How to put brackets with the keyboard

Are you wondering how to put brackets with the keyboard? This doubt is more common than you think, because this is not a sign that is used too much. So it is normal that when the time comes to put it in a document we realize that we do not know how to open and close brackets.

Don't worry, we are going to explain how to do it, regardless of whether you are working with a Mac or if your computer has a Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system.

How to make brackets with the keyboard in Windows 11

There are several methods to add brackets without cutting and pasting, which is an operation that is always somewhat more tedious and whose results are not always as expected. So you don't have to start looking for bracket symbols to make a glue cutter The next time you have to use them, take note of the different ways there are to achieve it.

How to put brackets on the keyboard using Shift

Check your computer keyboard carefully, it is likely that the bracket symbols appear on it. They are similar to parentheses, but with straighter edges. You should have two such symbols, one opening and one closing. If your keyboard has them (They are usually next to the letter P), you won't have to complicate things.

You just have to press the Shift key and then the key with the square bracket symbol drawn on it. Open or close, as you need.

In Windows 11, you also get the same result if you press Alt Gr and then the square bracket symbol.

Write square brackets with keyboard shortcuts

If your keyboard does not have these signs or you simply want to work faster, there are a series of shortcuts you can apply:

• Alt + 91 (opens the bracket).
• Alt + 93 (close the bracket).

Methods to write square brackets on Mac

If your keyboard has the bracket symbols drawn on it (this is the most common), it's as simple as pressing Alt and the corresponding key.

On some Mac keyboards the Opening bracket symbol and closing bracket symbol are on the same key. In this case, clicking on the key will highlight the opening bracket, and pressing Shift plus that key will display the closing bracket.

How to put square brackets in Excel

Knowing how to put square brackets with the keyboard in Excel is important if you have to do array formulas that combine several calculations and speed up the work. Although it seems somewhat complicated, it is actually very simple.

Select the boxes you want to operate with and press the key combination ctrol + shift (shift) + enter. Excel will automatically place the square brackets.

How to put brackets in note numbers in Word

When creating a document in Word, it is common to have footnotes, and the formatting is best when the numbers of these notes appear in square brackets. But this is not something that the word processor does by default.

What we recommend in this case is that write the document and its notes normally. Once you're done, with the following formula you can get all the note numbers to appear in brackets at once:

• Press on "Start".
• Click on the command "Replace" Within the group "Edition". In order to open the dialogue "Search for and replace".
• In the frame "Search what" enter «^f» and in the box "replace with" put «[^&]».
• Click on "Replace all".
• All footnote numbers will appear in square brackets, and all you have to do is click on "To accept" so that this format is maintained.

How to put brackets with the mobile keyboard

We increasingly use our mobile phones to write emails of a more formal nature, and even to make drafts that we will later work on on the computer. If you need to use brackets when using the phone, you also have them available.

Whatever type of keyboard you use, the route to reach this symbol is usually the same or very similar. Once the keyboard is displayed you have to click on «123», and symbols that go beyond the typical ones will appear. From there click on «[&=» in Swiftkey or in «\<« on the Google keyboard, and even more signs will appear, among which you will see the square brackets.

When to use brackets?

Now we know how to put square brackets with the keyboard, but it is not enough for us to be able to write this symbol on our electronic devices. We also have to make sure we use it grammatically correctly.

There are four punctuation marks in pairs:

• Square bracket.
• Parenthesis.
• Wrench.
• Pointed parenthesis or inequality sign (<>).

Although we often do not realize it, the truth is that, at a grammatical level, each of them has a specific use.

Using Brackets in Quotations

• Brackets are used to introduce words that are not original to a quote. We can do this, for example, if we want to clarify the meaning of some term.
• The location "sic" placed in square brackets, indicates that the quote is completely textual. In this way, if the original quote had any grammatical or spelling error, it would be repeated in the quote we are reviewing with this location in square brackets.
• To indicate an ellipsis (the deletion of one or more words without which the text is also understood) the square bracket could be used, but in many cases it is recommended not to highlight the omission with any symbol.

Use of square brackets in mathematics and statistics

The grammatical use of brackets follows its own rules, but the truth is that this is a sign that is rarely used when writing, because in most cases it can be replaced by a parenthesis.

Where knowing how to put square brackets with the keyboard is really important is in the field of mathematics and statistics.

In this case, The symbols tell us the order in which the operations must be solved.. If there are parentheses, the operations inside the parentheses are resolved first, then the operations inside the brackets, and finally the operations outside the brackets.

Now you know how to put square brackets with the keyboard and when to use them correctly. So you have no excuses for your documents not being perfect.