The usage of symbols and special characters on Excel are about its purpose. These symbols and special characters are extremely useful for different things. I will show you where you can get the symbols, and special characters that you can use.
Insert a symbol
Click on Insert tab.
Click on Symbol.
Note: If the symbol is showing in gray, just click on the cell you want to insert the symbol or special character in, and it would stop showing gray.
Choose the Symbol
Choose Symbols or Special Characters (1), and then click on desired symbol or special characters (2), and then click Insert.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts
- Click on the cell where you want to insert the symbol or special character.
- Press the "Alt" key and type the four-digit code for the symbol or special character you want to insert on the numeric keypad.
- Release the "Alt" key and the symbol or special character will appear in the cell.
Use AutoCorrect
- Click on the cell where you want to insert the symbol or special character.
- Type the text that you want to use as a shortcut for the symbol or special character.
- Select the text and press "Ctrl" + "Enter".
- The text will be converted to the symbol or special character.
- To change the symbol or special character that is associated with a shortcut, go to "File" > "Options" > "Proofing" > "AutoCorrect Options".
- In the "AutoCorrect" dialog box, find the shortcut you want to change in the "Replace" list and click on it.
- In the "With" field, enter the symbol or special character you want to use.
- Click the "Add" button to add the new shortcut to the list.
- Click the "OK" button to close the dialog box.
These are the ways to insert symbols and special characters in Excel. To find the four-digit code for a specific symbol or special character, you can use the "Character Map" tool in Windows or search for the symbol online.
Further reading: Printing How to deal with special characters in formula? Sorting a list of words by character count