Windows emoji keyboard: the Win + . shortcut, symbols and fixes

To open the emoji keyboard on Windows, put the cursor where you want to type and press Win + . (the Windows key and the full stop key). Win + ; does the same thing. A panel opens next to the cursor with emoji, GIFs, kaomoji and symbols. Start typing a word such as "heart" or "thumbs" to search, then press Enter to insert the first result.

It works almost everywhere you can type: Word, Outlook, browsers, WhatsApp Desktop, Teams, Notepad and file names.

Quick reference

Search instead of scrolling

You do not need to click into the search box. As soon as the panel is open, typing filters the emoji. Type "fire", "party", "ok" or "check" and the matches appear straight away.

The panel also remembers your most recent emoji at the start of the first tab, so the ones you use every day are always one keypress away.

Symbols: €, ©, ™, arrows and accented letters

The emoji panel is also the easiest way to type characters that are not on your keyboard:

1. Press Win + ..
2. Click the Symbols tab, the Ω icon at the top.
3. Choose a category: punctuation (such as … and «»), currency (€, £, ¥), Latin symbols (é, ñ, ç, ß), geometric shapes, maths, supplemental (©, ®, ™) or language symbols.

This saves remembering Alt codes. For a single character like é you can also hold the letter key on the touch keyboard, but the emoji panel works with a normal keyboard.

GIFs, kaomoji and clipboard history

The tabs at the top of the panel on Windows 11 are:

• Emoji, with a skin tone option for people and hands.
• GIF, searchable animated images (needs an internet connection; the GIF is pasted where the app supports images).
• Kaomoji, text faces such as ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that work anywhere plain text works.
• Symbols, described above.
• Clipboard history, the same list you get with Win + V. Our Windows 11 shortcuts guide explains how to turn clipboard history on.

Why Win + . does nothing

• The cursor is not in a text box. The panel only opens where you can type. Click into the field first.
• The app does not support it. A few older programs and some games ignore the shortcut. Try it in Notepad: if it works there, the problem is the app.
• Your keyboard layout needs a different key. On some layouts the full stop is in a different place. Use Win + ; instead, which works on most layouts.
• The panel is stuck. Signing out and back in, or restarting the PC, usually fixes it.
• A keyboard tool has taken over the shortcut. Utilities such as PowerToys can remap keys. Check their settings for Win + ..

Emoji with the touch keyboard

On a tablet or a laptop with a touch screen, the touch keyboard has its own emoji button (the smiley face key). To show the keyboard button on the taskbar on Windows 11, go to Settings, Personalization, Taskbar, and turn on Touch keyboard under System tray icons.

On a Mac, iPhone and Android

Our Mac shortcuts cheat sheet has the full list of Mac shortcuts.

Common questions

Does Win + . work on Windows 10?

Yes. The emoji panel came to Windows 10 in 2017 and works with both Win + . and Win + ;. Later Windows 10 updates added kaomoji and symbols, and Windows 11 added GIFs and clipboard history to the same panel.

Why do emoji look different on someone else's phone?

Every system draws emoji in its own style. The emoji itself is the same character, so a thumbs up stays a thumbs up, but the artwork on an iPhone or Android phone is different from Windows.

Can I type emoji in file names?

Yes, Windows allows emoji in file and folder names. Be careful with files you share or back up to older systems, which sometimes cannot read them.