How to Insert a Warning Symbol (⚠) in Word, Excel and Google Docs

The warning symbol is a triangle with an exclamation mark, Unicode U+26A0. It has two looks: a plain black-and-white sign ⚠ and a yellow emoji ⚠️. Both are the same character; the difference is a hidden variation selector that asks the app for the emoji artwork. This guide shows how to insert either one in Office and Google Docs, and how to pick the version you want.

Quick answer

Word

Alt+X

1. Click where the symbol should go.
2. Type 26A0.
3. Press Alt + X. The code becomes ⚠.

If the letters before the code run together (for example note26A0), select just the code before pressing Alt+X. This works in Word and Outlook on Windows only.

Insert → Symbol

1. Go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols.
2. Set Font to Segoe UI Symbol on Windows or Apple Symbols on Mac.
3. In Character code type 26A0 with from set to Unicode (hex), and click Insert.

Use this dialog to assign a Shortcut Key if you insert the sign often. Word remembers it in the Recently Used row as well.

Making it stand out

The plain sign takes the color of the surrounding text, so you can make it red or orange like any letter. The emoji version ⚠️ is always yellow and cannot be recolored. For a printed safety notice the plain sign in a bold weight at a larger size is the standard choice.

Excel

Type or paste ⚠ into a cell, or use Win + . inside the cell. For automatic flags, use a formula:

• =UNICHAR(9888) returns ⚠
• =IF(C2>LIMIT,UNICHAR(9888)&" Over limit","") shows a warning only when a condition is met

Conditional formatting’s Icon Sets offer a yellow triangle icon as well, which is a formatting effect rather than a character; use it when the sign should reflect the number in the cell.

PowerPoint

Use Win + . or the Mac picker in a text box, or Insert → Icons and search “warning” for a vector triangle you can recolor and scale. Icons are usually the better fit on slides because they stay crisp at any size.

Google Docs and Sheets

In Docs, open Insert → Special characters, type “warning” in the search box, and click the sign. You can also draw a triangle in the sketch area. In Sheets, paste the symbol or use =CHAR(9888).

Emoji or plain sign: controlling the look

The character alone, U+26A0, is drawn as a text sign in most fonts. Adding U+FE0F (variation selector 16) after it requests emoji presentation, which gives the yellow triangle. Adding U+FE0E requests text presentation.

• Inserting from the emoji panel gives the emoji version.
• Inserting through Alt+X or Insert → Symbol gives the plain version.
• Copying from a web page gives whichever the page used; the tiles at the top of this page offer both.

Not every app respects the selector. Google Docs and Word usually do; some chat apps always show the emoji.

Related caution signs

Each has its own page with every code: see the warning symbols collection.

Troubleshooting

• A box appears instead of the triangle. The font lacks the glyph. Select the symbol and switch to Segoe UI Symbol, Segoe UI Emoji or Arial Unicode MS.
• Alt+X does nothing. You are in Excel or PowerPoint; Alt+X is Word and Outlook only. Use Win + . or paste.
• The sign is yellow but I wanted black. Delete it and insert the plain version through Alt+X or Insert → Symbol, or remove the invisible variation selector that follows it (press Backspace once after the symbol; if the symbol turns plain, that is what you deleted).
• It prints as a blank. Some printer drivers skip color emoji. Use the plain sign for print, or export to PDF first.

Frequently asked questions