How to Type Wingdings

Two ways to type Wingdings

There are two very different things people mean by “typing in Wingdings”, and choosing the right one saves a lot of frustration.

• The font method. Type normal letters and switch the font to Wingdings. It only changes how the letters look, so it works inside Word, PowerPoint or Excel on a computer that has the font. Paste the text anywhere else and it turns back into letters.
• The Unicode method. Convert your text with the Wingdings translator and paste the result. Each symbol is a real Unicode character, so it keeps its shape in chats, games, social media, Google Docs and on phones.

Rule of thumb: use the font method inside Microsoft Office documents, and the Unicode method everywhere else.

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook on Windows

Change the font

Select your text, open the font menu and choose Wingdings, Wingdings 2, Wingdings 3 or Webdings. To go back, select the text and choose a normal font again. Because the letters never change underneath, anyone can read the message by switching the font back.

Insert a single symbol

Go to Insert, Symbol, More Symbols, choose Wingdings in the Font list and double click the symbol you want. The dialog also shows each symbol’s character code, which is the number you need for an Alt code.

Alt codes

With Wingdings selected and Num Lock on, hold Alt and type a four digit code on the number pad. Alt + 0252 gives a check mark ✓︎ and Alt + 0251 gives a cross 🗶︎. Every code is listed on our Wingdings Alt codes page.

Type a Unicode symbol in any font

In Word you do not need Wingdings at all. Type a code point such as 2713 and press Alt + X, and Word replaces it with ✓. The Wingdings chart lists the code point of every symbol.

Microsoft Excel

Excel users often use Wingdings for check lists and status columns. Set the cell’s font to Wingdings and enter the formula =CHAR(252) to show a check mark, or =CHAR(251) for a cross. Combined with an IF formula, a column can switch between the two automatically, for example =IF(B2="Done",CHAR(252),CHAR(251)).

Mac: Word, Pages, Keynote and TextEdit

In Word for Mac, use Insert, Advanced Symbol and pick Wingdings from the font list, or change the font of selected text. Alt codes do not exist on a Mac.

For any Mac app, the easiest route is the Unicode method. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer and search for a symbol by name, such as “check mark” or “pointing hand”, or simply copy symbols from this site. Whether the Wingdings fonts appear in the font menu depends on which fonts are installed, so check Font Book if you need the font method.

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

Google’s font menu does not include Wingdings, so the font method is not available. Two options work well:

1. Convert your text with the translator and paste it into the document.
2. Use Insert, Special characters and search by name or draw the symbol in the box.

Windows Character Map

Every Windows PC has a small app called Character Map. Search for “Character Map” from the Start menu, choose Wingdings in the Font list, select a symbol and press Copy. Pasting works best in apps that keep font formatting, such as Word. In plain text boxes you will see the underlying letter instead, so copy from the chart for those.

iPhone and Android

Phone keyboards cannot switch to the Wingdings font. Use the translator in your phone’s browser, tap Copy result, and paste the symbols into any app.

If you use the same symbol often, save it as a shortcut. On iPhone, go to Settings, General, Keyboard, Text Replacement, paste the symbol as the phrase and choose a short word as the shortcut. On Android with Gboard, add it to your personal dictionary with a shortcut in Gboard’s settings. Keep Emoji-proof output switched on in the translator so phones do not turn symbols into colour emoji.

Websites and HTML

Avoid font-family: Wingdings on a website. It only works for visitors who have the font installed, which rules out most phones, and everyone else sees plain letters. Use the Unicode character instead, either pasted directly or as an entity such as ✓, and give meaningful symbols an accessible label so screen readers announce them properly.