When words don’t quite capture your emotions, emojis can fill in the gaps, adding a visual layer to our expressions. Beyond casual conversations, emojis are becoming increasingly common in professional settings as well. And why not? You deserve the freedom to visually express yourself while working on your Mac. Fortunately, it’s easy to access the emoji keyboard on a Mac. With just a few quick steps, you can bring up an emoji picker at your convenience. Let’s explore how to do it.
Method 1: Using Menu Bar
One simple way to access emojis and symbols on a Mac is through the Menu bar. The Menu Bar, as we know, offers various options related to Finder as well as the currently active app. You can leverage this to open the emoji keyboard on your MacBook. Here’s how:
- Click on Edit from the top Menu Bar, then select Emoji & Symbols from the dropdown.
- This action will open a small window featuring different emojis like heart emojis, smileys, and more.
At the bottom of the window, you can use the icons to browse through categories such as Animals & Nature, Food & Drinks, Activity, and more.
By default, only emojis will be displayed, but there’s more you can do. If you click on the keyboard icon in the top-right corner, the window will expand into Character View, offering a variety of options beyond emojis. You’ll find symbols for Arrows, Currency, Math Symbols, and much more.
Method 2: Using Keyboard Shortcut
If you’re a fan of keyboard shortcuts and enjoy memorizing them, here’s one to remember: Command + Control + Space. This shortcut allows you to quickly access emojis and symbols on your Mac. It will instantly bring up the Character Viewer on your screen.
Method 3: Using the Globe Key
For newer Mac models, you can add emojis while typing or easily replace text with emojis. Simply press Fn + E or Globe key + E to insert smileys and emojis as you type.
You can also replace commonly used words like “heart” or “thumbs up” with their corresponding emojis. If no emoji suggestions appear for the phrase you’ve entered, the Character Viewer will pop up instead.
Additionally, you can customize the Fn/Globe key on your Mac for even quicker access to emojis. This makes it easier to add emojis while typing. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Open System Settings on your Mac and click on Keyboard in the left sidebar (you might need to scroll to the bottom).
2. In the drop-down menu next to Press (globe key) to, select Show Emoji & Symbols.
3. Now, whenever you press the Globe or Fn key, the emoji and symbols keyboard will appear instantly.
