Type emoji on your Mac with one shortcut

Why it happens

Macs have no emoji key printed on the keyboard, so the picker is easy to miss. It opens with a key combination, or with the Globe key if you set it up. It only appears where you can type, so the shortcut seems to do nothing if no text box is active.

How to fix it

1. Click inside a message, note or document so the text cursor is blinking there.

2. Hold Control and Command, then press Space. Type a word such as heart or smile to search, and click an emoji to drop it in.

3. Prefer a single key? In System Settings, click Keyboard and set Press 🌐 key to Show Emoji & Symbols. After that, one tap on the Globe key (the fn key on many keyboards, bottom-left) opens the picker. On older keyboards without a Globe key, the same menu is called Press fn key to.

   Keyboard›Press 🌐 key to

4. You can also use the menu bar. In most apps, open the Edit menu and choose Emoji & Symbols.

   Edit›Emoji & Symbols

5. For arrows, currency signs and other symbols, click the button in the top-right corner of the small picker. It grows into the full Character Viewer with every symbol sorted by type.

Still not fixed?

1. Nothing opens? Click into a text box first and try again. The picker won't open on the desktop or in a window you can't type in.

2. Another app may have taken the same shortcut. Check Keyboard Shortcuts in Keyboard settings, and the settings of any helper apps you've installed.

   Keyboard›Keyboard Shortcuts…

3. Quit the app you're typing in with Command-Q and open it again. If the picker still won't show in any app, restart your Mac.

4. If the shortcut, the Globe key and the Edit menu all fail after a restart, contact Apple Support.