Typing accents on a laptop Thread poster: Armorel Young
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I've been telling a friend who is learning French how to type letters with accents by holding down Alt while typing the appropriate number combination on the number keypad - and now realise that because she is using a laptop she has no number keypad. Can laptop users tell me whether there is any way round this problem - or is the only solution to resort to one of the other methods, such as installing a French keyboard, using Insert - Symbol, or adding an external keyboard? I've always liked t... See more I've been telling a friend who is learning French how to type letters with accents by holding down Alt while typing the appropriate number combination on the number keypad - and now realise that because she is using a laptop she has no number keypad. Can laptop users tell me whether there is any way round this problem - or is the only solution to resort to one of the other methods, such as installing a French keyboard, using Insert - Symbol, or adding an external keyboard? I've always liked the Alt system myself, so would like to find a way of applying it on a laptop if this can be done. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Fn+Alt+number | Apr 14, 2004 |
Hi Armorel,
If you\'re using Word you can set some macros to do the accented characters (I have them with Ctrl+a for á, Ctrl+e, etc.).
I use this in my desktop computer and my laptop.
However, I still use the Alt+number system outside Word, so in my laptop (Toshiba) I have a Fn key between Ctrl and Alt to activate the number pad that is in the keys 7890(for 789*), uiop (for 456-), jkl; (for 123+) and m./ (for 0./). So I have to press Fn+Alt+ number.
I don\'t know... See more Hi Armorel,
If you\'re using Word you can set some macros to do the accented characters (I have them with Ctrl+a for á, Ctrl+e, etc.).
I use this in my desktop computer and my laptop.
However, I still use the Alt+number system outside Word, so in my laptop (Toshiba) I have a Fn key between Ctrl and Alt to activate the number pad that is in the keys 7890(for 789*), uiop (for 456-), jkl; (for 123+) and m./ (for 0./). So I have to press Fn+Alt+ number.
I don\'t know if other laptop brands have the same feature.
If not, the only chance is Alt+\"the numbers in the top row of the keyboard\", which is not very handy or ergonomic but...
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Grace. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ulrike Lieder (X) 
Local time: 10:13
English to German
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In memoriam | Set the keyboard to US International | Apr 14, 2004 |
Amorel,
I've found it most convenient to simply reset my keyboard to US International, and I've done this both on the desktop and the laptop. That setting gives me the normal QWERTY keyboard, plus all sorts of accented and umlauted characters via AltGr, which is the right Alt key. (For instance, AltGr + s is ß, AltGr + e is é). The US International keyboard setting is available in all the various flavors of Windows, and you can find a graphic representation of the keyboard layout... See more Amorel,
I've found it most convenient to simply reset my keyboard to US International, and I've done this both on the desktop and the laptop. That setting gives me the normal QWERTY keyboard, plus all sorts of accented and umlauted characters via AltGr, which is the right Alt key. (For instance, AltGr + s is ß, AltGr + e is é). The US International keyboard setting is available in all the various flavors of Windows, and you can find a graphic representation of the keyboard layout (in fact, any Windows keyboard layout) on the Net - IIRC, it's on one of Microsoft's sites, and even includes instructions on how to print the layout for easy reference. (Sorry I don't have the URL any more, but it should be fairly easy to find with a quick search.)
Ulrike ▲ Collapse
| | | | NGK
United States
Local time: 12:13
| Change Keyboard Layout | Apr 14, 2004 |
You can change the keyboard layout in Windows. This doesn't involve using a different physical keyboard but rather changing the way your computer responds to the keys. (The disadvantage is that the keys will, in some cases, produce other characters than the ones indicated on the keys.)
In Win XP, go to Control Panel / Regional and Language Options / Languages / Details. There you can select among a number of keyboard layouts. You can even install several keyboard layouts and then sw... See more You can change the keyboard layout in Windows. This doesn't involve using a different physical keyboard but rather changing the way your computer responds to the keys. (The disadvantage is that the keys will, in some cases, produce other characters than the ones indicated on the keys.)
In Win XP, go to Control Panel / Regional and Language Options / Languages / Details. There you can select among a number of keyboard layouts. You can even install several keyboard layouts and then switch between them as needed.
If this is too cumbersome and French characters are needed only sporadically, go to Start / Run... and enter: charmap . This will launch Character Map, from where characters can be copied and pasted.
BTW, I use the US International Layout, which uses a US QWERTY keyboard layout but facilitates typing German, French and Spanish characters. (See http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306560&sd=tech )
There are different ways to do this — either by typing ctrl+alt+[key] or by using the method described here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q97738& ▲ Collapse
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Thanks, everyone, for a lot of helpful suggestions - I'll be able to discuss with my laptop-owning friend what is going to work best (which may well be the install French keyboard option), and at least we have a range of possibilities to choose from.
| | | | | | Anne Lee
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:13
Member (2003)
Dutch to English
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| Useful topic | Apr 15, 2004 |
Hi Armorel. This is something I've been wondering about, too, since I got my new laptop, so thanks for raising the subject.
| | | | Paul Malone
France
Local time: 19:13
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
Armorel Young wrote:
I've been telling a friend who is learning French how to type letters with accents by holding down Alt while typing the appropriate number combination on the number keypad - and now realise that because she is using a laptop she has no number keypad. Can laptop users tell me whether there is any way round this problem - or is the only solution to resort to one of the other methods, such as installing a French keyboard, using Insert - Symbol, or adding an external keyboard? I've always liked the Alt system myself, so would like to find a way of applying it on a laptop if this can be done.
[Edited at 2004-05-02 16:51]
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Paul Malone
France
Local time: 19:13
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
Armorel Young wrote:
I've been telling a friend who is learning French how to type letters with accents by holding down Alt while typing the appropriate number combination on the number keypad - and now realise that because she is using a laptop she has no number keypad. Can laptop users tell me whether there is any way round this problem - or is the only solution to resort to one of the other methods, such as installing a French keyboard, using Insert - Symbol, or adding an external keyboard? I've always liked the Alt system myself, so would like to find a way of applying it on a laptop if this can be done.
[Edited at 2004-05-02 16:51]
| | | | Paul Malone
France
Local time: 19:13
Member (2004)
French to English
+ ...
| Laptop keyboards have an integrated numeric keypad. | May 2, 2004 |
Laptops have a numeric keypad built into the main keyboard. The numbers are shown in blue. To use the numeric keypad, you need to switch the "num lock" on. Another solution would be to simply add on an external keypad. These are inexpensive, I recently bought one for ten euros.
| | | | Nicolette Ri (X)
Local time: 19:13
French to Dutch
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| Add an external keyboard | May 7, 2004 |
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