How to type language accent marks on your keyboard

Using Microsoft Word & Office apps (Shortcut Keys) There are handy shortcut keys on most modern PCs and laptops loaded with Microsoft Word and Office apps. They’re fast to use, and the key combos aren’t too complicated. Here are the main ones to remember: Grave accent (à): Press and hold the Control key (Ctrl) on the bottom-left of your keyboard and the Accent key (`) near the top-left together. Release the keys, and then choose the letter you want to add the grave accent to. Acute accent (é): Press and hold the Control key (Ctrl) and the Apostrophe key (') near the Enter key together. Let go of the keys, then select the letter. Circumflex accent (û): Press and hold the Control key (Ctrl), the Shift key just above, and then tap 6 near the top row. Release the keys and pick your letter. Tilde accent (ñ): Press and hold the Control key (Ctrl), the Shift key, and then the Accent key (`) together.

Let go of the keys and choose the letter you want. Umlaut accent (ü): Press and hold the Control key (Ctrl), the Shift key, and the Colon key (:) just next to the Apostrophe key. Release the keys and type the letter you need. Uppercase accented letters (Ä): If you want to add any of the accents above to uppercase letters, follow the same steps but press and hold the Shift key right after releasing the combination of keys. You can then type the letter you want, and it’ll be capitalised. Easy!

Using the Windows Character Map If you're not using Microsoft Office apps, then the Windows Character Map is the easiest way to get accented letters. Here's how to find it: Open the Windows Start menu at the bottom-left of your taskbar (Windows logo). Type "character map" into the search field and click on the app that appears at the top. The character map screen will be displayed on your screen. Just click on the accented letter you need. You'll then need to click on the Select button. This’ll put the accented letter you want in the empty field at the bottom of the Character Map. Click the Copy button to get the accented letter on your clipboard, which you can then paste anywhere you want. Learning Windows Alt Key Codes (ASCII Code) There's also another method for Windows and Microsoft Office users. To use Alt Key Codes though, you'll need a numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard. Sorry laptop users — you probably won't have this! But if you're using a desktop keyboard, here's what you'll need to do: Hold the Alt key down. All the following codes start with you holding this key down while typing out the numeric code for each accent. Type the accent code out on the numeric keypad: Grave accents: à = 0224; À = 0192 è = 0232; È = 0200 ì = 0236; Ì = 0204 ò = 0242; Ò = 0210 ù = 0249; Ù = 0217 Acute accents: á = 0225; Á = 0193 é = 0233; É = 0201 í = 0237; Í = 0205 ó = 0243; Ó = 0211 ú = 0250; Ú = 0218 ý = 0253; Ý = 0221 Circumflex accents: â = 0226; Â = 0194 ê = 0234; Ê = 0202 î = 0238; Î = 0206 ô = 0244; Ô = 0212 û = 0251; Û = 0219 Tilde accents: ã = 0227; Ã = 0195 ñ = 0241; Ñ = 0209 õ = 0245; Õ = 0213 Umlaut accents: ä = 0228; Ä = 0196 ë = 0235; Ë = 0203 ï = 0239; Ï = 0207 ö = 0246; Ö = 0214 ü = 0252; Ü = 0220 ÿ = 0255; Ÿ = 0159 After you've typed out the code, just let go of the Alt key. And then you’re done

Adding a Windows Language Pack Want to change the default language on your computer? No problem, just change the Language Pack. This'll let you view menus, dialogue boxes, and more in your chosen language. You can even change your keyboard layout and fonts too. If you want to do this, follow these steps: Open the Windows Start menu at the bottom-left of your taskbar (Windows logo). Select 'Settings' (gear icon), then click on 'Time & language' on the bottom-left of the screen. Choose the 'Language' option in the sidebar on the left and scroll down to the 'Preferred languages' section. Click on 'Add a language' and choose a language to install.

There are loads! Using an Apple Mac computer (Accent Menu) Typing accents on iMac or MacBook computers — and iPads and iPhones too — is a piece of cake. Here's what you'll need to do: Hold down the letter you want to accent on your keyboard. It'll bring up a small menu with accented versions of that letter. No key combos required! Pick the accented letter you want from the pop-up menu. If the menu doesn't appear, it means that no accented versions of that letter exist. Using Mac Dead Keys 'Dead Keys' are just shortcut keys. They let you create accents when working on the web, or on a doc in the Pages app. Here's how to do it: Grave accent (à): Press and hold the Option key at the bottom-left of your keyboard and the Accent key (`) near the top-left together. Release them, and then choose the letter you want to add the accent to. Want to capitalise it? Just press the Shift key before your letter. Acute accent (é): Press and hold the Option key and the 'E' key. Let go, and then select your desired letter. Circumflex accent (û): Press and hold the Option key and the 'I' key. Release the keys, and then pick out the letter you want to add the accent to. Tilde accent (ñ): Press and hold the Option key and the 'N' key. Let go of them, and then select your letter. Umlaut accent (ü): Press and hold the Option key and the 'U' key. Release the keys and choose your letter. Reconfiguring your Mac keyboard Want to completely change your Mac's keyboard to your preferred language? It'll only take a few clicks: Open up 'System Settings' from the Apple menu in the top left. It might be 'System Preferences' if you're using an older version of macOS. Click on 'Keyboard' in the sidebar on the left. It has a keyboard icon to make it easy to spot. Click on the 'Edit' button under the 'Text Input' section. Click on 'Add' (the plus icon) and select the language you want. Any more questions?