How to Type a Degree Symbol on a Keyboard: Full Guide

Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad to put a degree symbol (°) into any Windows text box.

This guide covers the Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android routes, the codes for Word, Excel, Google Docs and AutoCAD, and the fixes when a shortcut produces the wrong character.

The fastest way to type the degree symbol

The Alt code is an ASCII entry method built into Windows, so it works in the same way across Windows programs that accept typed text.

1. Click where the symbol should go.
2. Turn on Num Lock if your keyboard needs it to type numbers on the numeric keypad.
3. Press and hold Alt, type 0176 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.
4. Check that the result is ° and not º.

The numbers along the top row do not work for this. Microsoft's own documentation states that the numeric keypad is required.

Which method should you use?

Your situation	Use this	Why
Desktop keyboard with a numeric keypad	Alt + 0176	One key combination, no menus
Laptop with no numeric keypad	Windows key + . , then Symbols	Alt codes cannot be typed without the keypad
Writing in Word	Type 00B0, then press Alt + X	Word converts the code in place
Working in PowerPoint	Copy ° from Character Map	PowerPoint cannot convert Unicode codes to characters
On a Mac	Control + Command + Space bar	Character Viewer inserts the character at the cursor
On iPhone, iPad or Android	Touch and hold 0 on the number keyboard	No extra app or setting needed
Inside an Excel formula	=UNICHAR(176)	Builds the symbol into a calculated string
Writing a web page	° or °	The browser renders the character from the entity

What Is the Degree Symbol and When Is It Used?

The degree sign is a single Unicode character, U+00B0, used for temperature, angles and arc measurements.

Use	Example	Convention
Temperature	10 °C	The BIPM, ISO and the US Government Printing Office prescribe a space between the number and the symbol
Angles and bearings	30°	No space between the number and the symbol
Arc minutes and seconds	30° 12′ 5″	Spaces between the sexagesimal parts, none between a number and its unit
Kelvin	273.16 K	The degree sign was abolished for kelvin by the 13th CGPM in 1967
The character itself	U+00B0 °	Different from º (U+00BA) and ˚ (U+02DA), which look similar and mean other things

Typesetting practice splits on the temperature spacing. Several university presses print 10°C with no spaces at all.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows

The emoji panel is the route for keyboards without a numeric keypad, and it carries a Symbols category alongside emoji and kaomoji.

1. Click where you want the symbol.
2. Press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji panel.
3. Select Symbols in the category row.
4. Type degree in the search field, then press Enter.
5. Select ° to insert it at the cursor.

Windows key + ; (semicolon) opens the same panel.

Insert the degree symbol from Character Map

Character Map is the fallback for programs that ignore Unicode codes, and it is the only Windows route that names the character before you paste it.

1. Press the Windows key, type Character Map, then press Enter.
2. Select the Advanced view check box, or press Alt + V.
3. Set Character set to Unicode.
4. Type 00B0 in the Go to Unicode box and press Enter.
5. Click the highlighted °, click Select, then click Copy.
6. Press Ctrl + V where you want the symbol.

The Search for box finds the same character by name. Type degree and press Enter, then click Reset to clear the filter afterwards.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac

macOS puts every symbol behind the Character Viewer, which opens over the app you are typing in and inserts at the cursor.

1. Click where you want the symbol.
2. Choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols, or press Control + Command + Space bar.
3. Type degree in the search field at the top of the Character Viewer.
4. Click the degree sign to insert it into your text.

Fn + E or Globe + E opens the same viewer. Drag it onto the desktop to keep it open while you work.

To find which physical keys carry symbols on your layout, open the Keyboard Viewer from the Input menu in the menu bar, then hold Option, Shift, or both.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone, iPad, and Android

Both mobile keyboards hide the symbol behind the zero key rather than giving it a key of its own.

1. Tap the text field so the onscreen keyboard opens.
2. Tap 123 to switch to the numbers and symbols keyboard.
3. Touch and hold 0 until the extra characters appear.
4. Slide your finger to ° and release.

Gboard on Android uses the same gesture: touch and hold a key to reach the characters stacked behind it.

In Google Docs on a phone or tablet, paste the character in rather than hunting for a picker.

How to Insert the Degree Symbol in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Excel

Each app accepts a different code, and one of them refuses codes altogether.

App	Do this	Result
Microsoft Word	Type 00B0, then press Alt + X	The code turns into ° at the cursor
Microsoft Word, alternative	Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad	Same character, nothing to convert
Google Docs and Slides	Click Insert > Symbols > Special characters, then enter the Unicode value 00B0	Click the character to add it to the file
Google Sheets	Copy ° from a Google Doc, then paste it into the cell	Special characters cannot be inserted directly in Sheets
Microsoft Excel	Enter =UNICHAR(176) in a cell	Returns the Unicode character for that number
Microsoft PowerPoint	Copy ° from Character Map and paste it	PowerPoint cannot convert Unicode codes to characters
Microsoft Outlook	Press Windows key + . and pick ° from Symbols	The character lands in the message body

=UNICHAR(176) is worth using in Excel when the symbol has to join a calculated string, for example =A2&UNICHAR(176)&"C".

Copy-and-Paste Method and Unicode Options

Copying ° from the table below works everywhere, including apps that accept no codes at all.

Code	Where it works	What it does
U+00B0	Any Unicode input box	The official code point for the degree sign
00B0 then Alt + X	Word and other Office programs that convert Unicode	Replaces the typed code with the character
Alt + 0176	Windows programs, numeric keypad required	ASCII entry from the Windows code page
Alt + 0186	Windows	Produces º, the masculine ordinal indicator, not the degree sign
°	HTML	The named character entity
°	HTML	The numeric entity for the same character
=UNICHAR(176)	Excel	Returns ° from its Unicode number
\U+00B0	AutoCAD text	A Unicode string, preceded by a backslash
Alt + 248	Code page 437 contexts such as the console	The older DOS Alt code for the same sign

Paste-only routes have one advantage over every code: the character arrives intact even when the program has its own idea of what Alt does.

Type the degree symbol in AutoCAD and PDF markup tools

AutoCAD does not read Windows Alt codes inside drawing text. It uses control codes of its own.

1. Start a text or mtext command and place the cursor in the In-Place Text Editor.
2. Type %%d where the symbol belongs.
3. Press Enter or click outside the editor, and AutoCAD draws °.
4. For the Unicode form instead, type \U+00B0.
5. To pick the symbol from a list, right-click in the editor and choose Symbol, or click Symbol on the Text Editor ribbon tab.

Symbol > Other opens Character Map, so the copy-and-paste route is available inside AutoCAD too.

In Bluebeam Revu, paste a copied ° into a Text Box or Typewriter markup; the character comes from Windows, not from Revu.

Alt codes for the yen sign and other symbols you may need next

The degree sign is one entry in a table of Windows Alt codes. Every code below needs Num Lock and the numeric keypad.

Symbol	Name	Windows Alt code
°	Degree sign	Alt + 0176
º	Masculine ordinal indicator	Alt + 0186
¥	Yen sign	Alt + 0165
£	Pound sign	Alt + 0163
¢	Cent sign	Alt + 0162
€	Euro sign	Alt + 0128
µ	Micro sign	Alt + 0181
½	One half	Alt + 0189
©	Copyright sign	Alt + 0169
®	Registered sign	Alt + 0174

Characters that do have a key of their own follow different rules — see how to type a forward slash on a keyboard.

How to check you typed the right character

Three characters in the Windows fonts look close enough to pass at reading size, so compare the shapes at a known reference rather than trusting the glyph.

1. Select the character you typed and press Ctrl + C.
2. Press the Windows key, type Character Map, then press Enter.
3. Select the Advanced view check box.
4. Type degree in the Search for box and press Enter.
5. Click the degree sign in the character grid and read the Unicode value Character Map reports for it.
6. Paste your character beside it and compare: a true degree sign matches U+00B0 exactly.

If the pasted character is wider and sits lower, it is º, the masculine ordinal indicator from Alt + 0186.

Troubleshooting Keyboard Shortcuts That Do Not Work

Alt + 0176 does nothing

The digits went in on the top number row, or Num Lock is off, or the keyboard has no numeric keypad at all.

1. Press Num Lock and watch for its indicator light.
2. Retype the code on the numeric keypad, not the top row, while holding Alt.
3. On a keyboard with no keypad, press Windows key + . and pick ° from Symbols instead.
4. To get a keypad on screen, go to Start > Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and turn on On-Screen Keyboard, then open Options and select Turn on numeric keypad.

The character came out as º instead of °

Alt + 0186 produces the masculine ordinal indicator, a different Unicode character that looks similar at small sizes.

1. Press Ctrl + Z to undo the wrong character.
2. Retype the code as 0176, checking each digit as you press it.
3. Confirm the result against Character Map before you save the file.

Alt + X does not convert the code

Some Office programs, PowerPoint among them, cannot convert Unicode codes to characters.

1. Delete the 00B0 text you typed.
2. Open Character Map, find the degree sign, and click Copy.
3. Press Ctrl + V in the slide or text box.

Alt + X converted the wrong characters

Word reads the digits immediately before the cursor, so it can swallow a number that belongs to your sentence.

1. Press Ctrl + Z to reverse the conversion.
2. Select just the four characters 00B0, then press Alt + X.
3. Alternatively, type U+00B0 and press Alt + X, which forces Word to read only the code that follows U+.

The Mac shortcut does not open anything

The Character Viewer opens only where text can be entered, and the shortcut does nothing outside a text field.

1. Click inside a document or text box so a cursor appears.
2. Choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols from the menu bar to confirm the app supports it.
3. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Keyboard, go to Text Input, click Edit, then turn on Show Input menu in menu bar.
4. Open the Character Viewer from the Input menu instead of the keyboard shortcut.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I type a degree symbol on Windows?

Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad, with Num Lock on. Microsoft documents this as the ASCII entry method for the degree sign. On a keyboard with no numeric keypad, press Windows key + period and choose ° from the Symbols category of the emoji panel.

How do I type a degree symbol in Word?

Type 00B0 where the symbol belongs, then press Alt + X. Word replaces the code with °. The Windows Alt code, Alt + 0176 on the numeric keypad, produces the same character and leaves no code on the page to convert.

How do I type a degree symbol in Excel?

Enter =UNICHAR(176) in the cell. UNICHAR returns the Unicode character referenced by the number you give it. Alt + 0176 on the numeric keypad also works while editing a cell, and it is the better choice when the symbol is plain text rather than part of a formula.

How do I type a degree symbol in PowerPoint?

Copy it from Character Map and paste it. Microsoft states that some Office programs, including PowerPoint, cannot convert Unicode codes to characters, so Alt + X will not work there. The Windows Alt code and the emoji panel are the other two routes.

How do I type a degree symbol in Outlook?

Press Windows key + period in the message body, select the Symbols category, then choose °. The emoji panel is part of Windows rather than Outlook, so it behaves the same in every message window. Alt + 0176 on the numeric keypad also works.

How do I type a degree symbol in AutoCAD?

Type %%d inside the In-Place Text Editor. Autodesk lists %%d as the control code that draws the degree symbol, with \U+00B0 as the equivalent Unicode string. You can also right-click in the editor and choose Symbol to pick it from a list.

How do I type a degree symbol in Bluebeam?

Copy ° from Character Map or the Windows emoji panel, then paste it into a Text Box or Typewriter markup. The character comes from Windows rather than from Revu, so any of the Windows routes on this page produces it.

How do I type a degree symbol on a laptop with no numeric keypad?

Press Windows key + period and pick ° from the Symbols category. Alt codes require the numeric keypad, so they cannot be typed on a compact keyboard. Character Map and the On-Screen Keyboard with its numeric keypad turned on are the other options.

What is the code for the degree symbol?

The degree sign is U+00B0 in Unicode. In HTML it is ° or °. On Windows the Alt code is 0176 on the numeric keypad, in Excel it is UNICHAR(176), and in AutoCAD text it is the control code %%d.

How do I type a degree symbol on a Mac?

Press Control + Command + Space bar, or choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols, to open the Character Viewer. Search for degree, then click the character to insert it at the cursor. Fn + E or Globe + E opens the same viewer.

Bottom Line

Learn two shortcuts and ignore the rest: Alt + 0176 on Windows and Control + Command + Space bar on a Mac. Between them they cover every program that accepts typed text, and Character Map, the emoji panel and the app-specific codes only exist for the keyboards and programs that refuse those two.