Introducing... Quick Tips

If you know me, I like to keep things simple and I like to share knowledge.

In the spirit of this sharing, I figured I would continue to do something that I have done for years. That is, to capture a tip or trick of something that I have learned or taught recently, and share it with others.

I am going to try to stick with the following and see how well this is received.

• Posting a tip or trick once a week
• Keep the tip simple and quick to explain
• Provide a quick reference image or slide
• Explain some use cases
• Have fun in process!

As a disclaimer, many of the tips and tricks that I will present are not the only method to perform the task, I just find that it is one of the quickest or easiest methods for me to remember. In this week’s tip, I know that you can select the insert special characters in Excel or Word and find what you need. But if you get to know the Alt-Key Code method, you can do it in almost any data entry field, and much quicker.

So this week’s tip came from my need of a Copyright Symbol, which reminded me that not everyone knows about using the Alt-Key to enter characters into text fields.

If you did not know it, you can generate Characters by holding the Alt-Key.

Give it a try….... Select somewhere you can enter text.

Press and hold the Alt-Key and enter the number 3 from your number keypad.

You should see a ♥ appear when you release the Alt-Key.

If it does not work, make sure your Num-Lock is on and that you are pressing and holding the Alt key while you are entering the number. You must use the number keypad on the right of your keyboard to enter the key code, it will not work with the number keys at the top of your keyboard.

So, in my case for a Copyright Symbol © the code is 0169. You must enter the leading zero. If you enter just 169 you will get something else.

If you are using a laptop keyboard, you may need to press the function key to activate the number pad. Typically you have to hold the function key first, prior to pressing and holding the Alt-Key and then enter the number code.

How many times have you written something like the temperature was 32 degree F, where you could have written 32°F, by pressing and holding the Alt-Key and entering 248 to get the degree symbol.

I created a chart of the character codes I find useful, and linked a copy from the Vichek Solutions LinkedIn Page. Download Alt Code Chart

Please let us know if this is helpful and if you would like to see more. Follow our page to get updated on any tips or other updates we share.

Remember to have fun and keep sharing!