How to type emojis and special characters on a Mac

2 min read · 5 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Press the Globe key, or Control + Command + Space, to open the emoji picker, and click an emoji to insert it. For accented letters, hold the letter key and choose from the options that appear.

Every Mac has an emoji and symbol picker that works in any app, and quick ways to type letters such as é, ü or ñ on any keyboard layout.

The pictures are diagrams of the keys to press.

Step by step

  1. Control+Command+SpaceOpen the emoji and symbol picker

    Open the emoji picker

    Click where you want the emoji. Press the Globe key in the bottom left corner, or Control + Command + Space on keyboards without one.

  2. Search or browse

    Type a word such as "heart" in the search field, or scroll through the categories. Click an emoji to insert it.

  3. Find symbols

    Click the icon in the top right corner of the picker to expand it into the Character Viewer, with arrows, currency signs, maths symbols and more.

  4. Type accented letters

    Hold a letter key, for example e. A small menu shows the variants. Press the number under the one you want, or click it.

  5. Common shortcuts

    Option + 2 types the euro sign on a UK keyboard and Option + Shift + 2 on a US one. Option + G types the copyright sign. Option + hyphen types a dash.

Good to know

If holding a key repeats the letter and shows no menu, key repeat has been changed with a Terminal command. Most Macs show the menu by default.

To make the Globe key do something else, open System Settings, Keyboard and change "Press Globe key to".

For words you type often, set up text replacements under System Settings, Keyboard, Text Replacements.

In short: Globe key or Control + Command + Space for emojis. Hold a letter for accents.

Sources
  • Apple Support: Use emoji and symbols on Mac

Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.