Software & Apps Apps 72 72 people found this article helpful How to Type Curly Quotes and Curly Apostrophes Use keyboard shortcuts, HTML codes, or the Windows Character Map by Jacci Howard Bear Writer A graphic designer, writer, and artist who writes about and teaches print and web design. our editorial process Jacci Howard Bear Updated on April 17, 2020 reviewed by Lisa Mildon Lifewire Tech Review Board Member & Writer Lisa Mildon is a Lifewire writer and an IT professional with 30 years of experience. Her writing has appeared in Geekisphere and other publications. our review board Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Article reviewed on Jul 30, 2020 Lisa Mildon Apps Best Apps Payment Services Tweet Share Email To present a professional appearance in print or to meet the style guidelines of a client, use true typographer quotation marks and apostrophes in your desktop publishing documents. These true quotation and apostrophe marks are curled left and right, unlike the straight single and double quote marks that show on a keyboard's apostrophe key. Here's how to access and properly use curly quotation marks—also called smart quotes—and proper apostrophes on a Mac or Windows PC. The procedures outlined below work on all currently supported versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS. Smart Quotes in Microsoft Word Many software programs, including Microsoft Word, include settings to enable or disable straight quotes or smart (curly) quotes automatically as you type. If that option isn't activated in your software, make the change as you type. Make Smart Quotes on Windows To manually insert smart quotes, the keyboard must have a numeric keypad. The Num lock key must be activated. To use the numeric codes, press and hold the Alt key, then type the four-digit character code on the numeric keypad. Use ALT+0145 and ALT+0146 for the left and right single quotation mark or apostrophe, respectively. Use ALT+0147 and ALT+0148 for the left and right double quotation marks, respectively. Use the numeric keypad and not the row of numbers above the alphabet. The top number row does not work for this procedure. If your keyboard lacks a numeric keypad, use the Character Map. To launch it, press Win+R and type charmap in the Run box. When it opens, find the character you want to insert then press Select. Select Copy when all the characters you want to add have been selected. The great thing about Character Map is that it supports all possible glyphs within a typeface, not just the ones accessible from the keyboard. Create Smart Quotes on Mac To manually insert smart quotes, type the following keys simultaneously. Type Option+] and Shift+Option+] for the left (open) and right (closed) single quote mark or apostrophe, respectively.Type Option+[ and Shift+Option+[ for the left and right curved double quotation marks, respectively. Add Smart Quotes to Web Pages Web typography works a little differently. Smart quotes do not always work well on the web, so straight quotes are used. However, if you want to add curly quotes to HTML code, do the following: For the character for the curly single opening quote mark (or apostrophe), use ‘ and ’, respectively.For the character for the curly opening and closing double quotation marks, use “ and ”, respectively. Oversized curly quotes add interest to pull-quotes in articles or general information pages. Quick Reference Guide to Keyboard Shortcuts Mark Description Windows Mac HTML ' Straight single apostrophe ' ' ' " Straight double quote " " " ‘ Opening single apostrophe alt+0145 option+] ‘ ’ Closing single apostrophe alt+0146 option+shift+] ’ “ Opening double quote alt+0147 option+[ “ ” Closing double quote alt+0148 option+shift+[ ” More About That Straight Apostrophe Key Straight quotes come from the typewriter. In printing and typesetting, all quotation marks were curly. But typewriter character sets were limited by mechanical constraints and physical space. By replacing the curly opening and closing quotes with ambidextrous straight quotes, two slots became available for other characters. The straight marks on the apostrophe key are also called primes. You can use the single straight mark for feet and minutes and the double mark for inches and seconds, as in 1'6" for 1 foot, 6 inches or 30'15" for 30 minutes, 15 seconds.