How to type Exponent Symbol on Keyboard (Shortcuts)

In today’s article, you’ll learn how to use some keyboard shortcuts to type any Superscript/Exponent Symbols anywhere like Word/Excel/Google Docs using Windows or Mac.

The actionable steps below will show you everything you need to know.

Table of Contents

Exponent Symbol Quick Guide

To type the Exponent/Superscript 2 Symbol on Mac, press Option + 00B2 shortcut on your keyboard. For Windows users, simply press down the Alt key and type 0178 using the numeric keypad, then let go of the Alt key.

This is basically the idea to type exponents. Thus, if you want to easily type any exponent on your keyboard, first identify Alt Code of that particular exponent, and whilst pressing the Alt key, type the Alt code using the numeric keypad.

The table below shows all the Alt Codes for superscript 0 to 10. Use below Alt Code shortcuts to type any Exponent on your keyboard.

Description	Exponent	Alt Code Shortcut
Superscript 0	⁰	2070, Alt+X
Superscript 1	¹	Alt+0185
Superscript 2	²	Alt+0178
Superscript 3	³	Alt+0179
Superscript 4	⁴	2074, Alt+X
Superscript 5	⁵	2075, Alt+X
Superscript 6	⁶	2076, Alt+X
Superscript 7	⁷	2077, Alt+X
Superscript 8	⁸	2078, Alt+X
Superscript 9	⁹	2079, Alt+X
Superscript n	ⁿ	207F, Alt+X

Note: The Alt+X Code shortcuts work only in Microsoft Word. And to use these shortcuts, simply type the code, select it and press Alt+X on your keyboard. The code will be converted to the respective superscript.

The quick guide above provides some useful shortcuts and alt codes on how to type the Exponent symbol on both Windows and Mac.

For more details, below are some other methods you can also use to insert this symbol into your work such as Word or Excel document.

Note: I the following methods, I will show you how to type the superscript 2 as an example. However, the same methods can be used to type or insert the other exponents.

How to type Exponent Symbol [text] on Keyboard

Microsoft Office provides several methods for typing Exponent Symbol or inserting symbols that do not have dedicated keys on the keyboard.

In this section, I will make available for you five different methods you can use to type or insert this and any other symbol on your PC, like in MS Office (ie. Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) for both Mac and Windows users.

Without any further ado, let’s get started.

Using the Exponent Symbol Alt Code (Windows Only)

The Exponent 2 (²) Symbol alt code is 0178.

Even though these Symbols has no dedicated keys on the keyboard, you can still type them on the keyboard with the Alt code method. To do this, press and hold the Alt key whilst pressing the Exponent Alt code (i.e. 0178 for ²) using the numeric keypad.

Use the Superscript shortcut table above to type any exponent on your keyboard.

2 Squared symbol alt code on the Windows keyboard

This method works on Windows only. And your keyboard must also have a numeric keypad.

Below is a break-down of the steps you can take to type the Exponent Sign on your Windows PC:

Place your insertion pointer where you need the Exponent Symbol text.
Press and hold one of the Alt keys on your keyboard.
Whilst holding on to the Alt key, press the Exponent Symbol’s alt code (0178 for ²). You must use the numeric keypad to type the alt code. If you are using a laptop without the numeric keypad, this method may not work for you. On some laptops, there’s a hidden numeric keypad which you can enable by pressing Fn+NmLk on the keyboard.
Release the Alt key after typing the Alt code to insert the Symbol into your document.

This is how you may type this symbol in Word using the Alt Code method.

Using the Exponent Symbol Shortcut (Mac and Windows)

For Mac users, the keyboard shortcut for the Superscript 2 Symbol is Option + 00B2. For Windows users, use the Alt Code method by pressing down the [Alt] key whilst typing the symbol alt code which is stated in the table above.

You must use the numeric keypad to type the alt code. Also, ensure that your Num Lock key is turned on.

Below is a breakdown of the Exponent Symbol shortcut for Mac:

First of all, place the insertion pointer where you need to type the symbol.
Now, press Option + 00B2 simultaneously on your keyboard to insert the symbol.

2 squared symbol shortcuts for Windows and Mac

Below is a breakdown of the Exponent Symbol shortcut for Windows:

Place the insertion pointer at the desired location.
Press and hold down the Alt key
While pressing down the Alt key, type 0178 using the numeric keypad to insert the symbol.

These are the steps you may use to type this sign in Word or Excel.

Copy and Paste Superscripts

Another easy way to get the Exponent Symbols on any PC is to use my favorite method: copy and paste.

All you have to do is to copy the symbol from somewhere like a web page, or the character map for windows users, and head over to where you need the symbol (say in Word or Excel), then hit Ctrl+V to paste.

Below is the symbol for you to copy and paste into your Word document. Just select it and press Ctrl+C to copy, switch over to Microsoft Word, place your insertion pointer at the desired location, and press Ctrl+V to paste.

⁰ ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹

Alternatively, just use the copy button at the beginning of this post.

For windows users, obey the following instructions to copy and paste the Exponent Symbol using the character map dialog box.

Click on the Start button and search for Character Map. The Character Map app will appear in the search results, click to open.

The Character Map dialog will appear. Click to check the Advanced view check-box to expand the dialog box for more advanced options.

Check the Advanced view checkbox to expand the dialog

On the advanced view, type Superscript in the Search box.
You should now see the Exponent Symbols on the character map dialog. Now double click it to select. Alternatively, click on the Select button.

After you select the symbol by double-clicking it, it should appear in the Character to copy: field, then click on the Copy button to copy the symbol.
Switch to your Microsoft Word or Excel document, place the insertion pointer at the desired location, and press Ctrl+V to paste.

This is how you may use the Character Map dialog to copy and paste any symbol on Windows PC.

Using insert Symbol dialog box (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

The insert symbol dialog box is a library of symbols from where you can insert any symbol into your Word document with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Obey the following steps to insert this symbol (²) in Word or Excel using the insert symbol dialog box.

Open your Word document.
Click to place the insertion pointer where you wish to insert the symbol.
Go to the Insert tab.

In the Symbols category, click on the Symbol drop-down and select the More Symbols button.

The Symbol dialog box will appear.

To easily locate the Exponent symbol, type 00B2 in the character code field at the bottom area of the window. After typing this character code, the Exponent symbol will appear selected.
Now click on the Insert button to insert the symbol into your document.

Inserting the 2 squared Symbol in Word or Excel

Close the dialog.

The symbol will then be inserted exactly where you placed the insertion pointer.

These are the steps you may use to insert this Symbol in Word.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are several different methods you can use to type the Exponent Sign in Microsoft Word.

Using the shortcuts for both Windows and Mac makes the fastest option for this task. Shortcuts are always fast.

Thank you very much for reading this blog.

If you have anything thing to say or questions to ask concerning the Exponent Symbol, please drop it in the comments.