Creating professional-looking text in your yearbook involves more than just letters and numbers. Special characters—such as smart quotes, em dashes, or accented letters—can add polish and personality to your writing.
Special characters, also known as alt symbols or glyphs, are symbols not typically found on a standard keyboard. These include:
Smart quotes (“ ” instead of straight quotes " ")
Em dashes (—)
Accented letters (é, ñ, ü)
Trademark or copyright symbols (™ ©)
These characters are commonly inserted using keyboard shortcuts or character tools, depending on your device.
Alt key codes: Hold down the Alt key and type a numeric code on the numeric keypad.
Example: Alt + 0148 = “ (left smart quote)
Alt + 0151 = — (em dash)
Character Map: Use the Character Map app to browse, select, and copy special characters.
Option key shortcuts:
Example: Option + Shift + Hyphen = — (em dash)
Option + u, then u = ü (umlaut)
Navigate to Type > Glyphs to browse and insert characters.
Many layout tools include a Glyphs panel that displays all available characters in the current font.
Not all fonts support every special character. Fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, and Helvetica typically offer full symbol support. More decorative or custom fonts may not.
💡 Tip: Always preview your yearbook proof before printing. Unsupported characters may appear as empty boxes or incorrect symbols.
Consistent and accurate use of special characters improves readability and adds a professional touch to your content. Overlooked or incorrect characters can make your design appear rushed or incomplete.