# How do I type a decimal point on my PC keyboard? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032 "2011-03-17T16:02:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![A.Gwilliam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@A.Gwilliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Gwilliam)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/41 "2011-03-18T13:19:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I have a laptop, so no keypad. That would explain it, I guess. My old Dell laptop used to have a special key that you pressed to switch certain of the regular keys to being a numpad. Do any of your letter keys have little numbers written on them in funny colours and in funny places? ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/42 "2011-03-20T06:48:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Is num-lock on and are you using the numeric keypad? **shijinn** ’s instructions are missing those two important points. hey, the top row of numbers doesn’t work. not very consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/43 "2011-03-20T13:31:01Z")
I was in school in Hong Kong in the 80s. I understood the dot in the middle as the old-fashioned way of writing the decimal point. I have seen them in some books, but it was not common. Another peculiarity was that some older publications used the letter I (capital i, in serif font) instead of the digit 1, supposedly because some typewriters did not have the digit 1. Has anyone else seen that elsewhere? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/44 "2011-03-20T14:01:52Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > My old Dell laptop used to have a special key that you pressed to switch certain of the regular keys to being a numpad. Do any of your letter keys have little numbers written on them in funny colours and in funny places? On my laptop, when I have the “number pad” like that set to on, I also can’t get ALT0183 to work. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/45 "2011-03-20T14:14:00Z")
> [@A.Gwilliam](#): > > My old Dell laptop used to have a special key that you pressed to switch certain of the regular keys to being a numpad. Do any of your letter keys have little numbers written on them in funny colours and in funny places? Yeah, I see that. I’d have to dig up the instructions as to how to turn it on, and it’s probably not something I’d use very often. Oh hey, I see how it works! · ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/46 "2011-03-20T14:19:53Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > Another peculiarity was that some older publications used the letter I (capital i, in serif font) instead of the digit 1, supposedly because some typewriters did not have the digit 1. Has anyone else seen that elsewhere? I’ve seen typewriters without a figure _1_ key. In many old documents you’d see the lower-case _L_ – _l_ used for _1_. I’ve never seen the _I_ used like that. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/47 "2011-03-20T14:33:57Z")
> [@Waffle\_Decider](#): > > I was in school in Hong Kong in the 80s. I understood the dot in the middle as the old-fashioned way of writing the decimal point. I have seen them in some books, but it was not common. > > Another peculiarity was that some older publications used the letter I (capital i, in serif font) instead of the digit 1, supposedly because some typewriters did not have the digit 1. Has anyone else seen that elsewhere? The standard way of typing a number 1 on a typewriter was to use a lowercase L (l). You also typed a period “.” and then backspaced and typed a single quote/apostrophe “'” to make an exclamation point. If you saw the 1 typeset as an I in a publication, it may have just been a peculiarity in the font…or it may have been intentionally done. I’ve seen that in some old books. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/48 "2011-03-20T17:08:48Z")
> [@jasonh300](#): > > The standard way of typing a number 1 on a typewriter was to use a lowercase L (l). Yep, to wit: 1984 l984 I984 The first uses the numeral one. The second uses the lowercase L. The third uses uppercase I. The last looks very odd to me in a typewriter typeface. When laying out type in something that has [text figures](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_figures) (these are figures that have ascenders and descenders like most letters in ordinary typefaces), you will often find a numeral one that looks similar to a capital I. (As you also note.) ---
**Author:** ![ClevelandProud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@ClevelandProud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ClevelandProud)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/49 "2011-03-20T19:03:45Z")
> [@Rrose\_Selavy](#): > > Not it’s not the same , that’s why I asked the question. I’m NOT from the US , I’m in the UK. Even though for most purposes the full spot would have sufficed and we use it in the same way. > In fact 'm not typing decimals as such but I want a word separator that looks exactly like a floating decimal as I described . I’ll try the suggestions offered. Gentle Original Poster … When asking a question, it would greatly increase the quality of the responses if you shared with others where the heck you live (countrywise) in your original post. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/50 "2011-03-20T19:31:18Z")
Actually, I don’t think this “gentle suggestion” was warranted in this case. It seems to me that in this case there was sufficient detail in the OP to convey to all of us that he _wasn’t_ talking about the same decimal point/period that Americans are used to. It seems especially rich since American posters here fel free to assume that everyone shares teh same assumptions that we do (for one, I think we ought to ban two-letter state abbreviations on any international forum). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/51 "2011-03-20T20:11:30Z")
> [@ClevelandProud](#): > > Gentle Original Poster … Awfully snarky post to drop in long after the question has been resolved. Especially since it took **Crafter\_Man** all of two minutes to figure out what he was asking and post an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Dave.B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Dave.B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave.B)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/52 "2011-03-20T21:25:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And where does one find the character map utility? A quicker way than **gazpacho** mentioned, but still not as quick as making a shortcut: Hold down the Windows key and press “r” Type “charmap” into the run dialog box Hit Enter This works for all sorts of other stuff too… notepad, calc, iexplore etc… ---
**Author:** ![Game\_Sipes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Game\_Sipes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Game_Sipes)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/53 "2021-04-16T14:12:21Z")
Press Num Lock, then Alt 0176 You will then get a ° ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032/54 "2021-04-17T05:51:36Z")
ALT+7 for a big fat one • ALT+0183 for a tiny one · I have to use these all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-type-a-decimal-point-on-my-pc-keyboard/575032.md?page=2)