Short answer: Tap any key symbol below to copy it. To type ⌘ yourself, open Character Viewer (Control + Command + Space) and search command. On Windows, type 2318 then Alt + X in Word.
Tap any key symbol to copy it
Writing documentation with other special characters too? The full symbol keyboard has all 1,000+ with the same tap-to-copy.
If you write tutorials, support docs, README files or training material, you need these constantly and there’s no key on your keyboard that produces them. Here’s what each one means, and how to type all of them.
Every Mac key symbol
| Symbol | Key | Unicode | HTML | Official Unicode name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ⌘ | Command | U+2318 | ⌘ | Place of interest sign |
| ⌥ | Option / Alt | U+2325 | ⌥ | Option key |
| ⇧ | Shift | U+21E7 | ⇧ | Upwards white arrow |
| ⌃ | Control | U+2303 | ⌃ | Up arrowhead |
| ⇪ | Caps Lock | U+21EA | ⇪ | Upwards white arrow from bar |
| ⌫ | Delete (backspace) | U+232B | ⌫ | Erase to the left |
| ⌦ | Forward Delete | U+2326 | ⌦ | Erase to the right |
| ⏎ | Return | U+23CE | ⏎ | Return symbol |
| ↩ | Return (menus) | U+21A9 | ↩ | Leftwards arrow with hook |
| ⌤ | Enter (numpad) | U+2324 | ⌤ | Up arrowhead between two horizontal bars |
| ⎋ | Escape | U+238B | ⎋ | Broken circle with northwest arrow |
| ⏏ | Eject | U+23CF | ⏏ | Eject symbol |
| ⇥ | Tab | U+21E5 | ⇥ | Rightwards arrow to bar |
| ␣ | Space | U+2423 | ␣ | Open box |
Also useful: ⇤ (Backtab, U+21E4), ⇞ (Page Up, U+21DE), ⇟ (Page Down, U+21DF), ↖ (Home, U+2196), ↘ (End, U+2198).
The fn key has no symbol. Apple writes it as the word “fn” — on recent keyboards it doubles as the Globe key and shows a globe icon, but there’s no standard text character for it. Write “fn” or “Globe.”
Only one of these is actually a keyboard character
Look at the last column again. ⌥ is the only glyph Unicode actually named after its key — OPTION KEY, U+2325. Everything else is a borrowed character that Apple adopted:
- ⇧ Shift is just the white up arrow, the same character that appears in any arrow symbols chart.
- ⌃ Control is an up arrowhead — a maths and phonetics character.
- ⎋ Escape is officially a broken circle with a northwest arrow.
- ⌫ Delete is erase to the left, a generic editing symbol.
That’s why searching a character picker for “command” or “escape” sometimes fails: you’re searching for Apple’s name, not Unicode’s.
Why ⌘ is called “place of interest sign”
The strangest name on the list has the best story, and it’s true.
Susan Kare chose the looped square in 1983, after Steve Jobs objected that showing the Apple logo beside every menu item was overusing it. With days left before deadline, Kare went through a symbol dictionary and found a shape used on Scandinavian signage to mark cultural landmarks and places of interest. It was distinctive, it suggested “something worth doing,” and it drew cleanly at 16×16 pixels.
The shape itself is far older — a heraldic knot variously called the Bowen knot or Saint John’s Arms. Sweden still uses it as the road sign for a tourist attraction, which is why Unicode encoded it under the neutral name place of interest sign rather than anything Apple-specific.
There’s a persistent myth that it’s an aerial view of Borgholm Castle. It isn’t — the castle explanation was attached to the symbol after the fact.
How to type Mac key symbols on a Mac
None of these have an Option shortcut. There’s no ⌥-something that produces ⌘. Two methods work:
Character Viewer (easiest): press Control + Command + Space, search for the key name, double-click. Searching command, option, shift and eject finds them; if a search comes up empty, try the Unicode name from the table above. Drag the ones you use into Favorites so they’re one click away.
Unicode Hex Input (faster once set up): System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit → Add Input Source → Others → Unicode Hex Input. Switch to that layout, hold Option, type the four hex characters — Option + 2318 gives ⌘. Every symbol here is in the Basic Multilingual Plane, so the whole set works.
If you write docs daily, set up text replacements instead: System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements, with triggers like ;cmd → ⌘. They sync across your devices via iCloud. See text replacement for symbols.
How to type them on Windows
Common situation — you’re writing cross-platform documentation on a PC.
Word, Outlook, PowerPoint: type the hex code then press Alt + X. 2318 + Alt + X gives ⌘.
Anywhere else: press Windows key + period, click the Ω symbol tab, and browse. Or copy from the widget above.
Alt codes don’t work here. Every symbol on this page is above character 255, so there’s no Alt + 0NNN route (why Alt codes fail).
Chromebook and Linux
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U — an underlined
uappears. - Type the hex without the
U+(for example2318). - Press Enter or Space.
iPhone, iPad and web
Neither iOS keyboard carries these. Copy from this page and save a text replacement under Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement. Because replacements sync via iCloud, one setup covers your Mac, iPhone and iPad — useful if you draft docs on an iPad.
For web pages, use the numeric HTML references from the table. None of these has a named entity:
html
<kbd>⌘</kbd> + <kbd>C</kbd>The <kbd> element is the correct semantic wrapper for keyboard input, and it styles them as keys automatically in most stylesheets.
Write shortcuts in Apple’s order — most people get this wrong
Apple’s Style Guide sets a specific order when a shortcut has multiple modifiers:
fn → Control → Option → Shift → Command
So it’s ⇧⌘S, not ⌘⇧S. And ⌃⌥⇧⌘R, never any other arrangement. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines give the same sequence for custom shortcuts, minus fn.
It matches the physical left-to-right layout at the bottom of the keyboard, with Shift slotting in just before Command. The same order applies whether you’re using glyphs or words — “Shift-Command-S”, not “Command-Shift-S” — though even Apple’s own documentation slips occasionally.
Two more conventions worth copying if you’re writing docs:
- The letter is always capitalised, even when Shift isn’t part of the shortcut: ⌘C, not ⌘c. You’re naming a physical key, and the keycap is printed in capitals.
- Two-character keys are identified by the lower character unless Shift is involved — which is why Zoom Out is ⌘- (the hyphen key) but Zoom In is ⌘+ (the shifted
=key).
Accessibility — don’t rely on the glyph alone
Screen readers announce these by Unicode name, not by key name. A reader encountering ⌘ hears “place of interest sign,” and ⎋ becomes “broken circle with northwest arrow.” Neither tells anyone which key to press.
Always pair the glyph with the word on first use — “press Command (⌘)” — and consider spelling out shortcuts in full in body text, keeping bare glyphs for tables and reference material. More on how symbols are voiced in screen reader symbols.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| ⌘ shows as an empty box ▯ | Font has no glyph. Use Segoe UI Symbol (Windows), Apple Symbols (Mac) or Noto Sans Symbols 2. See symbols showing as boxes. |
| Character Viewer search finds nothing | You searched Apple’s key name, not Unicode’s. Try the official name from the table — place of interest for ⌘, broken circle for ⎋. |
| Alt + 0NNN produces nothing on Windows | Expected — all of these are above character 255. Use 2318 + Alt + X, or the emoji panel. |
| Option + 2318 does nothing on Mac | Unicode Hex Input isn’t enabled, or you’re still on the standard US layout. Add it in Keyboard settings. |
| Symbols look inconsistent in a table | Different glyphs come from different fonts. Set the run in one font that covers all of them and check on a phone. |
| ⇧ renders as a plain arrow | It is a plain arrow (U+21E7). That’s the correct character — Apple never had a bespoke Shift glyph. |
| Copied ⏎ but the doc shows ↩ | Both are used for Return. ↩ appears in menus, ⏎ in key charts. Pick one and stay consistent. |
Recap
| If you’re on… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Mac, occasionally | Control + Command + Space, search the key name |
| Mac, writing docs daily | Unicode Hex Input, or text replacements |
| Windows, in Word | Hex + Alt + X (2318 → ⌘) |
| Windows, anywhere else | Windows key + period → Ω tab |
| Chromebook or Linux | Ctrl + Shift + U, hex, Enter |
| iPhone or iPad | Copy from here, save a text replacement |
| A web page | ⌘ inside <kbd> |
Frequently asked questions
What is the ⌘ symbol called?
Its official Unicode name is the place of interest sign, U+2318. Susan Kare chose it for the Command key in 1983 from a symbol dictionary, where it appeared as Scandinavian signage marking cultural landmarks. It is also known as the Bowen knot or Saint John’s Arms.
How do I type the Command symbol on a Mac?
There is no Option shortcut for it. Open Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search for command, or enable Unicode Hex Input and press Option + 2318.
How do I type Mac key symbols on Windows?
In Word, Outlook or PowerPoint, type the hex code and press Alt + X — 2318 becomes ⌘. Elsewhere, use the Windows key + period emoji panel and open the symbol tab. Alt codes do not work, because all of these characters are above 255.
What order should modifier keys go in?
Apple’s Style Guide specifies fn, Control, Option, Shift, then Command. So a shortcut is written ⇧⌘S rather than ⌘⇧S, and the same order applies whether you use glyphs or words.
What is the symbol for the Option key?
⌥, U+2325. It is the only Mac modifier glyph that Unicode actually named after its key — the official name is Option key. Every other modifier symbol is a borrowed character.
Is there a symbol for the fn key?
No. Apple writes it as the word fn, and on recent keyboards it doubles as the Globe key with a globe icon. There is no standard text character for it, so spell it out in documentation.
Written by Igor R. Tested on macOS, Windows 11, ChromeOS, Linux (IBus), iOS and Android. Last updated August 2026. Symbol code points follow the Unicode Standard.