How to Make a Degree Sign on Your Keyboard

How to insert a degree symbol into a document

One of the many symbols people find themselves needing in documents created on the computer is the degree sign. This is the little circle found alongside temperature readings or angles. While this symbol is not visually on the keyboard, it can be found and used with a few quick steps.

Instructions

Using Windows

1. Stay in the program you are working with; this is most likely MS Office, Open Office, or Visio. You will need this program (or almost any word processor) open to access the areas noted in the following steps.

2. Locate the "Start" button down at the bottom left corner of the screen; on newer versions of Windows this is a green button with white letters, on older versions it is blue with white letters. This step opens a menu box with other accessible areas.

3. Find "Programs" on the list. On newer versions of Windows, it is listed with the folders that appear at the top. On older versions, this option is listed at the bottom left of the menu as "All Programs." Click on this caption or folder to continue.

4. Scroll to the "Accessories" icon; in both new and old versions of Windows, this should be the first icon listed. Hover over the icon until a drop-down menu appears.

5. Look in the menu for "System Tools." Scroll down to the icon and hover over it. This should open another drop-down menu.

6. Scroll down to "Character Map" in the menu from Step 5. Click on the icon to bring up the Character Map box on the screen.

7. Locate the degree symbol in the box. Click the "Select" button at the lower right of the box. This enables the "Copy" button. Click the "Copy" button; you should see the symbol you are copying in the white box to the left of the buttons.

8. Set the cursor at the point where you want to insert the degree symbol in the document. Press the right mouse button to bring up an available options menu. Scroll down to "Paste" and highlight it. Click "Paste" with the left mouse key to insert the degree symbol into the document.

Using Mac

1. Open the document into which you wish to insert the degree symbol.

2. Place the cursor where you want to insert the symbol.

3. Press the "Command," "Option," and "T" buttons simultaneously. This should bring up the character palette window.

4. Use the left mouse button to select the degree symbol. Click the right mouse button to open the options menu. Scroll down to "Paste" and click on the word with the left mouse button. This should insert the symbol into the document.

Tips & Warnings

• The character code for the degree symbol is ALT+0176.

References

• Nouilles: Keyboard Shortcuts