How Do I Type Emojis on a Mac?

Quick Answer

Press Control plus Command plus Spacebar to open the Character Viewer in any text field. Type a keyword (fire, check, rocket), then hit Enter to drop the emoji into your document.

On modern MacBooks, the single Globe key in the bottom left does the same thing in one tap. Set its behaviour under System Settings, Keyboard, Press Globe key to, Show Emoji and Symbols.

For the emojis you use every day, set up a Text Replacement so typing :fire: or :check: auto expands to the actual glyph everywhere on macOS.

The Mac emoji input cheat sheet

• Universal shortcut: Control plus Command plus Spacebar. Works in any app, on every Mac running macOS Yosemite or newer.
• Globe key (Fn): tap the single key in the bottom left of any modern Apple keyboard. Configurable in System Settings.
• Touch Bar (legacy): the 2016 to 2021 MacBook Pro Touch Bar surfaces an emoji bar when the cursor is in a text field.
• Text Replacement: custom shortcodes (like :fire:) auto expand to the matching glyph anywhere on macOS.

Method 1: the universal keyboard shortcut

1. Click into any text field (Messages, Mail, Slack, a Google Doc, your code editor).
2. Press Control plus Command plus Spacebar at the same time.
3. A compact Character Viewer pops up next to your cursor.
4. Type a keyword (fire, heart, rocket) to filter the grid.
5. Click the emoji or hit Enter to insert it.

If the picker opens as a giant floating panel instead of the compact popup, click the small expand icon in its top right to collapse it down. The compact view is the default on macOS Big Sur and later.

Method 2: the one tap Globe key

Apple keyboards from 2021 onward (the Magic Keyboard and every Apple Silicon MacBook) ship with a dedicated Globe key in the bottom left corner. The key handles language switching by default, but you can reassign it for instant emoji access.

1. Open System Settings, then Keyboard.
2. Find the dropdown labelled Press Globe key to (older macOS calls it Press Fn key to).
3. Choose Show Emoji and Symbols.

Now a single tap opens the same compact picker that Control plus Command plus Spacebar opens.

Method 3: text replacement for power users

If you repeatedly type the same handful of emojis (a check mark for task lists, a fire emoji for highlights, a rocket for launches), text replacement is faster than any picker.

1. Open System Settings, Keyboard, then click Text Replacements.
2. Click the plus icon.
3. In the Replace column type a shortcode you would never type by accident, like :fire or ;check.
4. In the With column, paste the emoji glyph (use the Control plus Command plus Spacebar picker to insert it).
5. Click outside the row to save.

Now whenever you type your shortcode followed by Space or Return, macOS swaps it for the emoji. The replacements sync to every Mac and iPhone signed in to the same iCloud account.

Method 4: skin tone and variant selectors

Many emojis have skin tone or gender variants. In the Character Viewer, hover over an emoji that supports variants (handshake, thumbs up, family icons) and a small chevron appears. Click it to reveal the variant grid, then click the version you want.

Method 5: copy paste from the macOS Character Viewer

The full Character Viewer (the larger panel with symbols, arrows, and pictographs in addition to emojis) opens with the same shortcut. Drag the divider to see the categories sidebar, scroll through Symbols, Arrows, Math, or Latin characters, then double click to insert.

FAQs

Why does Control plus Command plus Spacebar do nothing in my app?

A few apps capture the shortcut for their own actions. Try the Globe key instead, or use Edit, Emoji and Symbols from the app menu bar (most macOS apps include this menu item).

Can I make my own custom emoji?

macOS does not support custom Unicode emojis. You can store a favourite image as a sticker in Messages, or use a third party app like Rocket to create text shortcuts that paste images.

How do I add a recently used emoji as a favourite?

Open the larger Character Viewer (drag the divider), right click an emoji, and choose Add to Favourites. Your favourites appear in the first category for instant access.

Do these methods work in Microsoft Word?

Yes. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook all respect the system level Character Viewer and the Globe key. You do not need Word specific tricks on a Mac.

The takeaway

Three keys (or one Globe tap) open the Character Viewer in any Mac app. For the five emojis you use most, set up text replacements once and never open the picker for them again.