How to Insert Symbol in Excel (6 Simple Techniques)

In our dataset, we have two columns named Symbol Name and Symbol. We need to insert 6 symbols.

Method 1 – Directly Copy a Symbol from the Internet and Paste It into Excel

Steps:

• Search for your symbol by name via your browser.
• Copy the symbol.
• Right-click on the cell where you want the symbol to go and click on the Paste icon.

• Repeat to copy and paste the other symbols.

Method 2 – Use the ‘Symbol’ Dialog Box

Steps:

• Select the cell where you want to insert your symbol.
• Go to the Insert tab.
• Click on the Symbols group and click on the Symbol button.

• The Symbol dialog box will appear. Go to the Symbol tab.
• Choose your desired symbol from the table.
• Click on the Insert button.

• You can also choose a font from the Font drop-down list. You can see the name of the symbol at the Unicode name place and the character code at the Character code box. You can more easily find a symbol by choosing the subset of symbols from the Subset drop-down list.
• The symbol has been inserted. Repeat to insert all the required symbols.

Here’s our result.

Method 3 – Use the ‘AutoCorrect Options’ Tool

Steps:

• Go to the File tab.

• Click on More… and select Options.

• The Excel options window will appear. Click on the Proofing option and go to AutoCorrect Options…

• The AutoCorrect window will appear.
• In the Replace: text box, write the shortcut you want to use for a particular symbol.
• In the With: text box, insert the symbol that you want.
• Click on the Add button.
• Click on the OK button.

• The Excel Options window reappear. Click on the OK button.

• Write the set shortcut in your desired cell.

• Press the Enter button.
• Change the AutoCorrect settings to replace all the desired symbols with a shortcut.

• Input the shortcuts at the desired cells.

Method 4 – Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Steps:

• Select the cell where you want to insert your desired symbol.
• Hold the Alt key and write the Alt code of the symbol. For the copyright sign, the Alt code is 0169. So, we hold Alt and type 0169.

• Release the Alt button. The copyright sign is inserted in the active cell.

• Repeat for other symbols and their Alt codes.

Method 5 – Use the CHAR or UNICHAR Function

Steps:

• Select the cell where you want your symbol.
• Insert =CHAR() to enable the CHAR function. Inside the bracket, put the character code of the symbol. For the copyright sign, the character code is 169.

• Press the Enter button.
• Repeat for other values as needed.

• As the character code of the infinity sign and ‘almost equal to’ sign is greater than 255, we take the hex character code into a decimal first and put them inside the UNICHAR function following the same way as the CHAR function.

Here’s our result.

Method 6 – Use Excel VBA Code to Insert a Certain Symbol

Steps:

• Go to the Developer tab.
• Click on the Visual Basic tool.

• The Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications window will appear.
• Double-click on the current Sheet name from the left.
• Insert the following code in the new code window on the right.

Sub AddSymbol()
Dim TargetCell As Range
For Each TargetCell In Selection
TargetCell.Value = TargetCell.Value & "©"
Next TargetCell
End Sub

• Close the code window and go to the File tab.

• Choose the Save As option from the expanded File tab.

• The Save As window will appear. Click on the Save as type options list and choose the .xlsm file type.

• Click on the Save button.

• Go to the active sheet and select the cell where you want your desired symbol.
• Open the VBA window again.
• Click on the Run icon.

• The Macros window will open.
• Select your macro and click on the Run button.

• The copyright sign will be inserted into the selected cell.

• Change the VBA code to insert the proper symbol and repeat the steps for other cells.

Download the Sample Workbook

Insert Symbol in Excel: Knowledge Hub

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