Key combination alpha: How to generate the special character

If you often work on Word documents, you probably know it: You often have to resort to special characters that cannot be found directly on the keyboard. The Greek letter alpha is one of the less-used symbols, but you can quickly create it using a key combination.

How to generate the alpha key combination

On both a Windows PC and a Mac, you generate the alpha character using a so-called alt code. You enter it in the number field while holding down the Alt key.

• Alpha character on Windows: To generate an alpha as an uppercase letter, use the key combination "Alt + [0913]". For the alpha character as a lowercase letter, type the alt code "Alt + [0945]" into the keyboard.
• Alpha character on Mac: Here, the key combination for an alpha as an uppercase letter is "ALT/Options key + [0391]". To generate a lowercase alpha, use the combination "ALT/Options key + [03B1]" on Mac.

How to generate the alpha character without a key combination

It is also possible to insert a special character without a key combination. If you want to insert an alpha in Word, for example, you can do this in the menu item "Insert" under "Special characters". Furthermore, a very simple trick is to copy the alpha character on any web page, which you can paste again at any position.