How to Insert Emoji in Outlook Desktop and Web App

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Emojis have evolved a lot over the past few years are used everywhere from social media to email apps. Earlier, it was possible to insert emojis in the Outlook desktop app only via Google search and symbol method. However, now it is possible to insert emoji in Outlook using keyboard shortcuts and some other ways. Here we have mentioned some of the best tricks to insert your favorite emoji in the Outlook desktop app and web version to spruce up your email conversation.

Insert Emojis in Outlook

Emojis can be used to grab the attention of the recipient or stand out in countless emails. From email’s subject to body, it is possible to insert an emoji anywhere as you wish. Before getting started, please note that not all methods allow you to insert emoji in the subject line.

1. Use Emoticons

Emoticons are keyboard characters that when aligned in a certain order, represent a facial expression. A lot of people use them in text messages or when they are in a hurry and prefer typing over searching for the correct emoji. Also useful when emojis are not available like text messaging apps.

To use this method, you have to enter a keyboard shortcut like this: 

:)

Microsoft has created a handy list of emoticon keyboard shortcuts that you must check out even if you want to use emojis. Emoticons can be a lot of fun to fool around with.

2. Enable Emoji Panel (Desktop and Web App)

Windows 10 comes with a keyboard shortcut to enable or display an emoji panel on any screen. Once the emoji panel is visible, inserting an emoji is a piece of cake – no matter whether you want to add it in the desktop app or the OWA.

To enable the emoji panel on Windows 10 computer, press the following keys:

 Win + .

Now, you can search for an emoji and quickly add it anywhere in Outlook.

3. Copy from Google Search (Desktop and Web App)

It is probably the best method since you can find a wide range of emojis rather than depending on the limited choice available in Windows panel. All you need to is to search for an emoji in Google using a keyword like this:

smiley emoji
hugging face emoji
sleepy face emoji

Once you have got the emoji you want to insert into Outlook, select it, press Ctrl+C to copy, choose a location where you want to insert, and press Ctrl+V to paste.

3. Insert Emoji Directly (Web)

If you are using the Outlook Web version, it is possible to use the dedicated emoji panel to insert any emoji in your email body. Unfortunately, this particular feature is not available in the Outlook desktop app for Windows 10.

To get started:

1. Open the Outlook web version and start composing an email.

2. Click on the emoji face symbol in the bottom menu bar and select an emoji.

You can also click on the View all button to open a list of all available emojis.

4. Use Symbol to Insert Emoji (Desktop App)

Outlook desktop app has a dedicated panel to insert various symbols and the list of symbols changes according to the font selection. Windows 10 comes with Segoe UI Emojifont, which is equipped with tons of emoji that you can insert as a symbol in your Outlook email.

1. Start composing a new email in Outlook.

2. Go to the Insert tab and click on Symbol > More Symbols.

3. Expand the Font drop-down menu and choose Segoe UI Emoji.

4. Scroll down and find your favorite emoji that you want to insert in your email.

5. Double-click on the emoji or select an emoji and click the Insert button.

6. At last, click on the Close button.

The only downside is that these emojis are black and white instead of the usual color (yellow shade) that we are used to view.

5. Use On-Screen Keyboard (Desktop and Web App)

Windows 10 has an on-screen keyboard that lets you type when the physical keyboard has some issues. You can use the same keyboard to insert emojis in Outlook email. For that, you have to enable the Touch keyboard on your PC

1. Right-click on Taskbar and select the Show touch keyboard button option.

2. Open the Outlook app and start composing an email.

3. Click on the touch keyboard icon in the Taskbar.

4. Click on the emoji icon and select an emoji to insert.

If you want to insert emoji in the email title, you can use this method without any problem.

6. Insert Emoji From Bing as an Image (Desktop App)

Although there is a difference between emoji and image, at times, you can insert a rare emoji as an image in your Outlook email. The desktop version of Outlook allows you to search for an image on Bing, and you can make use of that option to find an emoji as you did with Google.

1. Open Outlook app and click the New Email option.

2. Switch to the Insert tab and click on Pictures > Online Pictures.

3. Enter the emoji name in the Search Bing box and press the Enter button.

4. Double-click on an image that you did like to insert.

5. Click on the inserted image and use your mouse to resize it accordingly.

How to Create a Keyboard Shortcut for an Emoji in Outlook

If you frequently use a set of emojis, you can create custom keyboard shortcuts instead of using all the aforementioned methods. In the Outlook desktop app, it is possible to insert an emoji using a keyboard shortcut like this: abcd or 1234. It is called AutoCorrect which replaces your random preset characters with predefined word/phrase or in this case, emoji.

To set up a keyboard shortcut for an emoji in Outlook, you can follow these steps:

1. Follow the fifth method on this list to choose Segoe UI Emoji as the symbol font.

2. Once the emoji or symbol is selected, click the AutoCorrect button in the Symbol window.

3. Enter a random phrase/word/character like 1234 or abcd or something else.

In other words, when you will type that word followed by space, it will be replaced with the chosen emoji.

4. Click on Add and then OK button.

5. Repeat the same steps to create a keyboard shortcut for another emoji.

Wrapping up: Insert Emoji in Outlook on Windows

These are some of the best methods you can use to insert emojis in Outlook email. As mentioned, some of the methods do not allow users to insert emoji in the email subject. For example, you cannot directly insert emoji in the subject line using the symbol method. However, if you use Google search, you can do it without any issue.

Also Read: How to Use Emojis on Chromebook Using Flags