Keyboard Shortcuts for Asterisk Symbols

Asterisk symbol is part of regular keyboard on number 8 key. The name is derived from the Latin word asteriskos indicating a little star. Asterisk is a five pointed star in sans-serif font and six pointed in serif font while eight pointed when people write on hand. Here is a complete list of keyboard shortcuts for inserting various asterisk symbols in Windows and Mac.

Shortcuts Summary for Asterisk Symbol

Below is the summary of keyboard shortcuts for asterisk symbol in various platforms.

Typing on Windows

• Use one of the alt keys and type the numbers 0042 using numeric key pad.
• Type 002A and press alt + X keys together on Microsoft Word documents.
• Use Character Map app to find and insert * symbol.

Typing on Mac

• On Mac documents, first change the keyboard input method to Unicode Hex Input. Press option key and type 002A to make *.
• You can also use the Character Viewer app to insert * symbol.

Typing in Web Documents

• In HTML documents, you can use the entity names & ast; or & midast;. Alternatively, use decimal code & # 42; or hexadecimal code & # x 002A; (use the codes without spaces).
• In CSS and JavaScript, use the hexadecimal codes like \002A and \u002A respectively.
• Below are the code examples for inserting asterisk in HTML and CSS.

<span>&#42;</span>
<span>&#x002A;</span>
<span>&ast;</span>

li:before {
	content:\002A;
	font-family:Arial;
}

Symbol Display

Asterisk will look like eight pointed star when you use handwriting. However, it may have five or six pointed on the browser and documents depending on the font family.

Other Names for Asterisk

Asterisk also called with other names like:

• Little star
• Star

Other Unicode Asterisk Symbols

Below are the other asterisk symbols in Unicode.

Asterisk Emoji

Eight-spoked asterisk and keycap asterisk symbols are part of Unicode emoji symbols. You can insert these two symbols using emoji keyboard. In Windows documents, press “Win Logo + ;” keys to open emoji keyboard. Type “asterisk” to filter the symbols and insert.

Similarly, you can open Character Viewer app in mac by pressing “Command + Space + Control” keys. Use the search box to find asterisk symbol and insert on your document.