Type the Tilde ~ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Plus an emoji alternative to Tilde.
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 (mostly 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 – like emoji – Wavy Dash
There isn’t a Tilde emoji but there is Wavy Dash 〰️ (Unicode 3030) which looks similar. It’s available in the Windows Emoji Panel and MacOS Character Viewer.
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.
Type Infinity ∞ symbols in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Degree Fahrenheit ℉ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Degree Celsius ℃ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Biohazard symbol for Word, PowerPoint and more
Registered Trade Mark ® symbol in Word and Office
Trademark symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
