# wing ding and other symbol fonts **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 7, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127 "2007-06-07T15:26:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/1 "2007-06-07T15:26:55Z")
I was formatting an email just now and to set off one part I was picking a different font. I mis-clicked and chose some kind of wing-ding like font that was not letters, arrows, boxes, lines and the like. I have never on purpose used such a font and I’m just wondering who has and what did you use it for? I’m looking through Outlook (with Word as the editor) and there are almost 400 different fonts to choose from. There are basic shapes, lines and arrows like I said (I can see a use for these in programming, I think), but also sports themed fonts, a vacation font, and some that I can’t even define a use for, just weird little figures and shapes. I guess I’m just not that creative, certainly not in my work. I like basic, non-serif fonts, and, for programming, monospace fonts are imperative. And, these days, in a larger size too. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/2 "2007-06-07T15:49:38Z")
WAG: It’s an easy way to add little graphics into your document without dealing with clipart and such, since it’s ‘text’. It’s also fun to play with. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/3 "2007-06-07T15:51:53Z")
Besides using it as simple clipart, most symbols work as fancy bullets with text. Breaks up the monotony of circles and squares, oh, my! ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/4 "2007-06-07T16:02:26Z")
I use it in Excel all the time. When I make my “To Do” lists, the ‘o’ in wingdings makes a nice little box, so I have something to check off when I complete a task as I’m shopping or whatnot. And if I’m tracking my progress on a work project with a list of “to do” items, I can save the paper and just use the ‘x’ in wingdings to make a box with an x in it to show I’ve completed that task as I’m working. I also track my spending (and savings) in an Excel spreadsheet, and the ‘a’ in webdings makes a nice check mark to indicate a transaction has cleared my bank when I do my reconciliations (though my wonderful husband just bought me a [Neat Receipts](http://www.neatreceipts.com/index.asp?section=home&page=get-organized&gclid=CP-h75iwyowCFShCgQodn14mEA) scanner for my birthday, so maybe I’ll start using Quicken again instead 🆒 ). _ETA_: Oh yeah, and I’ve used it when I’ve created business forms in-house, also for the “check box” feature. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/5 "2007-06-07T17:12:31Z")
I’ve never actually _used_ them for anything. I’ve played around with them before, as **BayleDomon** notes. If I was an organized person, like **Shayna** apparently is, perhaps the little check boxes would be cool. But I’m not. 😃 And, like I said, I don’t write a lot for my job, and my personal life I’m a lazy slob, so I doubt I"ll get much out of them. ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/6 "2007-06-07T17:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] Besides using it as simple clipart, most symbols work as fancy bullets with text. Breaks up the monotony of circles and squares, oh, my! [/QUOTE] That’s pretty much what it’s used for. I’m the guy that has to lay out magazines and such. You know the little subscription postcards with check boxes in 'em? Welp. The check boxes are usually wingdings. Wingdings are also used to make the little symbols at the end of magazine articles that tell you you’re at the end of an article. So, most times if you just use MSWord or Excel to produce a document you won’t bother with them. Unless you’re SHAYNA! ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/7 "2007-06-07T17:52:11Z")
Most recently I was using them while making buttons for a webpage in Photoshop. I have a few prefered fonts specifically for icons and webpage images too. I don’t use anywhere near the amount of fonts out there, but they can be fun to play with. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/8 "2007-06-07T21:03:26Z")
Yeah, I use dingbats… The checkboxes are vital for forms, and more than once, I’ve used the “printer’s flowers” (similar to the ones in MS Wingdings 2) as dividers on menus and similar things. Never once had a use for the “webdings” The scissors and a horizontal rule (or a bunch of underscores) is good for “cut here” on a form where someone needs to fill out and send in something. Pointing fingers and the bomb are useful for calling out important things in documentation. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/9 "2007-06-08T01:16:17Z")
There are a lot of wingdings that make very nice snowflakes if you’re designing your own Christmas card 🙂 I have used the existing fonts and graphics in Word to do brochures and posters on the cheap but eventually bought myself Corel’s Print Office so I could have lots more nifty fonts and clipart. ---
**Author:** ![Rooh\_Afza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/74df32/32.png) [@Rooh\_Afza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rooh_Afza)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wing-ding-and-other-symbol-fonts/407127/10 "2007-06-08T03:35:45Z")
With a little thought, 72 points, orange paper, Scotch tape, and appropriate text, the finger pointy things make for excellent directions to odd corners of your place of work after your boss nixes your “follow the yellow brick road” scheme.