How can I type a £ (pound sign character) on my iMac?

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Solution 1

Make sure you use the same Input Source on both systems. Open System Preferences » Language & Text to find out.

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This window also allows you to Show Input menu on menu bar. From there, you can Show Keyboard Viewer, a handy utility that shows you what character pressing a combination of regular and modifier keys (Option, Shift) will produce.

Press any modifier to change what's displayed. For example, pressing Shift will show that the British keyboard layout will produce £ when pressing Shift-3.

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Solution 2

Alt + 3 should do it. This works on US keyboard settings without modifying anything, out of the box. £! If you are using a mac labeled keyboard, it will be Option + 3

46,928

Robotnik

[ Software Engineer ] [ Moderator ] [ Volunteer ] [ Gamer ] [ Father ] [ He/Him ] Hello, my name is Ryan, I'm an Elected Moderator on Arqade, the video gaming Stack Exchange site. I'm a full-stack Software Engineer with years of experience in Web and App development. My current tech stack consists primarily of HTML5/JS (React, Typescript), as well as AWS Microservices, Postgres, and a bit of C#. Over the years I've worked with a multitude of technologies: ASP.NET, Android/iOS development, Xbox One and Windows 10 Apps (Both XAML and HTML based ones), Java and so on. I also volunteer in Environment & Sustainability groups in my local area (if you're reading this and into that sort of stuff, you should join the Sustainable Living SE!). I enjoy many video, board and card games, as well as D&D as both DM and player. I'm currently playing in a Star Wars 5e campaign, as a naive Droid Engineer: TA-1! Check it out here: Star Wars D&D. Find me on: YouTube - A Pinch of Salt (Group channel) - game-play and gaming/tech podcasts with friends YouTube - RobotnikPlays - (Personal channel) - game-play, achievements, tricks and techniques, time trials, and commentary on gaming in general. Steam - My primary gaming platform Discord - A Pinch of Salt - Video gaming, D&D, tech and lots more.

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Robotnik over 1 year

How can I type a £ character on my iMac using my US Logitech keyboard. I am on Lion. It worked on my MacBook.
HikeMike over 12 years

@BlueCedar You're welcome. Remember to click the checkmark next to my answer to mark your question answered.
Kingdon over 6 years

Today, as far as I can tell, on my Macbook Pro with a US keyboard setting, you need the "fn" key to press Alt as described here and (fn)Alt+3 will do a £. I'm using El Capitan and I get no answer at all from option+ 1 thru 5. I can get a € symbol though, from Shift+Alt+2, but it looks like some change was made in 2015. I have no idea why you can't get this symbol using the Option key alone, it was very hard to find this solution.
Ben over 6 years

I'm on Sierra, on a current macbook pro, and nothing is different for me. £ is still Option-3.
Kingdon over 6 years

Today I (El Capitan) tried pressing Option-1 thru 5 and noticed that if you have multiple desktops, it changes desktops. I can't even get a pound sign at all. Maybe it would work if I didn't have a Desktop #3 open. I haven't updated my OS since I posted that two weeks ago.
Ben over 6 years

That is a third party application or a manually created shortcut.
Kingdon over 6 years

No it's not either (third party or manually created), but thank you for pointing me in that direction as it is a Mission Control shortcut that can be disabled. ££ fn+option (= alt) + 3 = £ Works alright now!
Ben over 6 years

Hooray! I'd love to know how option-3 got populated into a mission control shortcut, that is not on my fresh sierra or high sierra installs. Glad you got it working, ¡™£¢∞§¶ to you!