There are many symbols that can't be typed on a standard keyboard, but what you might not know is that thousands of symbols can be typed with just the Alt key and the Number Pad.

Next time you need to insert uncommon symbols (e.g. copyright, trademark, or square root), try this. Make sure Num Lock is turned on, hold down the Alt key, type one of the following number combinations, then let go of Alt. For international keyboards, you must use the Left Alt key.

Note that if you're on a laptop without a number pad, you can still do this using the Function key on your computer. Check out the SuperUser guide on how to achieve this using AutoHotKey or other workarounds if you need to.

Currency examples:

  • Alt + 0128 = €
  • Alt + 0162 = ¢
  • Alt + 0163 = £

Punctuation examples:

  • Alt + 0161 = ¡
  • Alt + 0191 = ¿
  • Alt + 0223 = ß

Mathematic examples:

  • Alt + 0176 = °
  • Alt + 0177 = ±
  • Alt + 0181 = µ
  • Alt + 0189 = ½
  • Alt + 0247 = ÷

Other examples:

  • Alt + 0134 = †
  • Alt + 0153 = ™
  • Alt + 0169 = ©
  • Alt + 0174 = ®

There are plenty of other characters you can enter, including Greek letters and accented letters for languages other than English. Check out this full list for more.

Now you can not only type dashes outside of Word, but many other characters, too! We've also shown you how to do this on a Chromebook.

What uncommon characters will you use this method for? Leave your thoughts below!

Image Credit: tawan via Shutterstock.com