Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Inserting a Special Symbol.

Inserting a Special Symbol

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 19, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

In typography there are many special symbols defined in fonts. An example of special symbols would be the bullets used at the front of bulleted lists. Word allows you to quickly and easily insert a special symbol into your document. To do so, follow these instructions:

Position the insertion point where you want the special symbol inserted.
Choose Symbol from the Insert menu. Word displays the Symbol dialog box.
Make sure the Symbols tab is selected. (It should be selected by default when you first call up the dialog box.) (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Symbols tab of the Symbol dialog box.

Since the symbols shown are nothing more than alternate typefaces, you can pick a different symbol typeface by changing the Font box.
Select a symbol from among those displayed.
Click on Insert.
Repeat steps 4 through 6 to insert other symbols, if desired.
Click on OK to close the dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1120) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Inserting a Special Symbol.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Word Won't Start Right

Sometimes it seems that no matter what you do, you can't display Word on your screen. If this is the case, it could be ...

Discover More

Freezing Cell Size when Inserting Pictures

Insert a picture into a table cell, and you may quickly find that the table is no longer the size you expected. Here's ...

Discover More

Moving the Underline Position

One of the ways that Word allows you to format text is to underline it. However, you have virtually no control on where ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Understanding the No-Width Characters

Search through the Symbol dialog box, and you may see some special characters whose names seem odd. These are the ...

Discover More

Adding Hyphens to Phrases

Editing text to turn regular words into hyphenated phrases can be a real bother. The chore can become a breeze if you ...

Discover More

Repeating Actions

Need to repeat an action a whole bunch of times? You can do it a time or two using keyboard shortcuts, but you'll need a ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 1 + 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.