HOW TO: Type Accented International Characters from the Keyboard in Word 2000 (269750)

SUMMARY

This article explains three ways that you can type international characters that contain accents or other diacritical marks in Microsoft Word 2000.

Word provides a way to type international characters that contain a grave accent (`), acute accent ('), circumflex (^), umlaut (:), cedilla (,), ring (@), or tilde (~) directly from your keyboard.

NOTE: The characters provided in the parentheses immediately after the international character names are the keys that correspond to these international characters in the U.S. Keyboard layout.

For example, the following are some of the characters that you can type directly from your keyboard: NOTE: The names of the various accents may be different, depending on your language. To type an accented international character, use one of the following methods.

back to the top

Method 1: U.S. Keyboard Layout

On a U.S. keyboard layout, follow these steps:

1. Hold down CTRL, and then type the character that corresponds to the accent or diacritical mark that you want to appear above (or below, in the case of the cedilla) the letter.
   
   NOTE: To add a circumflex (^), umlaut (:), ring (@), or tilde (~), hold down CTRL+SHIFT, and then type the character that corresponds to the accent or diacritical mark that you want to appear above the letter.
   
   The status bar displays CTRL+key (where key is the key that you pressed), but nothing appears on the screen.
2. Type the letter that you want.
   
   The accented character appears in the document.

If you type a legitimate symbol and an ineligible letter, you hear a beep. If you press CTRL plus a symbol that is invalid, you see only the character with no symbol above it.

For more information about how to insert other international characters by using a shortcut key, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type accented characters in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

back to the top

Method 2: Non-U.S. Keyboard Layout

The AltGr key is on the right side of the keyboard on some non-U.S. keyboard layouts. AltGr is equivalent to the CTRL+ALT key combination, and you can use it with other keys to type international characters.

For more information about how to type international characters by using a non-U.S. keyboard layout, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type AltGr in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

back to the top

Method 3: Use the Microsoft Visual Keyboard

The Microsoft Visual Keyboard is a program that displays a keyboard for another language on your screen, so that you can type more than one language on your computer.

The Microsoft Visual Keyboard is useful when you have only one physical keyboard and need to locate the character keys for multiple languages. You can enter data with either the mouse or the keyboard while the Visual Keyboard has focus.

back to the top