Easily insert the degree symbol in Excel: A complete guide

In Excel, inserting special characters like the degree symbol (°) is essential for accurately representing data, especially in fields like science and geography. Despite its frequent necessity, many users find themselves unsure about how to efficiently insert this symbol into their Excel worksheets. This comprehensive guide covers several ways to insert the degree symbol in Excel, from easy keyboard shortcuts to advanced VBA scripting, enabling you to add this symbol to your data smoothly, whether in single cells or across large datasets.

• With the keyboard shortcut
• With copying and pasting degree symbol
• With the CHAR formula
• With the Symbol option
• With Autocorrect

• With customizing the cell formatting
• With VBA code

Insert Degree Symbol to Cells One by One

The methods provided in this section are common methods used by Excel users to insert degree symbols. These methods are especially useful when you need to add degree symbols to a limited number of cells. We will demonstrate each of these methods below.

Using the Keyboard Shortcut

The easiest way to insert degree symbols in Excel is to use keyboard shortcuts.

For "Windows" users, you need to select a cell where you want to insert the degree symbol, type in the text as necessary, and then press "Alt" + "0176".

When you release the "Alt" key, the degree symbol will be displayed.

Copying and Pasting the Degree Symbol

If you don't remember the keyboard shortcuts above, but know exactly where to find the degree symbols, then copy and paste is also a good option.

A degree symbol is listed below, simply click the "Copy" button (or press "Ctrl" + "C") to copy it and then paste ("Ctrl" + "V") into Excel.

°

Using the CHAR Formula

You can also use the CHAR formula to insert a degree symbol in Excel. Please do as follows.

1. Select a cell where you want to insert the degree symbol.
2. Enter the following formula and press "Enter".

   =CHAR(176)

   
   This formula returns a degree symbol as shown in the above screenshot.

Using the Symbol Option

The "Symbol Option" in Excel allows you to insert different symbols as you need, including the degree symbol. Let’s see how to use the option to insert a degree symbol.

1. Select a cell or double click on a cell to place the cursor where you want to insert the degree symbol.
2. Go to the "Insert" tab, click "Symbol".
   
3. In the "Symbol" dialog box and under the "Symbols" tab, you need to do as follows.
   1. Choose "Times New Roman" in the "Font" drop-down list.
   2. Find and select the degree symbol from the listed symbols.
   3. Click the "Insert" button.
      Then you can see the selected degree symbol is inserted into the cell.
      
4. Close the "Symbol" dialog box when you have finished inserting.

Tip: When you open this "Symbols" dialog box next time, you can easily find the used degree symbol in the "Recently Used Symbols" section.

Using Autocorrect

Using Excel's Autocorrect feature to insert the degree symbol streamlines data entry by automatically converting a predefined text string, like "deg" into the degree symbol, eliminating the need to remember formulas or keyboard shortcuts.

1. Go to the "File" tab, click "Options".
   
2. In the "Excel Options" dialog box, select "Proofing" in the left pane, and then click the "AutoCorrect Options" button. See screenshot:
   
3. In the "AutoCorrect" dialog box, you need to configure as follows.
   1. In the "Replace" box, enter a predefined text string that you want Excel to automatically convert to a degree symbol. In this case, the text I entered is "deg".
   2. Click on the "With" box, hold down the "Alt" key and press "0176". Then release the "Alt" key to show the degree symbol.
   3. Click the "Add" button.
   4. Click the "OK" button to save the settings.
      

Result

From now on, when you enter the predefined text deg in a cell and press the "Enter" or "Space" key, it will be converted to a degree symbol automatically.

Easily Save Degree Symbol in Excel for Future Use

If you frequently need to use a degree symbol, saving it in Excel for future use will save you a lot of time. The "Resource Library" pane of "Kutools for Excel" makes it easy to save a degree symbol and make it available with a single click in the future, ensuring consistency in using the degree symbol across your worksheets, enhancing the accuracy and professionalism of your data presentation.

After installing Kutools for Excel, go to the "Kutools" tab, click "Insert" > "Resource Library" to open the pane.

1. Select the degree symbol you want to save.
2. Click the "Add selected content to Resource Library" button.
3. Name the degree symbol in the "Name" box of the dialog box that opens.
4. Choose a group or create a new group as you need to save this symbol.
5. Click the "Add" button. See screenshot:
   

Result

The degree symbol is now saved in a specified group in the "Resource Library" pane. When you need to use it, simply click on the symbol to insert it into the selected cell or cursor location.

Want to access this feature? Download Kutools for Excel now! Or you can click to know more about this feature.

Insert Degree Symbol to Cells in Bulk

To insert the degree symbol in multiple cells at once, this section provides two methods to help you accomplish this task.

Customizing Cell Formatting:

You can customize the cells formatting to add degree symbol to multiple cells at once.

Suppose we have a column of numeric cells as shown in the following screenshot, and we want to add the degree symbol after each number. Here’s how we can do to accomplish this task.

1. Select the range of cells where you want to insert degree symbol, press the "Ctrl" + "1" keys to open the "Format Cells" dialog box.
2. In the "Format Cells" dialog box, stay in the "Number" tab and configure the settings as follows.
   1. Select "Custom" in the "Category" list.
   2. In the "Type" textbox, place the cursor after the text “General”, hold down the "Alt" key and press "0176". Then release the "Alt" key to display the degree symbol.
   3. Click "OK" to save the settings.
      

Result

Degree symbols are added to the selected cells at once as shown in the screenshot below. If you clear the range and add new numbers, the degree symbol will be automatically added after the new number.

Using VBA Code

For a more advanced approach, you can use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to insert the degree symbol to multiple cells in bulk. Please do as follows.

1. Select the range of cells where you want to add degree symbols.
2. Press the "Alt" + "F11" keys to open the VBA editor.
3. In the "Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications" window, click "Insert" > "Module" to insert a new module. And then copy the following VBA code to this new module.
   VBA code: Insert degree symbol to a range of cells

   Sub InsertDegreeSymbol()
   'Updated by Extendoffice 20240117
       Dim cell As Range
       For Each cell In Selection
           cell.Value = cell.Value & "°"
       Next cell
   End Sub
   

   
4. Press "F5" key to run this script to add the degree symbol to each cell in your selected range.
   

Whether you need to add the degree symbol to just a few cells or to a large dataset, this tutorial offers multiple ways to do it efficiently. From simple keyboard shortcuts to more complex methods, you now have a variety of options at your disposal. Remember, the choice of method can depend on the specific requirements of your task and your comfort level with Excel’s features. With this guide, inserting the degree symbol in your Excel worksheets should now be a breeze. For those eager to delve deeper into Excel's capabilities, our website boasts a wealth of tutorials. Discover more Excel tips and tricks here.

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