How to Type Emoji and Special Characters on a Mac
You want to drop an emoji, accented letter, or symbol into what you’re typing on a Mac.
Why: macOS has the Character Viewer built in, so you don’t need to copy emoji from a website. You can open it with one shortcut, search by name, and even have macOS suggest emoji as you type ordinary words.
Fix 1: Open the Character Viewer with Fn/Globe + E
Place your cursor where you want the character, then press Fn/Globe-E (hold the Fn or Globe key and press E). The Character Viewer opens, where you can:
- Browse or search by name (for example, “laughing face” or “arrow”).
- Click and hold an emoji to pick a skin-tone or style variation.
- Double-click an emoji or symbol to insert it.
You can also open it from any app’s menu bar with Edit > Emoji & Symbols.
Fix 2: Let macOS suggest emoji as you type
Type a common word or phrase like heart or thumbs up, then press Fn/Globe-E to swap it for the matching emoji. You can also set up automatic replacements (for example, replace XD with the laughing emoji every time you type it).
Fix 3: Set the Fn/Globe key to open emoji on its own
If you’d rather not press two keys, set the Fn or Globe key to open emoji by itself:
- Open the Apple menu > System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
- Find the “Press fn key to” (or “Press 🌐 key to”) pop-up menu.
- Choose Show Emoji & Symbols.
Now a single press opens the Character Viewer. You can also add the Input menu to your menu bar from System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input for one-click access from the desktop.
FAQ
How do I type an accented letter like é? Press and hold the base letter (such as E) on your keyboard until the accent menu appears, then click the accent you want — or pick it from the Character Viewer.
The emoji shortcut does nothing. Make sure your cursor is in a text field first, and check the “Press fn key to” setting in Fix 3 in case it’s set to something other than Show Emoji & Symbols.