The magic of Alt Codes

Ever thought how company names in the ever-boring license agreements and 'Terms and Conditions' that show up while you install your favorite game come with a '©' copyright symbol?

Well, that's the magic of alt codes. Ever heard of it ?

Simply put, alt codes are codes that you enter in the numpad of your keyboard while holding down the alt key to print certain characters. The code of the © symbol is 0169. So to get the symbol, you have to hold down the alt key, and enter '0169' in your numpad.

NOTE: Alt codes only work on your numpad. The numpad refers to the numbers arranged in a 3 X 3 grid on the right side of a standard keyboard.

There are thousands of printable characters using alt codes, including all the alphabets, copyright symbol, stuff like ☺, ╬, ♣, ¼ and much more. Memorizing a few useful alt codes will allow you to create patterns and symbols to customize plain .txt files to an extent you've never known before.

A few useful alt codes are shown below. If you want a complete list, go to http://www.alt-codes.net/ .

Symbol	Code
☺	1
½	171
¼	172
Æ	146
Ä	142
è	138
Σ	228
√	251
∞	236
™	0153
®	0174
•	7
©	0169