Pipe Symbol | on Keyboard (Windows/Mac) + in Word/Excel

The pipe symbol (also called the vertical bar) looks like this: |.

People use it for things like:

Programming (pipes, OR logic, “send output to something else”)
Spreadsheets (joining text, patterns, formulas)
Search filters (example: cats | dogs meaning “either one” in some tools)

This guide shows the fastest ways to type | on Windows and Mac, how to insert it in Word/Excel/Google Docs, and how to fix problems like “my keyboard keeps typing |”.

Table of Contents

1-Minute Answer (fastest ways)

Fastest way to get this symbol is to copy/paste. you can use the copy tool below:

Pipe Symbol (Vertical Bar) — Click to Copy

Click any button to copy the exact character (pipe vs slashes vs look-alikes).

Ready.

Main symbol

This is the pipe |