How to Make Heart Shapes Using Your Keyboard

The ivy leaf is the inspiration behind the shape of the heart symbol.

The heart symbol is a glyph used in many cultures to denote love, romance and admiration. The heart symbol can be created with a keyboard using either alt-codes or emoticons. Only Windows based computers are able to create a heart symbol using alt-codes, but any computer or cell phone with a QWERTY keyboard can be used to create an emoticon heart.

Instructions

1. Hold down the alt key and press the 3 key on the number pad to create a heart using the alt-code method. Turn on Num Lock by pressing Num Lock key to make the alt-code work. If you are using a laptop, the number pad is in the middle of the keyboard, with the 3 located on the same key as the letter L. Release the alt key and a heart symbol will appear ♥ .

2. Type the less than symbol and the number three to create a heart emoticon. Leave no space in between the two symbols to create the illusion of a heart on its side. If done correctly it will look like this: <3.

3. Alter the heart symbol to your liking, such as adding a bold effect, increasing the text size or coloring the heart symbol red or pink to look more authentic.

Tips & Warnings

• Write in fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman as not every font supports the alt-codes or includes a less than symbol, such as Veranda.

• The top row numbers will not work for the alt-code method, only the number 3 on the number pad will.

• Not every program supports alt-code hearts, in which case use the emoticon method.

References

• Heart Symbol & Heart Burial: A Cultural History of the Human Heart
• New Radiance: How to Make Keyboard Bullets, Copyright, Trademark, Hearts, French Accents, & Other Symbols with the Alt Key

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Microsoft: Windows