How to Insert Bullet Points in Excel Using Shortcuts?

Are you looking for a quick way to insert bullet points in Microsoft Excel? Bullet points are a great way to create lists and highlight important information in your Excel spreadsheets. They can make your data more readable, organized, and visually appealing.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover the keyboard shortcuts for adding bullet points in Excel on both Windows and Mac operating systems. We’ll also go over a few alternative methods and provide some tips and tricks for working with bullet points effectively.

Bullet Point Shortcuts in Excel for Windows

On a Windows PC, there are two main shortcuts for inserting bullet points in Excel, depending on the type of bullet you want:

Solid Round Bullet Point

To insert a solid round bullet point (●):

1. Hold down the Alt key
2. Press 7 on the numeric keypad (not the number row above the letters)

• Alternatively, you can type Alt + 0149

This shortcut inserts the ASCII character 149, which is a solid round bullet point.

Hollow Round Bullet Point

To insert a hollow round bullet point (○):

1. Hold down the Alt key
2. Press 9 on the numeric keypad

This shortcut inserts ASCII character 9, which is a hollow round bullet point, also known as a white circle.

Important Note: These shortcuts require using the numeric keypad, usually located on the right side of a full-size keyboard. On a laptop without a dedicated numeric keypad, you may need to enable Num Lock (often by pressing Fn + Num Lock) to use these shortcuts. If your laptop doesn’t have a Num Lock key, you can try using the On-Screen Keyboard (search for it in the Start menu) and clicking the virtual Num Lock button there.

Inserting Bullet Points in Excel for Mac

Unfortunately, Excel for Mac does not have dedicated keyboard shortcuts for bullet points like the Windows version. However, there are still a couple convenient methods to insert them:

Using the Symbol Menu

1. Click Insert in the top menu bar
2. Select Symbol to open the Character Viewer
3. Navigate to the Bullets/Stars category

• Alternatively, type “bullet” in the search bar to find relevant symbols quickly

1. Double-click the desired bullet point symbol to insert it
2. Repeat steps 1-4 to insert additional bullets, or copy and paste the bullet to other cells

Circle Symbol Shortcut

While not an actual bullet point, the filled circle symbol (•) can work well as a bullet point substitute in many cases. To quickly insert it:

• Press Option + 8 on the keyboard

This inserts Unicode character U+2022, commonly used as a bullet point in many applications.

If you find yourself using a particular bullet point or symbol frequently, you can add it to your Favorites in the Character Viewer for even quicker access:

1. Select the symbol in the Character Viewer
2. Click the “Add to Favorites” button (star icon) at the top
3. Next time, you can find the symbol under the Favorites category

As an alternative to the Character Viewer, you can also use the built-in Emoji & Symbols keyboard:

1. Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources
2. Check the box next to “Emoji & Symbols“
3. Now you can press Control + Command + Space to open the Emoji & Symbols keyboard, which includes various bullet point options under the Punctuation category

Tips for Using Bullet Points in Excel

Aligning and Indenting

After inserting a bullet point, you can align and indent it with the cell content for better readability:

1. Select the cell(s) with the bullet point
2. Click the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent button in the Alignment group of the Home tab (or use Alt + H + 6 / Alt + H + 5 shortcuts)
3. Adjust cell padding as needed to fine-tune the spacing (in the Format Cells dialog, Alt + H + O + E)

Proper alignment and indentation can make your bullet point lists look more polished and professional.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Other Symbols

In addition to bullets, you can insert various symbols and special characters using keyboard shortcuts in Excel. Here are a few useful ones:

See Excel’s documentation for a more complete list of Alt key codes for various symbols. Using these shortcuts can save you time when you need to insert special characters frequently in your spreadsheets.

Custom Bullets with the Symbol Dialog

For more bullet point options, you can use the Symbol dialog to choose from a variety of characters:

1. Click Insert > Symbol > More Symbols
2. Select a font and subset (e.g., Wingdings for graphical bullets)
3. Click the desired bullet symbol
4. Click Insert, then Close

This allows you to use custom bullets that match your personal style or company branding.

You can also save frequently used symbols in the AutoCorrect options for even faster insertion:

1. Open the Symbol dialog as above
2. Select the symbol, then click AutoCorrect
3. Enter a mnemonic (e.g., “bbullet”) in the “Replace” field
4. Click Add, then OK
5. Now you can type the mnemonic and press Space to quickly insert the bullet

Using AutoCorrect can greatly speed up your workflow if you find yourself inserting the same custom bullets over and over.

Bullet Points in Header Rows

To use bullet points in header rows that repeat on each printed page:

1. Insert the desired bullet point in a regular row first
2. Select the cell with the bullet and copy it (Ctrl + C)
3. Select the header row (Rows 1-3 by default)
4. Right-click and choose Paste Special > Formats

This will apply the bullet formatting to the header without overwriting the cell contents. It’s a handy trick when you want to include bullet points in your headers for emphasis or branding purposes.

Final Thoughts

Inserting bullet points in Excel is a breeze once you know the right shortcuts and techniques. For Windows users, the Alt + 7 and Alt + 9 shortcuts on the numeric keypad are the fastest way to add solid and hollow round bullets. Mac users can opt for the Symbol menu or the Option + 8 circle symbol trick.

Beyond basic insertion, aligning, indenting, and using the Symbol dialog for custom bullets can further enhance your lists. With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to quickly format and organize data in Excel using bullet points.

Bullet points are just one of the many formatting tools Excel provides to make your spreadsheets more effective and impactful. By combining bullet points with other features like cell styles, conditional formatting, and data validation, you can create truly professional-looking and easy-to-understand spreadsheets.

FAQs

Vaishvi Desai

Vaishvi Desai is the founder of Excelsamurai and a passionate Excel enthusiast with years of experience in data analysis and spreadsheet management. With a mission to help others harness the power of Excel, Vaishvi shares her expertise through concise, easy-to-follow tutorials on shortcuts, formulas, Pivot Tables, and VBA.