How to Make a Degree Sign on Your Keyboard

While it's possible to contrive a semi-passable degree symbol through superscript lettering, there's an even quicker, though less obvious, way to do it. When you need to convey temperature or angles -- or any measurement that requires the degree sign -- in a business document, all you need to do is type. You won't even have to ask your IT department for additional software, as the ability to produce that small circle is built right into your keyboard.

1. Press the "Num Lock" key on the keyboard to turn Num Lock on if it is off.
2. Navigate to the place in the text to add the degree sign and place the cursor directly to the right of that character.
3. Press and hold down the "Alt" key on the keyboard. Type the numbers "0176" on the numeric keypad.
4. Release the "Alt" key and the degree symbol appears.

References

• Microsoft Office: Insert a Degree Symbol
• Penn State: Windows - Alt Key Numeric Codes

Tips

• Ensure that "Num Lock" is on if you cannot get the degree sign to appear. Many keyboards have a light to indicate this. If "Num Lock" is not turned on, the keys in that portion of the keyboard are not activated and the code will not work.
• If you are using a notebook without a separate numeric keypad, use the "Fn" key to activate the part of the keyboard that acts as a numeric keypad. Press and hold "Fn-Alt" and then type 0176.
• If using one "Alt" key doesn't work, try another one.