Two curved arrows sitting in the same toolbars and doing entirely unrelated things.
Look at whether the arrow closes on itself. Refresh is a loop — the arrow chases its own tail — and repeats a fetch. Redo is an open arc that steps forward through a history of changes, reinstating what undo reversed. Pressing the wrong one is a recognised and irritating mistake.
Both are curved arrows in the same toolbars: refresh loops closed on itself to repeat a fetch, redo is an open arc stepping forward through a history.
Drawn from the visual attributes recorded for each symbol. Only traits the two records disagree about are listed.
| Trait | Refresh symbol | Redo arrow symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Built from | arrows and circles | arrows |
| Refresh symbol | Redo arrow symbol | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | A closed loop | An open arc |
| What it does | Fetches again | Reinstates a reversed action |
| Has an opposite | No | Yes — undo |
| Disabled when nothing applies | No | Yes |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Redo arrow symbol — Both are curved arrows in the same toolbars: refresh loops closed on itself to repeat a fetch, redo is an open arc stepping forward through a history. | Commonly confused with Refresh symbol — Both are curved arrows. Refresh loops closed on itself to repeat a fetch; redo is an open arc that steps forward through a history. |
Unicode Code Chart: Arrows (U+2190–U+21FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-31
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for what an icon marks and how widely a convention is followed, never for a claim that any body defines it.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Both are drawn as one continuous decorative stroke with a closed loop and a tail that crosses back over itself, which is why a description of the shape alone reaches both. The clef is far taller, spans a stave, and its spiral encircles one specific line — that encircled line is the note G, and it is the only reason the shape is drawn where it is.
As punctuation the asterisk points at a footnote or marks a required field. In a filename pattern typed at a shell it matches any run of characters, including none — and the shell expands it against real filenames before the command runs, so the command never sees the pattern at all. That expansion is the part people are surprised by.
Check where the dot sits. A dot immediately to the right of the notehead adds half the note's value again — a dotted half note lasts three beats. A dot directly above or below the head means staccato: play it short and detached. One dot, two opposite instructions, and only position distinguishes them.
Look at whether the adult is standing or seated. Baby changing shows an adult leaning over an infant on a table — a facility for changing a nappy. A nursing room shows a seated figure holding an infant — a private space for feeding. They are separate rooms, and signage that conflates them sends people to the wrong one.