French accents on keyboard windows 7

On a PC with a qwerty keyboard, French special characters can be displayed in a simple combination of keys. Press all the keys simultaneously and the character gets displayed. Have I convinced you to learn to type French accents with combination keys on your qwerty keyboard? How long did it take you to master the different key combinations?

Share your experience in the comment section below. Nathalie is the creator of ma French Life. She moved back to France after living in Los Angeles for 20 years. She writes practical articles to help expats in France. Nathalie lives with her family in the French Alps near Grenoble. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.

Qwerty vs Azerty Keyboard French use azerty keyboards while English speakers use qwerty keyboards. French accent marks on a French azerty keyboard.

Windows 95, 98, ME, NT. Windows The best way to type accents on a PC is by using the international keyboard, which requires a simple control panel configuration - there is no keyboard to purchase or software to download.

If you're really set against the international keyboard, you can type accented characters with ALT codes, which use the ALT key and a 3 or 4 digit code. However, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, not the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard. So they won't work on a laptop unless you hit number lock to activate the number pad "built into" the right-side of your keyboard, which is a big hassle because then the letters won't work.

Bottom line, if you're on a laptop, choose a different keyboard rather than messing around with ALT codes. To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here.

When you release the ALT key, the character will appear. To type accents on an Apple with the option key, hold down the option key while pressing the key s in bold in this list. Note: In these instructions, "and" means to keep holding the option key and the first key listed while typing the second.

To type any of the above as capital letters , add shift key to the first step. Opening the special character palette to type accents on a Mac:. Here are two ways to type accents in Linux:. Character Palette Ubuntu Right-click on the top bar and click on "Add to Panel," select and add "Character Palette.

Left-click a character, then hold down Control Key and type V to insert it at the cursor position. Compose Key. Specify a particular unused key e. The combinations are pretty intuitive.

My account My courses. How to Type French Accents? Course Viewed: 11 They work with the numeric keypad, NOT the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard. In other words, these codes will not work on a laptop until you have a dedicated numeric keypad. Release the ALT key and the accented letter or special character will appear.

Type French accents in any operating system.