This tutorial shows three methods for inserting trademark, copyright, and registered symbols in PDFs: alt codes, the Character Map, and copying and pasting.
This tutorial is for editable PDFs in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, Acrobat Standard DC, and Acrobat Reader DC running on Windows. These steps should also work with most earlier versions of Acrobat and Reader.
Method One: Alt Codes
If your keyboard has a dedicated number pad, you can easily use alt codes to insert trademark, copyright, and registered symbols into PDFs.*
Important Note: The trademark, copyright, and registered symbols are special characters included in standard font files. The following steps won’t work with decorative fonts that don’t include special characters. Those who are using decorative fonts should try the Character Map or copy and paste methods below.
1. Select the Tools tab.
2. Select Edit PDF in the Tools Center.
3. Insert your cursor where the symbol should appear in the text.
4. Press the Alt key while selecting the number combination on your number pad:
Trademark (™): Alt+0153
Copyright symbol (©): Alt+0169
Registered symbol (®): Alt+0174
*Alt codes normally can’t be entered by the regular top row of numbers. If your keyboard doesn’t have a number pad, you may be able to press the Alt and the Function (FN) keys while selecting the numbers on the embedded number pad (the tiny numbers that appear on regular letter keys on keyboards without number pads).
Method Two: The Character Map
The Character Map is part of Windows. You can use the Character Map to insert special characters, including trademark, copyright, or registered symbols into editable PDFs in Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader.
1. Select the Tools tab.
2. Select Edit PDF in the Tools Center.
3. Select the Search icon in the Windows taskbar. (Windows 10 shown below.)
4. Search for and then select Character Map.
5. Locate your font in the Character Map’s drop-down menu.
6. Select the trademark, copyright, or registered symbol in the character menu.
Pro Tip: Use the search box at the bottom of the Character Map to search for “trade mark” [not “trademark”], “copyright,” or “registered.” If the Character Map is unable to find the symbol you need, it may not be included in your font file, in which case, select a standard font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, that looks similar to your font.
7. Select the Select button.
8. Select the Copy button.
9. Close or hide the Character Map.
10. Insert your cursor where the symbol should appear in the text.
11. Select Ctrl+V to paste the symbol into the text.
Method Three: Copy and Paste
1. Select the Tools tab.
2. Select Edit PDF in the Tools Center.
3. Open a Microsoft Word document and select the same font used in your PDF.
4. Create a trademark, copyright, or registered symbol.
5. Select the symbol and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
6. Reopen your PDF and insert your cursor where the symbol should appear in the text.
7. Press Ctrl+V to paste the symbol.
Further Reading: How to Create External Links in PDFs with Adobe Acrobat
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