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Insert smiley face (emojis) in Outlook emails: an easy guide

Author: Siluvia Last Modified: 2025-04-18

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Insert Smiley Face Emojis in Outlook Emails on Desktop

For desktop Outlook users, this section details the methods for inserting smiley face emojis into your emails.


Insert Smiley Faces with "Emoji Panel"

With the "Emoji Panel" that comes with the system, you can easily add smiley faces to your emails. Please do as follows.

On Windows 10 and 11 systems, you need to:

  1. Place the cursor where you will insert a smiley face.
  2. Press the "Win" + ";" ("semicolon") or "Win" + "." ("period") keys to open the "Emoji Panel".
  3. Select a smiley face or other emojis to insert it into the email.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-2

On Mac system, you need to:

  1. Place the cursor where you will insert a smiley face.
  2. Press the "Control" + "Command" + "Space" keys to open the "Emoji Panel".
  3. Select a smiley face or other emojis to insert it into the email.
Notes:
  • With this method, you can insert smiley face emojis into both the email body and the email subject.
  • On Windows, only "Windows 10" and "Windows 11" support the "Emoji Panel".
  • After opening the "Emoji Panel", simply type a description text to search for matching emojis.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-4

Easily Insert, Add, Manage Vivid Smiley Faces with "Kutools"

Although Windows has improved its emoji functionality, limitations persist, such as simplistic designs and the inability to create custom emojis. "Kutools for Outlook"'s "Emoji" pane fills these gaps, offering a lot of "vivid emojis" (including "3D emojis") and "GIFs". With just a click, you can insert any emojis into the email body. In addition, you can easily add personalized emojis for future use and manage them as needed.

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After downloading and installing Kutools for Outlook, create an email, click "Kutools" > "Pane" to open the "Emoji" pane, then you need to:

  1. Place the cursor in the email body where you want to insert a smiley face.
  2. Open an emoji library.
  3. Select a smiley face or other emoji you need to insert it into the email.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-3
Notes:
  • This feature works in all Windows versions.
  • This feature is more than just providing useful emojis, it supports:
    • Adding emoji images from incoming emails to the "Emoji" pane.
    • Importing a group of emoji images into the "Emoji" pane.
    • Managing personalized emoji images in Outlook.
  • To know more about this "Emoji" pane, visit this page: Using vivid emojis in Outlook: easily insert, add and manage.

Insert Smiley Faces with Emoticons Shortcuts

If you habitually use emoticon shortcuts to create emojis such as smiley face, the method in this section will be helpful to you.

For example, to insert a smiley face to email body, you need to do as follows:

  1. Place the cursor in the email body where you want to insert a smiley face.
  2. Type the emoticon shortcut ":)", then the emoticon shortcuts will be converted to a smiley face 😊 immediately.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-5

Here is a list of emoticon keyboard shortcuts for some of the most common emojis.

Emoji Meaning Keyboard shortcut
😊 Smiley face :) or :-)
πŸ˜ƒ Big smiley face :-D or :D
πŸ˜‰ Winky face ;) or ;-)
☹ Sad face :( or :-(
😲 Surprise face :O
😝 Sticking tongue out -P or :P
Notes:
  • After typing the emoticon shortcut, if the emoticon shortcut is not automatically converted to an emoji, you need to press the "Space" key to activate it.
  • For more emoticon keyboard shortcuts, you can visit this Microsoft page: Emoticon keyboard shortcuts.

Insert Smiley Face with the "Symbol" Menu

This section will illustrate how to insert smiley faces in Outlook with the "Symbol" menu.

  1. In the composing email message window, click where you want to insert the smiley face.
  2. Go to the "Insert" tab, and then click "Symbol" > "More Symbols".
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-6
  3. In the "Symbol" dialog box and under the "Symbols" tab, you need to:
    1. Select "Wingdings" in the "Font" drop-down list.
    2. Choose the smiley face or other emoji you need.
    3. Click "Insert".
      doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-7
      Then the selected emoji is inserted into the email body where the cursor is located.
  4. After finishing inserting, close the "Symbol" dialog box.

Insert Smiley Face by Typing Specific Texts/Numbers

Excel's "AutoCorrect" feature is not just for correcting typos and spelling errors; it can also be a clever tool to create quick shortcuts for emojis. With a few simple steps, you can set up "AutoCorrect" to replace specific text strings with your favorite emojis, streamlining the way you add a bit of personality to your Excel documents.

  1. Click "New Email" under the "Home" tab to create a new message, then go to the "Insert" tab, click "Symbol" > "More Symbols".
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-6
  2. In the "Symbol" dialog box, click the "AutoCorrect" button as shown below.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-8
  3. In the "AutoCorrect in Email" dialog box, you need to:
    1. Scroll down the scroll bar to select a smiley face.
    2. In the "Replace" textbox, replace the original text with the text or number that will be labeled as this smiley face in the future. In this case, replace ":)" with the number "001".
    3. Click the "Add" button.
    4. Click "OK" to close the dialog box after replacing all the texts you need.
      doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-9
  4. When it returns to the "Symbol" dialog box, close it.

From now on, when you enter the number "001" in the body of an email and press the "Space" or "Enter" key, the number will automatically change into the corresponding smiley face.

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Insert Smiley Face Emojis in Outlook on the Web

To insert smiley faces or other emojis in "Outlook on the Web", follow these steps.

  1. When composing a message in "Outlook on the Web", select "More Options" > "Emoji" to open the "Expressions" panel.
    Tip: This example uses Outlook’s "Simplified ribbon" layout. If you don’t see the "More Options" button, your Outlook may be using the "Classic ribbon" layout. In the "Classic ribbon" layout, simply select "Emoji" from the "Insert" group under the "Message" tab.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-11
  2. After opening the "Expressions" panel, you need to:
    1. Click on the email body where you want to insert the smiley face.
    2. Open a certain emoji group.
    3. Select the smiley face or other emoji you need from the emojis list to insert it into the email body where the cursor is located.
      doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-12
Note: Simply enter the description text in the "Search Emoji" search box to search for a specific emoji.

Insert Smiley Face Emojis in Outlook on Mobile Devices

If you regularly work with emails using the Outlook mobile app for iOS or Android, this section will show you how to insert smiley face or other emojis on that platform.

  1. When composing a message, click on where you want to insert the smiley face, and then tap on the "Emoji" icon on the keyboard section.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-13
  2. In the "Emoji" panel, open a certain emoji group, tap on the smiley face or other emojis you need. The emoji you tapped on is then inserted into the email body where the cursor is located.
    doc-insert-smiley-face-emoji-14

In short, incorporating smiley faces and emojis into your emails can be done effortlessly, whether you're using Outlook on a desktop, web browser, or mobile device. Each platform offers unique and user-friendly ways to add these expressive symbols, enhancing your email communication's effectiveness and personalization. For those eager to delve deeper into Outlook's capabilities, our website boasts a wealth of tutorials. Discover more Outlook tips and tricks here.



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