Step-by-Step: Using the Emoji Helper

1. Search for an Emoji

   Use the search box at the top and type a keyword like party, heart, check, travel, or coffee. The grid updates automatically as you type.

   Tip: Try broad words first (like “love” or “happy”), then narrow it down.

2. Filter by Category

   Use the category buttons to quickly jump to emoji groups like Celebration, Status, UI / Navigation, Hearts, Work, and more — or choose Show all to browse everything at once.

3. Understand the Info Shown for Each Emoji

   Each emoji tile includes:

   • Name (what the emoji is called)
   • Unicode (example: U+1F389)
   • HTML entity (example: 🎉)

   These are the “building blocks” that help you use emojis safely across HTML, PHP, and databases.

4. Copy Option #1: Copy the Emoji Character

   Click Copy emoji to copy the actual character (example: 🎉). This is the best option for most uses — blog posts, page headings, captions, and normal HTML text — as long as your site is UTF-8.

   Example (HTML):

   <h2>Happy Birthday 🎉</h2>

5. Copy Option #2: Copy PHP \u{} Unicode

   Click Copy PHP \u{} to copy a PHP-safe Unicode escape sequence (example: \u{1F389}). This is perfect when you’re printing emojis from PHP variables, arrays, templates, or generators — especially if your editor sometimes mangles emoji characters.

   Example (PHP):

   <?php
   echo "Party time! \u{1F389}";
   ?>

   Tip: Use double quotes in PHP strings so the escape sequence is interpreted correctly.

6. Copy Option #3: Copy the HTML Entity

   Click Copy HTML entity to copy the numeric HTML code (example: 🎉). This is useful when you want to place an emoji into HTML without pasting the emoji character itself.

   Example (HTML):

   <p>Party time! &#127881;</p>

7. Use the UTF-8 Setup Instructions

   Expand the UTF-8 setup instructions for PHP/MySQL section on the Emoji Helper page. This checklist helps ensure emojis display correctly on your site and (most importantly) can be stored in your database.

   The biggest “must-have” setting for MySQL is utf8mb4 — older “utf8” settings often fail with emojis.

8. Fix Mojibake (Weird Symbols Like 🎉)

   If you ever see broken emoji text (mojibake), it usually means the bytes were decoded using the wrong encoding. The Emoji Helper includes a sample fix you can use to repair text that got mis-decoded.

   Tip: The real fix is to make sure your files, pages, and database are UTF-8 from the start — but this can help rescue old content.

What Each Copy Option Is For (Quick Cheat Sheet)

• Copy emoji: Best for normal text, headings, captions, and most web use (UTF-8 required)
• Copy PHP \u{}: Best for PHP output, templates, and generators (safe in code)
• Copy HTML entity: Best when you want HTML numeric code instead of pasting the emoji character

Tips for Best Results

• Make sure your page has <meta charset="UTF-8">
• For MySQL storage, use utf8mb4 (not old utf8)
• If emojis “break,” check file encoding in your editor before anything else
• Use the PHP \u{} option if you copy/paste emojis a lot in code files
• Search broad keywords first, then narrow down