How to use emojis on Windows 10 when your PC has only a physical keyboard

You can also use emojis on your Windows 10 PC when you only have access to a physical keyboard, and here you'll learn how.

Emojis on Windows 10

Emojis have been around for years and everyone loves them. These little icons can always help to quickly express emotions or situations in your life, and while they are more popular on mobile devices, you can also use them on your Windows 10 PC.

The caveat is that emojis on a Windows 10 PC with a keyboard and mouse is not as easy to use as you would on your smartphone. However, the operating system has an easy solution to make it all work in harmony.

On Windows 10, you can access emojis through the on-screen keyboard, which by default is hidden on devices with keyboard and mouse.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to enable the touch keyboard on Windows 10 to access and use emojis on your computer.

How to use emojis on Windows 10

  1. Right-click the taskbar.

  2. From the context menu select Show touch keyboard button.

    Show touch keyboard button option on taskbar menu

Once you enabled the virtual keyboard, here’s what you do to access emojis:

  1. Click the touch keyboard icon in the system tray.

  2. Click the emoji icon (smiley face).

    Emoji touch keyboard icon on Windows 10

While in the emoji keyboard, you can move between the seven categories to select the right emoji that best suits your situation.

Windows 10 emoji keyboard

On the left, before the tab button, you’ll notice to arrow keys that can help you navigate a category of emojis.

If you want to use the person emojis, you can also click the button next to the “&123” key to change the skin tone.

Windows 10 emoji change skin tone

It’s worth pointing out that with the Anniversary Update, Microsoft has completely redesigned emojis, and now Windows 10 supports over 17,000 emojis.

So, the next time you need to send a text or write an email using a Windows 10 PC and you want to add some emotion, remember that you can also use emojis with your keyboard and mouse ☺.

Emojis are not only supported on Windows 10, but on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 PCs as well.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.