µ | Micro or Mu Symbol (Meaning, How To Type on Keyboard, & More)
The micro or mu sign is the 12th letter of the Greek alphabet used as a special symbol in many academic fields including Mathematics, Measurement, Physics and engineering, Computer science, Chemistry, Biology, and Pharmacology.
Copy Micro Symbol Text
The easiest way to get the Micro Symbol text is to copy and paste it wherever you need it.
Save yourself some time with the copy button above.
Once it is copied, switch over to where you need it and press Ctrl and V on your keyboard to paste it there.
Micro Symbol Information Table
The table below contains some useful information about the Micro Symbol.
SYMBOL | µ |
NAME | Micro |
CATEGORY | Mathematical Symbol |
ALT CODE | 0181 |
SHORTCUT (WINDOWS) | Alt + 0181 |
SHORTCUT (MAC) | Option + M |
SHORTCUT (MS WORD) | 00B5, Alt X |
UNICODE | U+000B5 |
HTML | µ |
HTML ENTITY | µ |
CSS CODE | \00B5 |
HEX CODE | µ |
As much as possible, the above table has done a great deal in presenting some useful information about the Mu Symbol including web codes and keyboard shortcuts for both Windows and Mac.
The remaining section will explain this table further.
How to Get the Mu Sign
Even though there’s no dedicated key for the Micro symbol on the keyboard, you can still get this symbol using the keyboard for both Windows and Mac.
If you are also using any of the Microsoft Office apps, there are quick navigations you can perform to insert this symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Google Docs.
Without any further ado, below are the various ways to get this symbol whether with your keyboard or using the MS Office navigation.
Symbol for Micro Alt Code (Keyboard Shortcut)
The Micro Symbol Alt Code shortcut is Alt + 0181 for Windows.
You can simply use the Alt code method to type this symbol by pressing and holding the Alt key while typing the Symbol Alt code (0181) using the numeric keypad on the right.
Below are detailed steps you may use to type the Symbol for Micro with your keyboard.
- Open your text editor where you need to type the sign for Micro.
- Place your cursor at the desired location.
- Press and hold down the Alt key.
- Whilst holding down the Alt key, press the Micron Alt Code (0181).
- After typing the code, release the Alt key.
As soon as you release the Alt key, the symbol (µ) will immediately appear exactly where you place the cursor.
NOTE: Using this Alt Code method, you can type this symbol anywhere including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, etc.
Mu Symbol on Mac (Keyboard Shortcut)
Mac keyboard shortcut for the Micro Symbol on Mac is Option + M.
If are using the Mac OS, you can easily do the Symbol for Micro on your keyboard using this shortcut. To do this,
- Click to place your cursor where you need the Micro sign.
- Press and hold the Option key.
- Whilst holding down this key, press once on the M key.
- Release the Option key.
As soon as you hit the M key whilst holding to the Option key, the symbol (µ) will be inserted exactly where you placed your cursor.
Micron Symbol in Word/Excel/PowerPoint
If you are using any of the Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel or PowerPoint, there’s a very simple mouse navigation you can use to quickly insert the Micro sign.
NOTE: You can still use the shortcuts above to type this symbol in Word or Excel or PowerPoint. This is just another method.
Below steps will show you how to insert the Symbol for Micro in Word or Excel or PowerPoint.
- Open your Word or Excel or PowerPoint.
- Go to the Insert Tab.
![MS Word Insert Tab](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MS-Word-Insert-Tab.png?resize=427%2C157)
- At the far right section, you’ll see the Symbols group. Select Symbol > More Symbols.
![MS Word Insert More Symbols](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/More-Symbols-in-MS-Word.png?resize=353%2C269)
The Symbol window will appear as below.
![Microsoft Word Symbol Window](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MS-Word-Symbol-window.png?resize=561%2C477)
- From this window, you can find the symbol (µ). To find it easily, type 00B5 in the Character code: box. As soon as you type the character code, the Micro sign will appear selected.
![Inserting Micro symbol in Word](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Inserting-Micro-Symbol-in-Word.png?resize=561%2C477)
- Click the Insert button to insert it into your Word document.
- Close the Symbol dialog.
These are the steps you may use to insert the this (µ) and any other symbol in Microsoft Word or other Office apps in both Windows and Mac OS.
Micro Symbol in Google Docs
Google Docs is yet another text editor that people struggle with when it comes to typing or inserting the Sign for Micron.
Meanwhile, Google Docs has the easiest way to insert symbols that are not found on the keyboard. Without further ado, let’s see how this is done.
To get the Micro Symbol in Google Docs:
- Open Google Docs and place your cursor where you need the symbol.
- Go to Insert > Special Characters.
![Go to Insert > Special Characters in Google Docs](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Google-Docs-Insert-Special-Characters.png?resize=642%2C441)
The Insert special characters window will appear with a search bar and a drawing pad.
- Using the Search bar, search for Micro Sign. Then double click on the Symbol for Micro in the search results to insert it into Google Docs.
![Inserting Micro or Mu symbol in Google Docs](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Inserting-Micro-or-Mu-Symbol-in-Google-Docs.png?resize=597%2C417)
- You can also use the drawing pad below the search bar to draw the Symbol for Micro.
These are the steps you may use to insert this and any other symbol in Google Docs.
Sign for Micro on the Character Map (Windows)
The Character Map in Windows is a tool that is used to view characters in any installed font, to check what keyboard input (or Alt code) is used to type those characters, and to copy characters to the clipboard instead of typing them.
This section will show you how to use the Character Map tools to copy and paste the Micron Symbol with ease.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
- Go to the Windows Start menu and search for Character Map.
![Searching for the Character Map in Windows](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Searching-for-Windows-Character-Map.png?resize=349%2C491)
- The Character Map app will appear in the search result. Click on it to Launch.
- When it is opened, look at the bottom left of the window and click to expand the Advance view options.
![Character Map Advanced View](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Character-Map-Advanced-Window.png?resize=476%2C413)
- To easily locate the Micro Symbol on the Character Map, in the Advanced view options, type Micro Sign in the search for box and hit enter.
![](https://i0.wp.com/symbolhippo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Inserting-Micro-Symbol-in-Word-1.png?resize=561%2C477)
The symbol will appear for you to copy.
- To copy this symbol, simply double click on it and it’ll be selected in the Characters to copy box. Then click on the Copy button to finally copy it to your clipboard.
- Place your cursor wherever you need the symbol and press Ctrl and V to paste the copied symbol.
And there you have it.
These are the steps you may also use to copy and paste the Micro symbol or any other symbol on your Windows PC.
Conclusion
As much as possible, we’ve tried to cover a lot of information about the Micro Symbol.
Most people find it difficult to type or insert this symbol. So, we’ve broken down the several methods and steps needed to be able to type or insert this symbol on both Windows and Mac.
For further questions or suggestions about the sign for Micron, please let us know in the comment section below.
Either than that, thanks so much for reading this blog and have a wonderful day.