Reference number: CH000886

How do I insert symbols or other special characters into a Word processor?

Question:

How do I insert symbols or other special characters into a Word processor?

Answer:

In some situations when using a word processor it may be necessary to insert special characters such as an ellipsis, accented letters, percentages, foreign language characters, math symbols, uncommon punctuation, currency symbols such as the pound, legal marks such as trademark, arrows, etc.  Of course because many of these symbols are not commonly used and because there are only so many keys on the keyboard not all these characters are going to be on the keyboard. However both Microsoft Word and OpenOffice Writer support the ability to insert almost every symbol that would ever need to be used by following the below steps.

Microsoft Word users

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click "Insert"
3. Click "Symbol"
4. Select the letter in the symbol list with the accent mark you wish to use and click the "Insert" button. Note: Make sure that the font is selected on "Normal text" unless you are planning to use an accent from a different font. 

OpenOffice Writer users

1. Open OpenOffice Writer
2. Click "Insert"
3. Click "Special Characters"
4. Select the special character you wish to edit. Keep in mind that not all fonts will support all characters therefore it may be necessary to switch the font in order to display the special character you're looking for.

Additional information:

• See document CH000657 for additional information about inserting letters with accent marks in Microsoft Word.