How to make emojis from a keyboard on your laptop or computer
Most of us know how to make emojis on our phones, but did you know there is an emoji keyboard on your laptop as well? Today we show you several easy ways to do emojis on a computer – whether Windows or Mac – and where to find the emojis in your mail.com email.
Plus, if you haven’t yet discovered keyboard emojis on your smartphone, we also point you in the right direction!It's not hard to find emojis on your laptop - if you know where to look!
The best way to get emojis on a computer is to open up a virtual keyboard or window where you can select from a wide range of emojis, emoticons and other symbols. Keep reading to find out how to make emojis on a keyboard based on the type of computer you use.
If you would like to make emojis on your computer, one of the easiest ways is to open the emojis panel in the program you are using to write your text. In Microsoft apps such as Notepad or Word, or in the Edge web browser, press Windows key + ; (semicolon) or Windows key + . (period) to open a window that will allow you to insert an emoji, kaomoji, or special character. For emojis, click on the smiley face and then on the category – People, Food and plants, etc. Then start typing the name of the emoji you are looking for (e.g. type “burger” and the hamburger emoji will appear) or scroll down the panel. Once you have found the emoji you are looking for, click and it will be inserted into your text.
Viola - keyboard emojis for your computer in just a few clicks: You can open this emoji panel in any Windows program
If you are using a Mac, you can follow a similar process to insert emojis. Simply click on any text field, then press Command + Control + on your keyboard. A panel will open, and you can choose your emoji from the list. A simple click will add the emoji to your text.
Pro tip: How to do emojis on a PC without a Windows key
If you don’t have a Windows key or would prefer a different method, you can also use something called the “Touch Keyboard” to type emojis on your PC. This keyboard is similar to the virtual keyboard that you may know from your smartphone or tablet computer, but it can also be used to type or add emojis, GIFs, emoticons and more on a regular Windows laptop. Keep reading to find out how this works in Windows 10 and 11!
Look at the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen and check for a keyboard icon. Clicking it will open your Touch Keyboard. If you don’t see a keyboard icon, right-click on a blank space on the taskbar to open up a menu, then select Toolbars > Touch Keyboard. Once you have opened the Touch Keyboard, choose the smiley key in the lower left corner of the keyboard. Now you can click on emojis to type them into your text. You’ll find this keyboard in your Windows taskbar
If you are running Windows 11 at the moment and wondering how you can open the emoji keyboard, you’ll be pleased to know there isn’t only one but two simple ways for you to access emojis:
Keyboard Shortcut: Clicking on the Windows key + semicolon (;) or Windows key + period (.) gives you direct access to your emoji keyboard. All you have to do now is tap on the smiley face icon and choose whatever emoji you’d like to use.
Touch Keyboard: You can access the touch keyboard on Windows 11 in the same way as on Windows 10. Right-click on your Taskbar and choose Taskbar Settings. Once you enable Touch Keyboard in the settings, press on the keyboard icon that will show up in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Now, all that’s left to do is to click on the emoji icon to the upper left of the keyboard to access a wide range of emojis, GIFs, etc. and select whichever one your heart desires!
When you are writing an email in your mail.com account, simply click the smiley symbol on the top navigation bar of the Compose E-mail window. This will open a panel with a wide range of emojis for you to choose from:
You can insert a wide selection of emojis in your mail.com emails
You don’t necessarily need an emoji panel to insert emotion markers into your text. Before there were emojis, people typed a combination of characters to symbolize a facial expression, the most famous of which is :-). If you type in these emoticon keyboard shortcuts, many apps and platforms automatically switch your typed emoticons into the emojis they represent. And if not, they will add a certain old-school charm to your communications. Here are twelve emojis to type:
Happy face
:-) colon + minus sign + close parentheses
Excited face (big smile)
:-D colon + minus sign + capital D
Sad face
:-( colon + minus sign + open parentheses
Crying face
:’-( colon + apostrophe + minus sign + open parentheses
Winking face
;-) semicolon + minus sign + close parentheses
Disappointed face
:-/ colon + minus sign + backslash
Shocked face
:-O colon + minus sign + capital O
Angry face
X-( capital X + minus sign + open parentheses
Mischievous face (sticking tongue out)
:-P or :P colon + minus sign + capital P
Cool (face with sunglasses)
8) eight + close parentheses
Angel (face with halo)
O:-) or O:) capital O + colon + minus sign + close parantheses
If you struggle to access emojis on your phone, no worries! It’s very straightforward:
Where are emojis on an iPhone keyboard?Once you tap on any text box on an iPhone, you will see a smiley face icon at the bottom-left corner of your keyboard. You can directly access a wide range of emojis by clicking on it. If there is a specific emoji that you are looking for, you can go ahead and type in the search bar “happy”, “nurse” or anything you want and suggestions related to your search will show up immediately.
How do I get emojis on my Android keyboard?Depending on which phone model you are using, the steps to find emojis on your keyboard might differ. On a Google Keyboard, you can access emojis directly by clicking on the smiley face icon at the bottom-right corner. On a Samsung keyboard, you can also easily access emojis by pressing the smiley face icon at the top-left corner.
We hope this article will help you fully express yourself when writing on your computer! :-D We look forward to your feedback below.
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This article first appeared on June 12, 2022, and was updated on August 29, 2024.
