It is currently very common to use an emoji keyboard in conversations or emails using Android and iOS mobile devices (like the iPad and the iPhone), but in the case of laptops it is not common to use them, and more so, many people don’t know that these emoticons are even available.
Mac Emoji Keyboard
Accessing the Emoji keyboard from a Mac is really simple and its appearance to iOS is very similar as you can see in the picture above, with the difference being that it is shown on a small screen and not the keyboard itself as in the aforementioned devices. To access it, we have to use the following keystroke shortcut:
Control + Command + Space Bar
In pushing these 3 keys at the same time, the Emoji keyboard appears in a new window. In this window, you are able to navigate using a mouse or, if preferred, using the keyboard. In case you would prefer to search using the keyboard, it’s important to note that the arrow keys allow you to search amongst the icons and the tab key lets you switch between categories.
Emoji Keyboard for Windows, Chrome and Firefox
In Windows, PC and Google Chrome, there are a few steps to go through in order to be able to use Emojis; let’s take a detailed look.
First, visit this site: getemoji.com and make sure that the emojis appear correctly. In theory, you could see a series of squares, a sign that the emojis aren’t showing up correctly on your PC and in your internet navigator. I recommend that you do this using the Google Chrome navigator. It should appear like this:
If it doesn’t look like that, then your device doesn’t include Emojis and they have to be added manually. How do you do it? Simple.
- Windows 8: In theory, you don’t have to do anything since this operating system is native to the Emoji keyboard. And if you have Windows 8 but the emojis don’t appear, keep reading for a solution to the problem.
- Windows 7 (or earlier): If, as with Windows 8, the emojis don’t appear, it’s necessary to update the system fonts. You can download that here:
Update the font, reopen the previous site with the emojis and check to see that the emoticons are appearing correctly.
To see the emojis in the Google Chrome navigator, it’s necessary to install an extension such as Emoji Input and in Firefox, Emoji Cheatsheet, which is necessary in order to adequately show the emojis and to be able to see all of the emoticons used by friends, for example, on Instagram or Facebook.
Great!, now you have prepared your Windows operating system to be able to correctly view emojis in various websites.
But how do you use emojis in Windows PC?
It’s easy: use the reliable “copy and paste” technique. You have to go to the page getemoji.com, select the symbol that you’d like to copy or use with your mouse, from there you push CTRL-C (copy) and later, to paste the emoji, use the key combination Ctrl-V. The good old copy and paste method never fails! And this way you can use the emoji in any place, on any webpage, social networks, emails or wherever else you’d like with no limitations.
As an alternative to the site I just suggested, I also recommend the portal iemoji.com, where there are many emojis available to copy and download and use wherever you want.
Using emojis isn’t so hard, right? That’s really all there is to it. :)
Physical Emoji Keyboard
QWERTY has come out with a keyboard called EmojiWorks which inserts emojis when activated by specific keys. Each key has a corresponding screen-printed emoji, which can even include a selection of emojis with various skin colors on those keyboards which permit it. There are currently 3 different models: the standard, the Plus and the Pro, with 47, 94 and 120 respective emojis.
The keyboard is compatible with Mac, Windows and OS X using a Bluetooth connection, and can be purchased starting at 80 dollars for the model with 47 emojis. If you’d rather not let any of those little faces slip by, you can pay 10 dollars more for the model with 94 emojis and 10 additional dollars for the Pro model with 120 emojis.