Put Accents on Letters

Whether you're typing in a language other than your own or you're adding accents to words in your own language, knowing where to source accents from can speed up the typing process considerably. There are quite a few ways to add accents, depending on what program you're using and this article sets out some of the most common approaches.

Note: This article presumes that you're working with a keyboard set for English speakers. Obviously, keyboards in other languages often come equipped with the necessary accents.

Steps

Typing Accents on PCs

  1. Try shortcut keys. Shortcut keys work on most newer PCs that run Microsoft Word.[1] They tend to be faster and easier to remember than using ASCII Code to create accents.
  2. Press Control + `, then the letter to add a grave accent. Hold the Control key down, then tap the accent key near the top left corner of your keypad. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter to accent.
    • The accent key is usually on the same key as the ~. It is not the apostrophe key.
  3. Press Control + ', then the letter to add an acute accent. Hold Control, then tap the apostrophe key. You can find the apostrophe next to the enter key. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter to accent.
  4. Press Control, then Shift, then 6, then the letter to add a circumflex accent. Hold down the Control and Shift keys then tap the 6 key. Release the keys and select the desired letter. The 6 key is used because of the ^ character found above the number.
  5. Press Shift + Control + ~, then the letter to add a tilde accent. You will find the tilde is the same key used to make the grave accent. Be sure to hold down the Shift key or you will end up with a grave accent instead. Release the keys, then select the desired letter.
  6. Press Shift + Control + :, then the letter to add an umlaut accent. The colon key can be found next to the apostrophe key. You must hold down the Shift key to select the colon as opposed to the semicolon. Release the keys. Now select the letter.
  7. Add accents in the same way for uppercase accented letters. However, this time, simply type the shift key straight after typing the Control + (choice), then type the letter. It will automatically capitalize.

Learning Windows Alt Key Codes (ASCII Code)

  1. Use ALT key codes. To use these codes your keyboard must have a separate numeric keypad off to the right-hand side of your keyboard.[2] ASCII codes will work for Microsoft Office. They may not work with all Windows programs, so you may have to check the programs individually to see if they are compatible.
  2. Hold down the ALT key. While there are many numeric codes to remember, the one thing you need to do for all of the codes is to first hold the ALT key. Continue to hold the key while you type the necessary numeric code.
  3. Type the corresponding accent code on the numeric keypad.
    1. Type the following codes to get grave accents:
    • à = 0224; À = 0192
    • è = 0232; È = 0200
    • ì = 0236; Ì = 0204
    • ò = 0242; Ò = 0210
    • ù = 0249; Ù = 0217
    1. Type the following codes to get 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
    1. Type the following codes to get circumflex accents:
    • â = 0226; Â = 0194
    • ê = 0234; Ê = 0202
    • î = 0238; Î = 0206
    • ô = 0244; Ô = 0212
    • û = 0251; Û = 0219
    1. Type the following codes to get tilde accents:
    • ã = 0227; Ã = 0195
    • ñ = 0241; Ñ = 0209
    • õ = 0245; Õ = 0213
    1. Type the following codes to get 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
  4. Release the ALT key. The accent will appear above the corresponding letter as shown. Learning the accent codes can take some practice as there are many to remember. You can make a cheat sheet to keep by your computer so you can reference it quickly if you need to use accents often. If you use accents frequently, you should reconfigure the keyboard to better suit your typing needs.

Making Accents on a Mac

  1. Use shortcut keys to create accents while typing on your Mac. This method will work for documents in Pages as well as your work on the web. The Option key will always be held down first, and then you will type a combination of two other keys to specify the type of accent and the letter.
  2. Press Option + `, then the letter to make grave accents. Hold down the Option key, then press the ` (accent) key. Release the keys. You will see a highlighted yellow accent on your page. Then press the letter you wish to accent. This accent can be made with any vowel.
  3. Press Option + E, then the letter to create acute accents. Press and hold the Option key, then tap the E key. Release the keys. Once you see the yellow highlighted acute accent, you can select the letter. This accent can be made over any vowel.
  4. Press Option + I, then the letter to create circumflex accents. Hold down the Option key first, then press the I key. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter. These accents can also be used over any vowel.
  5. Press Option + N, then the letter to type tilde accents. Hold down the Option key, then press the N key. Release the keys. Then type your desired letter. This accent can only be used over the letters A, N, and O.
  6. Press Option + U, then the letter to make the umlaut accent. Hold down the Option key, then tap the U key. Release the keys. Now you can select the desired letter.
  7. Press the shift key to accent uppercase accented letters. You will need to hold the shift key down first to capitalize the letters. Usually if it starts a sentence, it will automatically capitalize.

Copying and Pasting Accents

  1. Know your accents first. You always want to make sure you are putting the proper accent over the word, as sometimes an alternate accent can give some words an entirely different meaning. These are some of the common accents used by most European languages:
    • Grave accents – à, è, ì, ò, ù
    • Acute accents – á, é, í, ó, ú, ý
    • Circumflex accents – â, ê, î, ô, û
    • Tilde accents – ñ, õ, ã
    • Umlaut accents – ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ
  2. Find an example of the needed letter or word. You can pull text from an existing text file, the character map or viewer utility on your computer, or by searching online. If you search a word that normally uses the accent on your search engine, you should be able to quickly copy a sample of the entire word.
  3. Highlight the needed letter or word. Right-click on your PC to copy the text. Hit Command + C to copy if you are using a Mac.
  4. Paste individual accents into your text. If you are using a Mac, you can select the "paste and match style" option by right-clicking if you want the accent or accented word to match the rest of your text. If you are using a PC, just highlight the word once you've pasted it and change the font so it matches the rest of your document. If you rarely use accents, or you just want a quick solution, this can be the most efficient method to create accents quickly.

Reconfiguring Your Keyboard

  1. Go to your Control Panel for Windows XP users. You can click on the main menu in the bottom left corner of the screen, then select Control Panel.
    • Click on "Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options.”
    • Click on "Regional and Language Options.”
    • Select the "Languages" tab at the top.
    • Click on "Details" near the bottom.
    • Click "Add" and choose your desired language.
    • Go back to the "Languages" tab and choose the option to "switch languages" by pressing "left alt-shift" at the same time. This way, you can switch to and from the Spanish and regular keyboard whenever you want.
  2. Go to Control Panel if you want to change your keyboard configuration in Windows 8 or 10. You can pull up the menu by holding down the Win key and hitting R.[3]
    • Switch to the small icons view. This will save you a few clicks by getting you straight to the languages menu.
    • Click on the icon labelled Language.
    • Select options
    • Click add an input method. This will allow you to select your desire keyboard configuration.
  3. Open “System Preferences” if you want to change keyboard configuration on a Mac computer. You can access system preferences through the Launchpad or the Applications folder.
    • Click on “International."
    • Select the "Input Menu" tab.
    • Scroll down and select your desired language.
    • Note the keystrokes necessary to switch between languages OR Select "Show input menu in menu bar" to be able to click-select which keyboard you want to use.

Shortcut Cheat Sheets

Doc:Accent Shortcuts for PC,Accent Shortcuts for Mac



Tips

  • On the iPhone or iPad, simply hold down the letter you would like to add the accent to and a row of accented versions should appear for you to choose from.
  • There are keyboards with accented letters already forming part of the keys. These may be useful investments if you need to add accents to letters frequently.
  • Some software programs can turn some keys into accented letters, or provide a virtual keyboard which you can simply point on and click for the desired letter.

Related Articles

  • Type Accented Characters in Microsoft Word
  • Type with Accents on an Android with Smart Keyboard

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000657.htm
  2. ↑ http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html#accent
  3. ↑ http://www.howtogeek.com/121169/how-to-change-your-keyboard-layout-in-windows-8/#

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