How to Use Emojis on Mac

The Universal macOS Shortcut

Apple provides built-in emoji support across all versions of macOS (including Sonoma, Ventura, Monterey, and earlier releases). Whether you are writing an email in Apple Mail or chatting in Slack, you can trigger the Character Viewer in a fraction of a second.

Using the Globe Key on Modern Macs

If you use a modern MacBook (M1, M2, M3 Apple Silicon) or an Apple Magic Keyboard, you will notice a Globe 🌐 icon printed on the Function (fn) key in the bottom-left corner.

By default, pressing this Globe key once instantly brings up the emoji palette without needing a 3-key chord! You can customize this behavior under System Settings > Keyboard > "Press 🌐 key to" > "Show Emoji & Symbols".

Compact vs. Expanded Character Viewer

When you trigger the shortcut, macOS displays a compact floating popover right above your cursor. You can immediately search for emojis by typing words like "heart", "sparkles", or "coffee".

If you need advanced mathematical symbols, arrows, or foreign script characters, click the tiny icon in the upper-right corner of the popover. This expands into the full Character Viewer window where you can save favorites and view complete Unicode codepoint specifications.

• Compact Popover: Best for quick messaging and casual writing.
• Expanded Palette: Best for developers, designers, and scholars needing specific Unicode glyphs.
• Favorites List: Drag your most frequent symbols into the Favorites sidebar for instant access.

Menu Bar Access

If you ever forget the keyboard shortcut, every macOS app features an Edit menu in the top menu bar. Simply click Edit > Emoji & Symbols at the bottom of the dropdown menu to open the palette.