How to access Windows 8.x emoji on a desktop PC

The touch screen keyboard available on Windows 8.x tablets -- like Microsoft Surface, for example -- gives you access to a wealth of emoji you can use in chats, emails, comments and so on. As well as the usual smileys, there are hand signs, hearts, cartoon characters, vehicles, weather symbols, and many more to pick from. Just select the character set you want at the bottom of the keyboard.

If you’re not using a touch screen device, but still want to access these characters you can.

All you need to do is right-click the taskbar, go to Toolbars and select Touch Keyboard. A virtual keyboard will open, and you can click on the emoji key and select the characters you want.

A Touch Keyboard button will be displayed in the taskbar, so you can quickly access the virtual keyboard, and the emoji collection, as and when required.