
Sprint Progress Charts
What I call a "sprint chart" or "sprint progress chart" is a simple graph that shows progress relative to the amount of time left. This technique can be useful as a visual aid in Agile Product Development. Download the Kanban Board Templateto see it in action. The "sprint" period is represented as a number of days, with a flag for each day. The filled-in flags ⚑ represent the percent completed and the watch or hourglass symbol represents the current day. The example chart below is showing mul...
Triangles / Arrows
These are the symbols I like to use for up/down signals. The dash is obviously not an arrow, but the this dash symbol works well as a "zero" when using the up/down symbols in custom number formats (see the examples below). There are a LOT of different kinds of arrows, but I use these triangles more often than other arrows. See my Unicode Symbolspage for a huge list of arrows.
Scissors
In combination with a custom number format of "@*-" and merged cells, the scissors can be used in forms like a remittance slip on a billing invoiceto create a guide for cutting.
Time and Clocks
There are symbols for each hour and half hour on the clock. See this pagefor a full list.
Special characters can be used within custom number formatsas a substitute for conditional formatting icons. You can also use this technique to format numbers that appear in charts! Take a look at the examples below. Examples using custom number formats with special symbols The following custom format codes were used to generate the example shown i...
1. Feature Comparison Template- This template demonstrates many different ways of using unicode characters and conditional formatting, including check boxes and star-ratings within drop-downs. ✓, ✔, 🗶, ✗, ✘, ✪, ★, ☐, ☑, ☒, ⚐, ⚑, ◆, ⬧ ★,★★,★★★,★★★★,★★★★★ 2. Attendance Sheet Template- This template shows how you can use fun symbols for taking attend...
The Unicode emojis and emoticons do not necessarily appear the same in all browsers and apps, but it's worth pointing out that most of these symbols can be displayed in new versions of Excel. The following table provides a quick way to look at some of these symbols. To browse a huge list of Unicode symbols, see my Unicode Symbolspage. To use one of...
One of the main benefits of using Unicode characters instead of Symbol and Wingdings fonts is that the Unicode characters will show up correctly in drop-down lists and you can use them in formulas and custom number formats. If you change the font of a cell to wingdings, the formula may still be readable in the Formula bar, but it is unreadable when...
✅, ❎ : Codes that are a specific color in a browser show as black/white in Excel desktop and the color can be changed. But changing the color of these won't work in Excel online or Google Sheets, which are browser-based apps. 🙂,🙃,🙄,🙅,🙆,🙇,🙈,🙉 : Some emojis render the same way they appear in texts on the iPhone when used within the Excel mobi...
- Ways To Insert Symbols in Excel. The easiest way to insert a symbol or a special character in Excel is to search for that symbol in the search engine, copy it (Ctrl+C), and finally paste it (Ctrl+V) in the cell to which you want it.
- Where is This Built-In Option? To navigate to the in-built excel symbols option, follow the below path. ‘Insert’ Tab > ‘Symbols’ group > ‘Symbol’ button.
- Insert Symbols Using ‘Symbols’ Options. Even though the name of the option is given as ‘Symbols’, however, you can use the same option to insert any special character in Excel.
- Insert Special Characters in Excel. Excel has pre-provided some of the special characters like a trademark, registered, copyright, etc. You can find these in the tab named ‘Special Characters’ (shown below).
Numerical symbols: Special numerical symbols, such as percent sign (%) or dollar sign ($), can be added to cells to indicate percentages, currencies, or other numerical units. How to Add Characters to a Cell. Adding characters to a cell in Excel can be a useful way to customize your data and make it more readable.
Sep 8, 2021 · You can add special characters like registered symbols, trademarks or insert symbols like tick marks, arrows, and cross marks. The symbols can either be found on your PC keyboard or Excel symbols. When it comes to inserting symbols and special characters, the type of font used is crucial.
