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ALT codes for windows

Interactive Windows ALT codes: DOS/CP437 Alt+n and Windows-1252 Alt+0nnn. Click a character for the keypad code, Unicode, and HTML—search accents.

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How to use

1

Choose a code set

Use DOS/CP437 for Alt+n (no leading zero), or Windows-1252 for Alt+0nnn (leading zero).

2

Find a character

Click a cell, search by glyph or Alt+0169, or filter by accents, currency, math, and more.

3

Type it on Windows

Hold Alt, enter the digits on the numeric keypad (Num Lock on), then release Alt.

Windows ALT code specification

Version 2.0.0 · Engine tested

Calculation status
  • Engine tested 5 published cases
  • Named expert review Not performed
  • Calculation version 2.0.0

Review policy

Definition
Windows ALT codes insert a character by holding Alt and typing a numeric code on the keypad. Without a leading zero the code uses DOS/CP437; with a leading zero it uses Windows-1252.
What it calculates
The keypad sequence (Alt+n or Alt+0nnn), Unicode code point, and HTML entity for each byte in CP437 and Windows-1252.
Inputs
  • Character glyph, name, or Alt code (e.g. Alt+0169)
  • Code set: DOS/CP437 or Windows-1252
  • Optional category filter (accents, currency, math, …)
Outputs
  • Keystroke to type on Windows
  • Character glyph for copy/paste
  • Unicode code point and HTML entity
Formula
Alt+n → CP437[n]; Alt+0nnn → Windows-1252[nnn]

Use the tool above to browse DOS/CP437 (Alt+n) and Windows-1252 (Alt+0nnn) characters.

How to type ALT code symbols

  1. Enable Num Lock
  2. Hold Alt
  3. Type the digits on the numeric keypad (not the top row)
  4. Release Alt — the character appears

Examples: Alt+65 → A. Alt+3 → ♥. Alt+0169 → ©.

Codes with and without leading zeros

Style Example Character set
Alt + n (no leading zero) Alt+169 Legacy DOS code page 437
Alt + 0nnn (leading zero) Alt+0169 Windows code page 1252

Both forms use the same byte range 0–255, but glyphs often differ—switch Code set in the tool to compare.

Popular Windows-1252 codes (Alt+0nnn)

Symbol Alt code Description
€ Alt+0128 Euro
ƒ Alt+0131 Florin
… Alt+0133 Ellipsis
† Alt+0134 Dagger
‡ Alt+0135 Double dagger
‰ Alt+0137 Per mille
™ Alt+0153 Trademark
œ Alt+0156 oe ligature
Ÿ Alt+0159 Y umlaut
¡ Alt+0161 Inverted exclamation
¢ Alt+0162 Cent
£ Alt+0163 Pound
¥ Alt+0165 Yen
§ Alt+0167 Section
© Alt+0169 Copyright
® Alt+0174 Registered
° Alt+0176 Degree
± Alt+0177 Plus-minus
² Alt+0178 Superscript 2
³ Alt+0179 Superscript 3
µ Alt+0181 Micro
Alt+0182 Pilcrow
¼ Alt+0188 One quarter
½ Alt+0189 One half
¾ Alt+0190 Three quarters
¿ Alt+0191 Inverted question
× Alt+0215 Multiplication
÷ Alt+0247 Division
á Alt+0225 a acute
é Alt+0233 e acute
ñ Alt+0241 n tilde
ü Alt+0252 u umlaut

Accented capitals and lowercase vowels (À–ÿ) are under the Letters with accents category in the tool—matching the layout used by many language ALT charts.

Popular DOS / CP437 codes (Alt+n)

Symbol Alt code Description
☺ Alt+1 White smiling face
☻ Alt+2 Black smiling face
♥ Alt+3 Heart
♦ Alt+4 Diamond
♣ Alt+5 Club
♠ Alt+6 Spade
• Alt+7 Bullet
○ Alt+9 Circle
♂ Alt+11 Male
♀ Alt+12 Female
♪ Alt+13 Eighth note
☼ Alt+15 Sun
► Alt+16 Right pointer
◄ Alt+17 Left pointer
↑ Alt+24 Up arrow
↓ Alt+25 Down arrow
→ Alt+26 Right arrow
← Alt+27 Left arrow
α Alt+224 Alpha
β Alt+225 Sharp s / beta
π Alt+227 Pi
Σ Alt+228 Sigma
Ω Alt+234 Omega
∞ Alt+236 Infinity
± Alt+241 Plus-minus
≥ Alt+242 Greater-or-equal
≤ Alt+243 Less-or-equal
÷ Alt+246 Division
° Alt+248 Degree
√ Alt+251 Square root
² Alt+253 Superscript 2
■ Alt+254 Black square

Box-drawing and shade characters (░▒▓│─┼╔╗╚╝█▄▀ and similar) are under Box drawing and Blocks & shades.

No numeric keypad?

Method Steps
On-Screen Keyboard Start → “On-Screen Keyboard” → Options → turn on numeric keypad → click digits while holding Alt
Fn + NumLk Enables a hidden numpad on many laptop letter keys
Windows + Period Opens the emoji and symbol picker (Windows 10/11)
Character Map Run charmap → select a character → Copy

For browsing symbols by theme (arrows, hearts, currency) beyond the 8-bit ALT sets, use the Unicode characters table.

Assumptions
  • Num Lock is on and digits come from the numeric keypad.
  • DOS mode matches IBM code page 437 display glyphs.
  • Windows mode matches Windows-1252 (including Euro at Alt+0128).
  • Lookup runs locally in the browser.
Units
  • Alt digits: decimal 0–255
  • Windows codes: four digits with leading zero
Boundary conditions
  • Some Windows-1252 bytes (e.g. 0x81) are undefined.
  • Laptop keyboards without a numpad cannot enter Alt codes directly.
Example
Alt+0169 → © · U+00A9 · © · Alt+3 → ♥ (CP437)
Validation cases
  • Alt+65 → A (CP437 / ASCII)
  • Alt+3 → ♥ (CP437)
  • Alt+0169 → © (Windows-1252)
  • Alt+0128 → € (Windows-1252)
  • Alt+0176 → ° (Windows-1252)
Sources
  • IBM Code Page 437
  • Windows-1252 (CP1252)
Calculation version
2.0.0
→ ASCII Table › → Unicode characters › → Text Editor Online ›

Frequently asked questions

Key distinctions behind the tool.

Why does my ALT code not work?

Turn Num Lock on, use the numeric keypad (not the top-row number keys), type every digit while holding Alt, then release Alt. On many laptops you need Fn+NumLk or the On-Screen Keyboard.

What is the difference between Alt+3 and Alt+0169?

Codes without a leading zero use the legacy DOS code page 437 (for example Alt+3 → ♥). Codes with a leading zero use Windows-1252 (for example Alt+0169 → ©). The same number can mean different characters in each set.

Do ALT codes work on Mac or Linux?

Classic Alt+number entry is Windows-specific. On Mac use Option combinations or Character Viewer. On Linux use Compose keys or Unicode entry (Ctrl+Shift+U).

What is the ALT code for the degree symbol?

Alt+0176 produces ° in the Windows-1252 set. In the DOS set, Alt+248 is also the degree sign.

How do I type ALT codes without a numeric keypad?

Use Windows On-Screen Keyboard with the numpad enabled, a laptop Fn+NumLk overlay, Win+. emoji picker, or Character Map (charmap).