How to create bullet points in Excel (•)

Excel is not a word processor software, but you may still want to list things in various parts of your workbooks. Bullet points are great for creating lists, as its the universal indicator of an unordered list. Here, we're going to cover 4 different ways to insert a bullet point in Excel (•).

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Copy & Paste

Copy & Paste any of the characters (filled and hollow versions) from below:
•
◦

Enjoy!

Alt Code

You can insert a bullet point in Excel using your keyboard only. All you need to do is to hold down the Alt button while typing in the corresponding code for the character. While holding the Alt key, press 7 to add a bullet point. Use Alt + 9 to place a hollow circle.

Symbols

Excel, just like Word, features a Symbols menu that lists all supported characters in a single place. You can find the Symbol dialog by following the INSERT > Symbols > Symbol path in the Ribbon.

In the Symbol dialog, choose a font and type in any of the following codes into the Character code box:

• 2022 for •
• 25E6 for ◦

Formula

You can insert a bullet point using formulas as well! The UNICHAR function of Excel can return a Unicode character based on its specific numeric value. Enter 8226 into the function to create the bullet point. For a white bullet. this code is 9675.

Bonus: Populating bullet points after entering value

You can use number formatting to populate a bullet point in a cell before the string.

Here are the steps to set your cells to behave like shown above:

1. Select the cells where you want to populate bullet points
2. Press the Ctrl + 1 combination to open the Format Cells dialog
3. Go to the Number tab active if it is not selected
4. Select Custom from the Category list
5. Place a bullet point and @ character into the Type box (e.g. "• @")
6. Click OK to save the custom number formatting.

That's all! If you had followed these steps, you defined a custom number format of your own. An @ character is a placeholder for any text value. From now on, if you enter a text into the cell, Excel will create a bullet point before the text automatically.