Type the Tilde ~  into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook.  Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac.

Tilde is used to mean ‘approximate’  as in  “ ~30 minutes late”. In maths it means ‘similar order of magnitude’ e.g. “  a ~ b “. 

Tilde ~  symbol is easy on most keyboards, up on the top left, but if other keyboards don’t have Tilde there are other options. 

How Tilde ~ looks in different fonts.

Here’s some examples of how Tilde ~ looks in common Office fonts.

Tilde ~ codes

These are the important code numbers or values you’ll need to enter the Tilde or ~

Decimal:  126  Hex:   007E or just 7E

Web: ˜  or ~ or ~

(web codes aren’t used in Microsoft Office, we’ve included them for the sake of completeness.)

Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook

Insert | Symbols | Symbol and look for the  Tilde symbol.

Windows

In Windows there are several shortcuts to enter the Tilde ~  character into any program, but they use a numeric keypad, not the number row above the letters.

Alt + 126  

Windows Character Map

The Windows Character Map accessory in all Windows releases

Character Map has a search feature, something missing from the Insert | Symbol in Office.

MacOS and Office for Mac inserting characters

On most (all?) Mac keyboards, the Tilde will be on the top left key.  If not,

• Command + Control + Spacebar shortcut to open the Character Viewer.  
• Search for “Tilde “ and the Viewer should find the symbol you need.

Despite the name Character Viewer, the Apple system tool will also insert characters into any program, including Office for Mac.

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