Microsoft Windows lets you change the keyboard layout so it responds as Spanish, French, or German typewriter would. However some characters will be in a different location so this can be confusing when you type in English and will be totally frustrating for anyone else who uses your computer. (See below for Macintosh)
US International keyboard
A good solution is to install the US International keyboard. It can
be used for all Western European languages (Romance, Germanic, and Scandinavian)
and makes minimal modifications to the way you type in English. The illustration
below shows what characters are available.
Installing US International keyboard
To install this keyboard in Windows 95 open the Control Panel, double
click on Keyboard, click on the Language tab, then on Properties. Click
on the selected keyboard layout (the default is US English) then on US
International from the drop-down menu. The first time you do this you'll
be asked to insert the Windows 95 disks or CD. When finished click OK.
To install this keyboard in Windows 3.1 open the Control Panel, double click on International, click on the selected Keyboard and select US International from the drop-down menu. The first time you do this you'll be asked to put in one of your Windows disks. Do not change the Country or Language settings.
Using the US International keyboard
To get the character on the lower right of each key press either the
right Alt key, or the left Alt key + left Ctrl key, then the key that has
the character you want (before releasing the other keys). To get the characters
on the upper right, do the same but also press either Shift key at the
same time.
There's another way to get accented letters. When the US International keyboard is installed the ` ~ ' " and ^ keys become "dead" keys as on traditional foreign language typewriters. You press ` or ' and release and nothing happens. Then you press a vowel and you get that vowel with a grave (`) or acute (´) accent over it. Press Shift + ^ or Shift + ", then release and type a vowel and you get a vowel with a circumflex accent (^) or a vowel with a dieresis (umlaut) over it (¨). You can type an ñ by pressing Shift + ~ and then typing an n.
If you type a consonant after these dead keys( ~ ` ^ ' and ") you simply get the symbol followed by the consonant (except, as noted above, tilde plus n gives you ñ). To type the symbol by itself press the dead key and then the Spacebar.
Typing quotation marks
One drawback to using the US International keyboard is that a complication
arises when typing quotes. If you want a single or double quote followed
by a vowel you have to hit the Spacebar after you press ' or ". Then type
the vowel. No space will appear but you'll get the ' or " plus the vowel
instead of a vowel with an acute accent or umlaut over it. After an ending
single or double quote you must press the Spacebar once to print the quote
mark and again to insert a space.
Some other solutions
If you don't want to install a different keyboard there are a few shareware
programs which enable you to conveniently type the accented characters
only when you run the programs. 3-D Composer is for Windows 95 and
3.1; the shareware version expires after 45 days if you don't register
it: cost $25. Accent Version 3.0 is for Windows 3.1 and DOS; it's
free to try but costs $25 to register. Accent Composer is for Windows
95; also shareware, it costs $30 to register. Do an internet search to
find these programs or give me one high density diskette and I'll copy
all three of them for you.
Accents on a Macintosh
If you use a Macintosh accented vowels are always available by pressing
either of the Option keys together with a given character, releasing, and
then pressing the vowel you want.
Last revised: 14 August 1998