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What is AmpWhat?

AmpWhat is a fast, browser-based lookup tool for Unicode characters and HTML entities. You type a name, symbol or description into a search box, or click a pre-made search, then select a character to copy it. Its purpose is to help you find the underlying characters and icons that browsers, computers and phones use, without needing to know code points in advance.

What you can do with it

• Search for a character by name, appearance or category — for example arrows, triangles, mathematical symbols, punctuation, accented letters, Greek letters or emoji.
• Copy a character directly to the clipboard for use in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, URLs or plain text.
• Switch the displayed codes between Unicode (U+0000 style), HTML decimal, HTML hex, JSON/JavaScript, CSS property values, URL encoding and Windows Alt keys.
• Browse related collections such as Unicode blocks and world languages.

Who it suits

It is most useful to web developers, designers and writers who need a specific symbol and want the correct entity or escape sequence rather than a picture. A developer styling a page might search for a triangle or arrow, copy the character, and then grab the CSS or HTML code in the format their file needs. A writer might simply copy a typographic mark such as a quotation mark or non-breaking space. Someone hunting for an emoji will also find it works as an emoji finder, though it is a reference tool rather than a full emoji keyboard.

Trade-offs to know

The strength is breadth and speed: thousands of entities and symbols in one searchable page, with the code format selectable. The limitation is that it is a reference and copy tool, not a design or conversion suite — it will not tell you whether a font on your target device actually renders a character, and very new emoji may look different across platforms. Ads are shown by default, with an option to hide them and a Patreon link for support.

Next step

If you need a character now, open AmpWhat, type a plain description such as "down arrow" or "copyright", click the result and check the code format you need before copying. As a rule of thumb: use HTML entities when writing markup, the Unicode code point when working in code or data files, and plain copy-paste when the destination is a document or message.

How do I copy a specific Unicode character or symbol for use in HTML or CSS?

Use AmpWhat's search box to find the character by name or description, then click it to copy. The page describes a copy step where you "select and click a character to copy it," with a ⧉ or ⊕ cursor indicating copyable characters. You can also start from one of the pre-made searches instead of typing.

For HTML, you usually want the named entity or numeric code rather than the raw glyph. AmpWhat's settings let you choose which code formats are shown alongside each character, including Unicode (U+0000), HTML decimal, HTML hex, JSON/JavaScript, CSS property values, URL encoding (%N), and Windows Alt keys. Turn on the ones you need before copying so you grab the right form.

For CSS, paste the character directly into a content value if the file is UTF-8, or use the CSS escape form the settings provide. Numeric escapes are safer when you cannot guarantee the file encoding or when the character is invisible, such as a non-breaking space.

A practical example: searching for "no-break space" or "nbsp" finds the whitespace character used to prevent a line break, and you can copy its HTML entity or its numeric code instead of the literal space, which is easy to lose.

Next step: open AmpWhat, search for your character, enable only the code formats you actually need in Settings, and copy. If you are unsure which format fits, copy the HTML hex code for markup and the CSS escape for stylesheets; both survive encoding changes better than a pasted glyph.

How can I find an emoji by name or description?

AmpWhat is built for exactly this: type a word into its search box and it matches characters by name, description or keyword, then shows the code points you need. Open AmpWhat, type something like "waving hand" or "sparkle", and click a result to copy it.

How the lookup works in practice

• Search by everyday words, not official names. "Peace" finds ☮, "telephone" finds ☎, "triangle" surfaces ▲ ▼ ◀ ▶. The site's own keyword list includes terms like peace character, telephone character and upside down caret character, so plain-language queries are expected.
• Results come back as a grid of characters. Hovering or selecting one reveals the Unicode code point (U+0000 style), the decimal and hex HTML entities, and — depending on your Settings — JSON/JavaScript escapes, CSS values, URL encoding or Windows Alt key codes.
• The Settings panel lets you choose which code formats are shown alongside each character, so you can hide the ones you never use and keep the copyable output short.

Typical uses

Whose experience this reflects

The page itself describes the flow as: type in the search box or click a pre-made search, then select and click a character to copy it, watching for the copy cursor. That is the site's own account of how it works, not an independent review — so treat the "fast" claim as a design intention and test it against your own query. In my experience with this kind of reference tool, the make-or-break factor is whether your mental word matches the index's word; if "celebration" returns nothing, try "party", "confetti" or "sparkles" before concluding the character is missing.

Next step

If a search comes up empty, switch strategy: look the concept up in an emoji keyboard or a vendor emoji list to get the official name (for example "party popper"), then paste that name into AmpWhat to get the code point and entity. For non-emoji symbols, the same trick works with Unicode's formal names such as "no-break space" or "inverted exclamation mark".

What is the difference between decimal and hexadecimal HTML entity codes?

Decimal and hexadecimal HTML entity codes name the same character; they differ only in the number base used to write its Unicode code point. For example, the copyright sign is © in decimal and © in hexadecimal. Browsers render both identically.

How to tell them apart

When each is useful

• Use hexadecimal when you are cross-referencing Unicode charts, which list code points as U+00A9, U+1F600 and so on. Copying the hex digits straight into &#x...; avoids mental conversion.
• Use decimal when you are working from older references, HTML tutorials or legacy documents that predate widespread hex notation.
• For readability in source code, a named entity such as © or < is often clearer than either numeric form, though names do not exist for every character.

A practical next step

If you need an entity for a specific symbol, look it up on AmpWhat, which supports searching by character, name or code and can display codes in Unicode, decimal HTML, hex HTML, CSS, JSON and URL-encoded forms. Toggle the output format in its settings, then copy the version your project needs. A useful rule of thumb: match the format already used in your file so the code stays consistent and easy to review.

How do I type special characters using Windows Alt keys?

Windows Alt codes let you type symbols that aren't on your keyboard by holding Alt and typing a number on the numeric keypad (the number row above the letters usually won't work). AmpWhat can help you find the right code, but it doesn't type the character for you.

The basic method

1. Turn on Num Lock so the keypad digits register.
2. Hold Alt.
3. Type the decimal code on the numeric keypad.
4. Release Alt — the character appears.

Example: hold Alt, type 0169, release, and you get ©.

Four-digit codes vs. short codes

Codes starting with 0 (like 0169) come from the Windows-1252 set and are the most reliable across apps. Shorter codes without the leading zero (like 169) often work too, but behavior varies by program and keyboard layout, so prefer the four-digit form when you have the choice.

What AmpWhat adds

AmpWhat is a search-and-copy reference for Unicode and HTML characters, with settings that can display Unicode (U+0000), decimal HTML, hex HTML, JSON/JavaScript, CSS, URL encoding, and Windows Alt Keys. If you enable the Windows Alt Keys option, you can look up the Alt code for a character you've found by name or shape — useful when you know what you want but not what it's called.

Trade-off: for a one-off character, copying it directly from AmpWhat is faster than memorizing a code. Alt codes pay off when you type the same symbol repeatedly, or when you're in an app where pasting is awkward.

When Alt codes fail

• Laptops without a keypad: use the on-screen numeric keypad or an external keyboard.
• Codes above 255: these depend on the system code page and may not work in every application.
• Emoji: Alt codes generally don't cover modern emoji; use the Windows emoji panel (Win + .) instead.

For a broader character reference beyond Alt codes, see AmpWhat.

Practical next step

Pick one symbol you use often, note its four-digit Alt code, and test it in the app where you need it most. If it fails there, fall back to pasting the character directly.

How can I search for Unicode characters in a particular language or script block?

Use the site's built-in search box together with its Unicode Blocks and World Languages pages. AmpWhat is designed for exactly this: type a term in the search box or click a pre-made search, then select a character to copy it.

AmpWhat separates three useful entry points:

• Search box — best when you already know a name, letter or concept (for example a script name, a symbol name, or a word like "triangle").
• Unicode Blocks — browse the official ranges, such as Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, Devanagari, or emoji blocks. This is the most reliable way to see a whole script in order.
• World Languages — a language-oriented route when you think in terms of a language rather than a block name.

A practical workflow

1. If you know the script name, search it directly.
2. If you only know the language, start from World Languages to find the associated script, then switch to the matching Unicode Block.
3. Narrow within the block by scanning for the character shape or by using the search box for a more specific term.
4. Click a character to copy it, and use Settings to control which code formats are included — Unicode code points, HTML decimal or hex entities, JSON/JavaScript, CSS property values, URL encoding, or Windows Alt keys.

Choosing between the two routes

Example scenario

You need the Devanagari vowel signs for a Hindi page. Searching "Devanagari" or opening the Devanagari block shows the characters in sequence, so you can confirm you have the right signs rather than a visually similar one. Before copying, open Settings and enable HTML decimal or hex if the characters are going into markup, or Unicode if they are going into a script or database.

One caveat: block membership and language are not the same thing. A language can use characters from several blocks, and a block can serve many languages, so treat World Languages as a starting hint and the block view as the authoritative list.