The fastest way to type emojis on Windows and Mac

On Windows 10 and later, press Windows key + . (period) or Windows key + ; (semicolon) to open the emoji picker. A panel appears with categories of emojis at the bottom — click the smiley face icon to see emotions, the food icon for food and drink, and so on. Type the name of what you want (like "thumbs" or "heart") and the picker filters the results. Click the emoji you want and it types into whatever document or text field you had open.

On Mac, press Control + Command + Space to open the emoji and symbol viewer. Search by typing the emoji name, or browse by category using the icons at the top. Click any emoji to insert it. This works in nearly every process — email, web browsers, text editors, messaging apps.

Both methods work in web browsers, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Discord, Slack, and most other programs. The emoji picker remembers your recently used emojis, so ones you type often appear at the top of the list.

Key Takeaways

  • Windows 10 and later: press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji picker, then search or browse by category.
  • Mac: press Control + Command + Space to open the emoji viewer and search or click the category icons.
  • Both methods work in web browsers, email, documents, and messaging apps without installing anything extra.
  • You can search emojis by name — typing "smile" or "fire" filters the results when ready.
  • Recently used emojis appear at the top of the picker for quick access to ones you type often.

Using the Windows emoji picker

The Windows emoji picker is the simplest route on a PC. Open any text field — an email draft, a browser search box, a Word document, a Discord message — and press Windows key + . The emoji panel slides up from the bottom of your screen. You see a search box at the top and emoji categories represented by icons below it.

To find an emoji by name, click the search box and type what you want. Type "laugh" and you see all the laughing faces. Type "pizza" and you see pizza emojis. The results update as you type. Once you see the emoji you want, click it and it inserts into your text. The panel closes automatically.

If you prefer to browse, click the category icons at the bottom: the smiley face for emotions, the hand for gestures, the lightbulb for objects, the globe for travel, and so on. Scroll through the emojis in that category and click the one you want. The "recent" tab (a clock icon) shows the emojis you have typed most often, which saves time if you use the same ones repeatedly.

Using the Mac emoji viewer

On Mac, the emoji viewer opens with Control + Command + Space. A floating window appears with a search box and category tabs across the top. The categories are represented by icons: a smiley face for smileys and emotions, a hand for people, a heart for love, a food icon for food and drink, and others.

Search by typing in the box — type "wave" to find waving hands, or "star" to find all star variations. The results narrow as you type. Click any emoji to insert it into the active text field. If you want to browse instead, click a category tab and scroll through the emojis in that group. The most recently used emojis appear in the first tab.

The Mac viewer stays open until you close it, so you can insert multiple emojis without reopening it. Click the X button or press Escape to close it.

Searching for emojis by name

Both the Windows and Mac emoji pickers let you search by the emoji's name or what it represents. This is much faster than browsing categories if you know what you want. Type "thumbs up" and both pickers show the thumbs-up emoji. Type "party" and you see party poppers, party faces, and celebration emojis.

Search works with partial names too. Type "heart" and you see red hearts, broken hearts, hearts with arrows, and every heart variation. Type "cat" and you see cat faces, cat with tears of joy, and pouting cats. The search is forgiving — you do not need the exact official name.

If you are not sure of the name, try typing what the emoji looks like or what it means. Type "sad" to find sad faces, "fire" to find the fire emoji, or "money" to find money-related emojis. The pickers are designed to show you results even if your description is not exact.

Typing emojis in different programs

The emoji picker works in almost every program on your PC. In web browsers, open Gmail, Twitter, Discord, or any website with a text box, press the emoji shortcut, and type your emoji. In Microsoft Word or Google Docs, the picker works the same way. In Slack, Teams, or other messaging apps, the emoji picker inserts emojis directly into your message.

Some older programs or specialized software may not support the emoji picker. In those cases, you can copy an emoji from a website and paste it. Open an emoji website like emojipedia.org in your browser, find the emoji you want, copy it (Ctrl + C), go back to your program, and paste it (Ctrl + V). This is slower than using the picker, but it works as a backup.

If a program has its own emoji menu — Slack and Discord both do — you can use that instead of the system picker. Slack has a smiley icon in the message box that opens Slack's emoji picker. Discord has a similar icon. Using the program's own picker is often faster if you are already in that app.

Keyboard shortcuts and tips

On Windows, you can use either Windows key + . or Windows key + ; to open the emoji picker — they do the same thing. Use whichever is easier to remember. The shortcut works in almost every text field, including password boxes and search bars.

On Mac, Control + Command + Space is the standard shortcut. If that does not work, check System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources and make sure "Show Input menu in menu bar" is turned on. You can also access the emoji viewer from the Edit menu in most Mac applications.

Both Windows and Mac remember your recently used emojis, so the ones you type often appear at the top of the picker. This makes repeated emojis faster — if you always use the same laughing face or heart, it will be the first thing you see when you open the picker.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my emoji picker not opening?

On Windows, make sure you are running Windows 10 or later — the emoji picker does not exist on Windows 7 or earlier. Try the shortcut again: Windows key + . (period). If it still does not work, restart your computer. On Mac, check that Control + Command + Space is not mapped to something else in System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.

Can I type emojis without using the picker?

Yes, but it is slower. You can copy an emoji from a website and paste it into any text field. You can also use the Windows Character Map (search for it in the Start menu) to find and copy emojis, though the emoji picker is faster. Some programs like Discord and Slack have their own emoji menus you can use instead.

Do emojis look the same on every device?

No. The emoji you type on your PC may look slightly different on a phone or Mac because each system has its own emoji designs. The meaning stays the same, but the appearance varies. When you send an emoji to someone else, they see their device's version of that emoji, not yours.

Can I make custom emojis?

The system emoji picker only shows official emojis. However, some programs like Discord and Slack let you upload custom emojis that only work within that app. To use a custom emoji in Discord, your server admin uploads it, and then you can type it using the emoji picker in Discord.

What if an emoji does not exist?

If you search for an emoji and nothing appears, it may not exist yet. New emojis are added each year by the Unicode Consortium, so older devices and systems may not have the newest ones. Try searching for a similar emoji instead, or check emojipedia.org to see if the emoji you want exists and what it is officially called.