Search → Select → Insert

Insert any Unicode symbol© → ≠ €right in the block editor.

TypeAnySymbol adds a Symbols button to the WordPress block toolbar. Click inside any text block, find the character you need by name, everyday term, or code point, and it’s inserted as a real Unicode character at your cursor.

RIGHTWARDS ARROW (U+2192) RIGHTWARDS ARROW U+2192 HTML:  →
A keycap in the grid — hover it and the tooltip names the character — and the details panel that opens beside the grid when you select one.

There is no plugin settings page. The picker works entirely inside the editor, and everything it needs ships with the plugin — no account, no external service.

Free on WordPress.org

Install it in about thirty seconds

The fastest route is straight from your own dashboard — no download, no zip file, no account.

  1. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New.
  2. Search for TypeAnySymbol.
  3. Click Install Now, then Activate.
  • Version 1.0.0
  • WordPress 6.6+
  • PHP 7.4+
  • Free — GPL

Prefer to upload manually? Grab the zip, then use Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. Questions and bug reports go through the plugin support forum.

TypeAnySymbol Unicode Symbol Picker open in the WordPress block editor, showing the search box, category tabs and symbol grid
The picker opens directly in the block editor. Search for a symbol or browse by category.

Where it lives

The Symbols button

After you activate the plugin, an admin notice on the Plugins screen points you here. The picker itself lives in the editor toolbar:

  1. Edit any post or page with the WordPress block editor.
  2. Click inside a text field — a Paragraph, Heading, List, Quote, Button, or any other block with rich text.
  3. In that block’s toolbar, choose Symbols. When the toolbar is short on space, it moves into the ⋮ More menu.
Symbols button in the WordPress block editor toolbar
Click inside a supported text block and choose Symbols from the block toolbar.

The button appears only while your cursor is in an editable text field. If you don’t see it, click into the text first.

Step by step

How to use it

  1. Install the plugin from Plugins → Add New and activate it.
  2. Open a post or page in the WordPress block editor.
  3. Click inside a text block (Paragraph, Heading, List, Quote, Button…).
  4. Choose Symbols from the block toolbar — directly, or from the ⋮ More menu. The Insert a symbol dialog opens.
  5. Search for what you need: copyright, degree, em dash, theta, right arrow
  6. Select a character to see its details, then click Insert.
  7. The real character appears at your cursor. That’s it.

The library

Categories

Around 1,000 hand-picked characters that are actually useful for writing and editing — not a full Unicode database. Browse them by tab, or ignore the tabs and search. Popular is the default; Favorites appear once you have some.

  • Popular° • × ♥
  • Arrows← ↑ ↔ ⇒
  • Math≠ ≤ √ ∞
  • Currency£ ¥ ¢ ₹
  • Punctuation– … “ ”
  • πGreekα β Δ Ω
  • éAccented Lettersá ñ ü ç
  • Shapes● ▲ ◆ ★
  • Technical⎋ ␣ ⚙ ⌚
  • ©Signs® ™ § ¶
  • ½Numbers & Fractions¼ ² ³ ⅓

Want the same characters outside WordPress? Each one has a full guide on this site — the math symbols, currency signs, arrows and Greek letters hubs cover how to type each one on Windows, Mac and the web.

Saved for later

Favorites

Star any character to keep it in Favorites, and it gets its own tab in the picker. The list lives in your browser’s local storage only — nothing is written to your site’s database, and no account is needed. Clearing your browser data clears the list.

Favorites tab in the TypeAnySymbol Unicode Symbol Picker
Star the symbols you reach for most and they stay one click away.

Details panel

Symbol details

Select a character and the details panel shows its Unicode name, its code point in U+XXXX form, and — where one exists — its HTML entity, such as © for ©. Insert always places the plain character; the entity is shown only for reference.

Unicode symbol details showing the character name, Unicode code point and Insert button
Select a symbol to see its Unicode details, then click Insert.

Keyboard

Navigate without a mouse

The picker is fully keyboard operable. Arrow keys move through the symbol grid and the category tabs, Enter selects, Tab reaches the Insert button, and Esc closes the dialog and returns focus to the editor. Every control is labelled, and focus is always visible.

Privacy & performance

What it does not do

Nothing on the front end

The plugin’s script and styles load only inside the block editor. Your visitors download nothing extra — no JavaScript, no CSS, no web fonts.

No external requests

Everything ships with the plugin. It never calls an API, and there is no analytics, telemetry or licensing server.

Your content stays yours

Insert adds a plain Unicode character — no shortcodes, no wrapper markup, no custom blocks. Deactivate the plugin and every character you inserted stays exactly as it is.

Requirements

Compatibility

  • WordPress 6.6+
  • Tested to WordPress 7.1
  • PHP 7.4+
  • Block editor only

Version 1.0 does not integrate with the Classic Editor.

FAQ

Frequently asked

Where do I get the plugin?

From the official WordPress plugin directory. The quickest route is Plugins → Add New in your own dashboard: search for TypeAnySymbol, then click Install Now and Activate. You can also download the zip and upload it manually.

Where do I find the symbol picker?

There is no settings page. Edit a post or page in the block editor, click inside a supported text block, and choose Symbols from the block toolbar — it may be under the toolbar’s ⋮ More menu when space is tight.

Does it add anything to my site’s front end?

No. Assets are enqueued only for the block editor. The public side of your site is untouched.

Does it use an API or collect data?

No to both. There is no network request, no analytics, no telemetry and no account. Favorited symbols are stored only in your browser.

What happens when I deactivate it?

Nothing changes in your content. Inserted characters are ordinary Unicode text, so they remain intact and display exactly as before.

Can I search by Unicode code point?

Yes. U+2192, u+2192, 0x2192, a bare 2192, → and → all resolve to .

Does it work with the Classic Editor?

No. Version 1.0 targets the block editor only.

Which characters are included?

Around 1,000 visible characters useful for everyday writing and editing: arrows, math and logic symbols, currency signs, smart punctuation, Greek letters, accented Latin letters, geometric shapes, technical and keyboard symbols, and common fractions. It is intentionally not a full Unicode database.

Changelog

Release history

1.0.0

Initial release. Block-editor toolbar button for rich-text fields; search by name, common term, character or code point; a curated library of around 1,000 visible characters across eleven categories; Favorites stored locally; a one-time welcome notice on the Plugins screen. No front-end assets, no network requests, no data collection.

Get it

TypeAnySymbol — Unicode Symbol Picker

Free, GPL-licensed, and available now from the official WordPress plugin directory. Install it from Plugins → Add New in your dashboard, or take the zip.

Not using WordPress? The same characters are free in the browser — copy and paste symbols, look up a Windows code with the Alt Code Finder, or paste a character into the Symbol Identifier to find out what it is.

TypeAnySymbol — Unicode Symbol Picker for WordPress. Version 1.0.0, free and GPL-licensed.

Built and maintained by Igor R. Support is handled through the plugin’s forum on WordPress.org.