Copy ★ or ☆ from the panel above when you need a star as text rather than a picture. In Microsoft Word, type 2605 and press Alt-X. On a Mac, open Character Viewer with Fn-E or Globe-E. In Google Docs or Slides, choose Insert, Symbols, and Special characters.
Each character above is a text symbol with its own code point, so it takes your font, size, and text color. A star from an emoji keyboard is usually a different character drawn in color at a fixed size.
Identify the star symbol you need
Unicode names ★ BLACK STAR at U+2605 and ☆ WHITE STAR at U+2606, both in the Miscellaneous Symbols block, U+2600 to U+26FF. Black means the shape is filled and white means it is outlined, so neither word describes the rendered color.
The other three come from the Dingbats block, U+2700 to U+27BF. ✦ is BLACK FOUR POINTED STAR at U+2726, ✧ is WHITE FOUR POINTED STAR at U+2727, and ✪ is CIRCLED WHITE STAR at U+272A.
Tell a star apart from an asterisk
The keyboard asterisk is *, named ASTERISK at U+002A. It is a Basic Latin punctuation character, not U+2605, and it keeps its wildcard or footnote meaning in search indexes and source code. Unicode defines further star-like asterisks, including ∗ ASTERISK OPERATOR at U+2217, ✱ HEAVY ASTERISK at U+2731, and ✳ EIGHT SPOKED ASTERISK at U+2733. When you want the punctuation mark, the asterisk guide covers it.
Keep text stars separate from emoji stars
⭐ is WHITE MEDIUM STAR at U+2B50. Unicode emoji property data gives it both the Emoji and Emoji_Presentation properties, which is why systems draw it in color by default, and ✨ SPARKLES at U+2728 carries the same pair. The five characters above appear in none of the property lists in that data file, so they stay plain text. The same split applies to the characters in the heart symbol guide.
Type a star symbol in Microsoft Word
Microsoft documents a Unicode conversion in Word. Type the character code, press Alt, then press X. Use 2605 for ★, 2606 for ☆, 2726 for ✦, 2727 for ✧, and 272A for ✪. If Alt-X converts the wrong code, select the correct code first or precede it with U+. Microsoft states that some Office programs, PowerPoint among them, cannot convert Unicode codes to characters.
Copy a star with Windows Character Map
Microsoft describes Character Map as a program built into Windows that shows the characters available in a selected font. Type character in the taskbar search box, open Character Map, choose a font, click the star, use Select and Copy, then paste it. Do not substitute an unverified legacy Alt number, because the Alt and keypad method Microsoft documents covers ASCII entry, while its Unicode routes are Alt-X and Character Map.
Insert a star symbol on a Mac
Apple documents Character Viewer for entering emoji, symbols, accented letters, and characters from other languages. Press Fn-E or Globe-E, or choose Edit and then Emoji & Symbols, enter star in the search field, and click the character. Which key opens it depends on the keyboard and Keyboard settings.
The Unicode Consortium documents a second route. Add the Unicode Hex Input keyboard under Input Sources, switch to it, hold Option, and type 2605. The same method inserts the characters in the arrow symbols guide, and it does not handle code points longer than four hexadecimal digits.
Insert a star in Google Docs or Slides
Choose Insert, Symbols, and Special characters, then find the star by picking a category, entering its Unicode value, or drawing it in the box on the right, and click the result. Google states that special characters cannot be inserted directly in Sheets, so paste one into the cell instead.
Use star symbols in HTML
A UTF-8 page can contain ★ and ☆ directly. WHATWG also defines named references for the two five pointed stars. ★ and ★ both resolve to U+2605, while ☆ resolves to U+2606, so the similar names are easy to swap by mistake.
The Dingbats stars have no named references. Write ✦ for ✦, ✧ for ✧, and ✪ for ✪, or the decimal forms ✦, ✧, and ✪. Character references are source syntax, so a plain-text editor shows them literally.
Fix a missing or wrong star
- 1.Check the code point when the shape is wrong, because U+2605, U+2606, U+2726, U+2727, and U+272A are five separate characters.
- 2.Switch to a font that contains the character when the star appears as an empty box.
- 3.Select only the four digit code, or precede it with
U+, when Word pulls adjacent text into an Alt-X conversion. - 4.Use Character Map, Character Viewer, or Google Docs special characters in apps that do not convert Unicode codes.
- 5.Replace ⭐ at U+2B50 with ★ at U+2605 when a color emoji appears where plain text was intended.
- 6.Confirm the stored character in a plain-text editor before it reaches a data field or source code, the same check that matters for a check mark.
Common questions
Is ★ the same character as the ⭐ emoji?
No. ★ is BLACK STAR at U+2605 and ⭐ is WHITE MEDIUM STAR at U+2B50. Unicode emoji property data lists emoji properties for U+2B50 and none for U+2605.
Does BLACK STAR mean the star is black?
No. In Unicode character names, black means filled and white means outlined. The color comes from the text color in your app.
Which HTML named reference produces a filled star?
★ and ★ both produce ★ at U+2605. ☆ produces the outlined ☆ at U+2606.
Official references
- Unicode Miscellaneous Symbols chart
- Unicode Dingbats chart
- Unicode NamesList
- Unicode emoji character properties
- Microsoft guide to ASCII and Unicode characters
- Unicode Consortium font and keyboard FAQ
- Apple guide to emoji and symbols on Mac
- Google Docs special-character guide
- HTML named character references
- HTML character-reference syntax
