The fastest approach: search and copy

The platform-specific shortcuts below are worth knowing, but they require you to memorise codes or hunt through menus. When you just need the character now, the quickest path is to search for it by name and copy it.

In UTFpad’s Compose mode, type what you are looking for — "em dash", "degree", "heart", "alpha" — and the matching character appears. Click it to add it to your pad, then copy the whole pad at once. Because the search runs over the official Unicode names, you do not need to know the codepoint or remember any shortcut.

Windows

Windows offers several built-in methods depending on how often you need special characters:

• Emoji & symbol panel: press Win + . (period) or Win + ; (semicolon) to open a picker with emoji, symbols, and recently used characters.
• Alt codes: hold Alt and type the decimal code on the numeric keypad — for example Alt + 0176 produces the degree sign (°). This only works with a real numeric keypad and Num Lock on.
• Character Map: search for "charmap" in the Start menu for a searchable grid of every installed glyph, with copy support and the Alt code shown for each character.
• Hexadecimal input: type the hex codepoint and press Alt + X in apps that support it (such as Microsoft Word) to convert it into the character.

macOS

macOS has a consistent, system-wide picker plus quick shortcuts for accents:

• Character Viewer: press Control + Command + Space to open the emoji and symbol browser. You can search it by name and double-click to insert.
• Accent menu: press and hold a letter key (for example "e") and a small menu of accented variants appears; press the number shown to insert é, è, ê, and so on.
• Option shortcuts: many symbols have a direct combination, such as Option + Shift + 2 for the euro sign on some layouts, or Option + G for ©.

Linux

Most Linux desktops support Unicode hex entry directly:

• Unicode input: press Ctrl + Shift + U, then type the hex codepoint (for example 00e9 for é) and press Enter or Space.
• Compose key: if you have enabled a Compose key, sequences like Compose + e + ' produce é, and Compose + - + - + - produces an em dash.
• GNOME Characters / KCharSelect: graphical character pickers that ship with GNOME and KDE for browsing and copying glyphs.

When a character shows as a box

Copying a character only inserts its codepoint, not its appearance. If you paste a glyph and see an empty rectangle (often called "tofu"), it means the font in that app does not include that character. The text is still correct — switch to a more complete font, such as one of the Noto families, and the glyph will display properly.

For more on why this happens, see our guide on Unicode basics linked from the guides index.