A colon is a symbol that resembles two vertical periods ( : ) and on the same key as the semicolon on standard United States keyboards.

Where is the colon key on the keyboard?

Below is an overview of a computer keyboard with the colon key highlighted in blue.

  • Where is the colon key on the keyboard?
  • How to create the “:” symbol
  • How is a colon used?
  • What is the other symbol on the colon key?
  • Related information.
  • Keyboard help and support.

How to create the “:” symbol

Creating the “:” symbol on a U.S. keyboard

To create the colon symbol using a U.S. keyboard, hold down Shift and press : (colon) key. The colon : is the same key as ; (semicolon), located directly to the right of the letter ‘L’ key.

Creating the “:” symbol on a smartphone or tablet

To create a tilde on a smartphone or tablet, open the keyboard and go into the numbers (123) or symbols (sym) section and then tap the “:” symbol.

Doing the Alt code Alt+58 can also create a colon.

How is a colon used?

Below are some different examples of where a colon is used today.

  • In a URL, a colon separates the protocol with the address. For example, with https://www.computerhope.com, https is the protocol and www.computerhope.com is the address.
  • In MS-DOS and the Windows command line, a colon indicates a drive letter. For example, typing A: at the MS-DOS prompt would switch to the “A: drive” or floppy disk drive.
  • In a spreadsheet formula, a colon specifies a range. For example, =sum(A1:A20) would add cells A1 through A20.
  • A colon in front or end of a word (depending on programming language) creates a label that can be used with a goto.
  • In a batch file adding two comments in front of a line creates a remarked line.
  • The colon may be used with a right parenthesis in text or online messages to denote a smiley face :). It is also known as an emoticon.

What is the other symbol on the colon key?

On U.S. keyboards, the colon key is shared with ; (semicolon) key, which may be shown next to or above the colon symbol. To create a colon hold down the Shift key while also pressing ; (semicolon) key.

Keyboard terms, Punctuation, Semicolon

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