Have you just moved from Windows to macOS? Maybe you’ve been a Mac user for a while, but recently switched to a new external keyboard with a slightly different layout. Whatever your reasons, we’re going to show you here how to type the euro and various currency symbols on your Mac.
Since it’s impossible to cover every special character in a single article, this tutorial will show you how to use the character viewer to access additional characters, including accents, math symbols, pictograms, and even emojis.
Not all macOS keyboards have the same layout
Keyboard layouts may vary depending on your location. For example, the British and American keyboards have slightly different layouts.
As far as possible, major deviations between the different provisions will be reported, but if major differences are missed, let us know in the comments!
You may also find that some keyboard shortcuts work in some applications and not in others, especially third-party applications. The keyboard shortcuts mentioned in this article should work in all Apple applications, but there is no guarantee that they will work exactly the same in all third-party applications, including non-Apple web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. .
How to change your keyboard layout
Keyboard layouts may vary by location, but you can always switch to a different keyboard layout through your Mac’s system preferences. For example, you may decide that it would be much easier to access your favorite special characters if you switched to the UK keyboard layout.
To modify your layout:
1. Select the “Apple” icon in the menu bar of your Mac.
2. Go to “System Preferences … -> Keyboard”.
3. Select the “Input sources” tab.
4. Make sure the following box is checked: “Display the entry icon in the menu bar”.
5. To cycle through all the available keyboard layouts, select the “+” icon.
6. In the following pop-up window, select the keyboard layout you want to use, then click “Add”.
7. Rinse and repeat to add multiple keyboard layouts to your list.
You can now switch between all available keyboard layouts by clicking the small indicator icon in your Mac’s menu bar, then selecting a layout from the list.
Euro, GBP, dollar, cents and yen: entering special characters on macOS
Multiple currency characters supported by the macOS keyboard are not displayed on the physical hardware keys.
You can enter all of the following currency symbols using keyboard shortcuts:
€: Euro
To enter the Euro symbol (€) on a British keyboard, use Alt/Option + 2 shortcut.
To enter the euro symbol (€) on a keyboard with an American layout, use Alt/Option + Offset + 2.
£: British pound
Whatever the layout of your keyboard, you can type the GBP symbol using the Alt/Option + 3 keyboard shortcut.
$ and ¢: Dollars and cents
Type a dollar sign using the Offset + 4 keyboard shortcut. If you want to enter the hundred (¢) symbol, use Alt/Option + 4
¥: Japanese yen and Chinese yuan / renminbi
Type the “¥” symbol using the Option + Yes keyboard shortcut.
Emojis, accents and pictograms: access more special characters
Need to use a currency symbol that is not supported by a keyboard shortcut?
macOS has a built-in character viewer that lets you access a range of additional characters, including arrows, bullets, stars, and “letter-like symbols” such as Fahrenheit, Celsius, and the brand sign.
To launch the character viewer window:
1. In the menu bar of your Mac, select “Edit -> Emoji and symbols”. You can also launch the character viewer using the Ctrl + Order + Space keyboard shortcut.
2. In the next window of the character viewer, select “Currency symbols”.
3. Find the symbol you want to insert and click on it; you should now see all the font variants available for the character you have chosen.
4. Double-click on the font variant you want to use and macOS will insert this character in your application or document.
Character viewer: create a Favorites folder
Save time by adding your most frequently used symbols to the “Favorites” folder in the character viewer.
To add a character to your “Favorites” folder, select the symbol in question, then click on “Add to favorites”.
To delete a character from your favorite folder:
1. If it is not already open, launch the character viewer window (“Edit -> Emoji and symbols”.)
2. Select the “Favorites” folder.
3. Find the character you want to delete and click on it.
4. Select “Remove from favorites”.
This symbol will now be removed from your “Favorites” folder.
Add the character viewer to your menu bar
If you regularly launch the character viewer, you may want to make it accessible from the menu bar on your Mac.
1. Go to “System Preferences … -> Keyboard”.
2. Make sure the Keyboard tab is selected.
3. Check the following box: “Display keyboard and emoji viewers in the menu bar”. A new icon should now appear in the menu bar of your Mac.
4. To launch the character viewer window, simply click on this icon and select “Display emoticons and symbols”.
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s easy to type the euro, pound, yen and other currency signs in macOS if you know where to find them. You can also learn to type special characters in Windows 10 and Linux. Do you have keyboard shortcuts or other tips for special characters that we haven’t covered in this article? Let us know in the comments below!
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