It can be challenging to type the division symbol in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or on your Mac, since it’s not a standard keyboard character; What’s more is that due to my major in mathematics, I need to use a lot of fractions and division symbols.

Luckily, there are quite a few ways to type the division symbol (÷); the difference mainly lies within the OS you’re using, that is, Mac or Windows, but even within certain software, there are ways to insert it.

In this article, I’ll go over every single one of them. Starting off with the alt code method:

How to Type a Division Symbol Using Alt Code?

You can type the division symbol using Alt code, which is commonly used to type special symbols.

1. Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard.
2. While holding down Alt, type 0, followed by 2, then 4, and finally 7, that’s 0247 on the number pad of your keyboard in that order, WITHOUT releasing the Alt key.
3. Now, release the Alt key.

How to Type a Division Symbol on Mac

All you need to do to type a division symbol on a Mac is press [Option] + [ / ] on your keyboard.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Place the insertion pointer where you need to insert the (÷) symbol.
2. Now press [Option] then, without releasing the Option key, press the forward-slash [ / ] and release it.
3. Now release the Option key

How to Type the Division Symbol in Word/Excel

Other than by typing Alt + 0247 in Word/Excel, you can insert the ÷ symbol in Word/Excel by following these steps:

1. Open the Excel, Word, or PowerPoint document.
2. Place your pointer in the location you want to place the ÷ symbol in.
3. Locate the Insert ribbon, next to your Home ribbon, and expand it.
4. Now look at the right side of the Insert ribbon to find Symbol, then click on it.
5. The Division sign (÷), should be the first one in the third row of that dropdown.
6. In case, you couldn’t locate it, click on More Symbols…
7. Once the popup window opens, scroll through the different symbols to locate the Division symbol ÷.
8. PRO TIP: Select the Subset Latin-1 Supplement,and type 00F7 in the Character code box, from Unicode (hex) to directly get to the division symbol.
9. Now, click on Insert.

How to Type the Division Symbol Using the Autocorrect Method

You’ve probably already seen the AutoCorrect feature in Microsoft Word that automatically replaces symbols or text phrases with their intended counterparts.

For instance, when you type “divsion”, it is immediately replaced with “division”.

But the same goes for custom AutoCorrect settings.

1. So, while in the More Symbols… window in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, follow the steps to find the ÷ symbol, and copy it.
2. Next, locate the grey AutoCorrect… button at the bottom left corner and click on it.
3. In the first tab named AutoCorrect, tick the box labeled Replace text as you type.
4. Now select Formatted text.
5. Put the cursor in Replace: and type something like DIVIDEBY.
6. Next, paste the ÷ symbol, you’ve copied in step 1.
7. Finally, click on Add, then OK.

The next time you type DIVIDEBY, it will automatically be replaced by the division symbol (÷)

Same goes for the different types of auto-replace features within documents.

Inserting the Division Symbol Using the Equation Method

In order to insert the division symbol in Word using the equation method, do the following:

1. Either go to Insert then on the right side, click on Equation, to get the equation window, or type Alt+=.
2. Click inside the Equation box and type \div, then space.
3. A division symbol (÷) should now appear in your equation box.

You should note that you can move the equation box around and even copy and paste it into different locations.

You Can Also Copy and Paste the Division Symbol

It is easy to insert symbols into your document by copying and pasting them from other documents or web pages.

If you want to copy and paste a symbol that you have already inserted into your document, simply:

1. Highlight it, then hit Ctrl + C or Command + C for Mac
2. Position your cursor where you want the symbol to appear again and use Ctrl + V or Command + V if you’re using Mac.
3. Here is the division symbol for your convenience if you want to copy and paste it into your own document ÷