How to Use Emojis on Chromebook Without On-Screen Keyboard

Ivana Kotorchevikj

Written by Ivana Kotorchevikj Gadgets / Chromebook

Linkedin Twitter Published 10 months ago / updated 1 week ago - 4 min read

Emojis have become an essential part of online communication. They are really easily accessible on smartphones, but it’s a bit trickier to use them on computers.

Luckily, Chromebooks have built-in support for using emojis. One of the options for using emojis on Chromebook is on the on-screen keyboard, which is a virtual keyboard that allows a more convenient way to type compared to the traditional physical keyboard.

However, if you don’t like using the on-screen keyboard, you may be wondering how to get emojis on a Chromebook without it.

Keep on reading to see how to use emojis on a Chromebook without an on-screen keyboard.

How to use emojis on Chromebook without an on-screen keyboard

It is definitely possible to use emojis on your Chromebook without the on-screen keyboard.

Google’s emoji set is built into Chrome OS, so you don’t have to insert a third-party app to use emojis without the on-screen keyboard. Fortunately, getting emojis on Chrome OS is relatively easy compared to other operating systems like Windows and macOS.

There are four ways you can use emojis on a Chromebook without the on-screen keyboard:

1. Enable the emojis input method.
2. Use a physical keyboard shortcut.
3. Right-click with your mouse/trackpad.
4. Download the Chrome emoji keyboard as a Chrome extension.

Below, we’ll go over all these methods separately.

1. Enable the emojis input method in the Chrome OS shelf

You first need to enable input options on the Chrome OS shelf. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open your Chromebook and select the time in the bottom-right corner of the screen. (Tips: If you don't see the Chrome OS shelf, tap or click in the bottom-right corner of the screen to bring it up.
2. In the pop-up window, click on the ‘gear’ icon to open the Settings of your Chromebook.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on ‘Advanced’.
4. Again, scroll down on this page and select ‘Languages and Input’.
5. Go to the bottom of the page and toggle the switch next to ‘Show input options on the shelf’.
6. Now, close the settings and go to the Chrome OS shelf.
7. Here, select ‘US’ from the bottom-right to bring up the input options.

Note: If your input method is set to a language other than U.S. English, the input options icon will display different letters.

8. In the pop-up menu, select the ‘smiley’ icon to bring up the emoji keyboard.

You can now browse through the emojis and select the one you want to use. You can also click on the symbols in the bottom row to browse the different categories.

2. Use the physical keyboard shortcut

The emoji keyboard also has a shortcut on the Chromebook physical keyboard.

To add an emoji:

1. First, move the cursor to the text field where you want to insert the emoji and click it.
2. Press Search/Launcher + Shift + Space.
3. The emoji keyboard will pop up.
4. Scroll to find the emoji you want to use. Click on it to use it.

Note: If you want to insert multiple emojis, you will have to press the keyboard shortcut every time to open the emoji keyboard.

3. Right-click with your mouse/trackpad

The simplest way to get emojis on Chromebook is with the right-click with your mouse or trackpad.

1. Move your cursor to the text input section where you want to insert the emoji.
2. Right-click on the text field.
3. In the pop-up menu, select ‘Emoji’.
4. You’ll see the emoji keyboard appear.
5. Scroll to find the emoji you want to insert and click it to use it.

After you click on an emoji, the emoji keyboard disappears after one click. So if you want to insert another emoji, you’ll need to follow the steps again.

4. Download the Chrome emoji keyboard as a Chrome extension

Another option to access emojis on Chromebook without the on-screen keyboard is to download the Chrome emoji keyboard as an extension.

The web-based emoji keyboard version includes even more emojis and a search feature that makes it easier to find the right one you want to use.

Bonus: How to invert colors on Chromebook.