How to type Spanish accents

[Ben]

Typing Spanish accents is easy if you have a Spanish keyboard at your fingertips (though many Spaniards don't always bother :rolleyes:).

For other keyboards around the world, there is an explanation of different ways to get the accents here (http://www.studyspanish.com/accents/typing.htm). (Don't worry though, if you leave a few off in this forum we won't mind :))

Firefox Users: Please note that the alt+number method for typing accents does not work with this forum when browsing with Firefox (it's a forum coding thing). We're very sorry about this!

[Alan]

Setting up your keyboard to international settings gives a much more natural feeling anyway. AltGr + a = á is much more natural than Alt + 0245. But, if you really want to use the Alt + numbers method, just type your post into Wordpad or something then copy and paste.

I'm using a United Kingdom extended keyboard setting, and the only problem I'm having at the moment is ¿ and ¡. Accents can be typed using AltGr and ` keys (Gàidhlig uses the grave accent). The tilde can be typed using AltGr+~ , THEN n.

Even better, if you're a Windows user, you can set your OWN keyboard layout to suit the languages that you type in. You can set special combinations to allow you to easily or more easily type certain characters. I don't use those curly brackets much, and what is that | key there for anyway? Get some use from them:

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/tools/msklc.mspx
(http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/)
(http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/)

[Sin]

There's a neat little free utility here. It opens in a small window that's always on top; and it gives you, at hand, all the accented letters.

http://www.braser.com/pr_mk1.html

[Marina]

Just out of interest, in Unix or Linux one use | to execute one command over the result of another one (is called pipe) .

[Alan]

Yeah :) It's also used to create an OR operator in C/C++ as || :)

[timg]

Under Windows XP you can set your keyboard to have more than 1 layout. I have mine set to UK normally, but I can switch to Spanish layout with a (configurable) combination of keys. It remains as a QWERTY keyboard, but the punctuation keys change to allow you to type the accented characters, the ñ and the ¿¡ characters. Also, under Linux you can use setxkbmap to do the same thing (if you're using a graphical interface such as Gnome).

[Alan]

Thanks timg, I needed to do this on my Linux box.

[Ben]

And I thought I knew a lot about computers! Respect to the Linux users amongst you!

[disco]

Just when I thought I have mastered alt 160 á, 161 í, 162 ó, 163 ú etc, and 164 ñ you guys go and turn me into a techie. Now I have to re-learn and find out the simplest way to type, again.

I am new here, hi all.:)

[Ben]

Welcome!

[Mark]

I use a laptop much more often than a desktop, so the ALT keys are difficult to use. I recommend a program called AllChars, available at http://allchars.zwolnet.com

[pablo]

In case there are any Mac OS X users out there...

1) Type option-e, then any vowel to make an accented vowel. Type option-n, then any letter (normally n) to get a tilde over it.

- or if you want something a bit less cumbersome while typing -

2) In System Prefs, go to the International Pane. In the Input Menu, check the box by Spanish and/or Spanish ISO. You can now use a shortcut key or simply select the Spanish flag in your menu bar when you want to switch language settings. And if you want to see what the Spanish layout looks like, open the Keyboard Viewer. Or just type until they show up unexpectedly, which can be fun as well.

P.S. And if you want to really have fun, in the International Pane you can also select Spanish as your primary language by dragging it to the top of the list. Then your OS and Cocoa apps (like Text Edit) will have menus and dialog boxes in Spanish. Most importantly, your spell check will be in Spanish as well.

[cubix]

P.S. And if you want to really have fun, in the International Pane you can also select Spanish as your primary language by dragging it to the top of the list. Then your OS and Cocoa apps (like Text Edit) will have menus and dialog boxes in Spanish. Most importantly, your spell check will be in Spanish as well.
That's awesome, I find the option key to be very easy to make accents with, a lot easier than on XP(like everything(

[gary]

That's awesome, I find the option key to be very easy to make accents with, a lot easier than on XP(like everything(

Dont forget
Option (alt) + 1 to give you the inverted exclamation mark - ¡Hola!

and
Option (alt) + Shift + ? for the inverted question mark - ¿Que?

----once youve had a Mac youll never go back!

[Cat]

Sin,

http://www.braser.com/pr_mk1.html

Thanks for that link...what a fab little program sitting very neatly on screen and so easy to use for a "plug and play" girl. "Linux, Mac etc."...All this complex computer jargon brings me out in a rash! But I'm dead envious of all the techie knowledge displayed..........but I must conquer all things Spanish before moving on to the intricacies of the PC world! There just aren't enough hours in the day.......hey ho !

[Andy E]

I'd like to recommend the UK International Keyboard available at the following link:

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/pef21/gb_intl/gb_intl.html

If you've ever used the US International Keyboard, it is similar to that with the use of dead keys and I believe it's superior to the UK-Extended Keyboard layout provided by Microsoft. A couple of examples of its ease of use follow:

To type: á you type ' + a
To type: ¿ you hold down the right-hand Alt key and hit the key with the ? on it (no need to use shift).

Andy.

[kyle]

----once youve had a Mac youll never go back!

and installed GNU/Linux on it, of course :-)

[gary]

and installed GNU/Linux on it, of course :-)

sorry - not for a gold pig!

macOS 10.4 does it for me and I get iCal, iWeb, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie HD, etc, etc, chucked in for the price.

Thats not to say the GNU/Liux Stuff isnt great but why buy a dog and bark yourself?

[kyle]

sorry - not for a gold pig!

macOS 10.4 does it for me and I get iCal, iWeb, iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie HD, etc, etc, chucked in for the price.

Thats not to say the GNU/Liux Stuff isnt great but why buy a dog and bark yourself?

I bought my first mac (a powerbook) a couple of years ago. Since I do value quality hardware and IBM had reciently sold Thinkpad to Lenovo I thought Apple would be worth a try. I actually tried OSX for a few weeks but I didn't feel confortable anyway, and I installed ubuntu on it (never tried that particular distro before) and never looked back.

Being a unix guy, mac is ok with all those graphicall apps, but the terminal (or an alternative such as http://iterm.sourceforge.net/ ) isn't up to standars IMHO. I also notice a speed increase when running GNU/Linux (although that might be my perception)

and of course, I'm just lazy to learn a new operating system ;D

[kyle]

and getting on topic, keyboard layout in GNU/Linux (at least on intel) is the sanest I've found; we can type almost any sign (or even guess them):

control + alt + c = ©
control + alt + o = Ø
control + alt + s = ß

and of course, we have good "dead keys" combinations (´ ` ^ ¨) and native keys (ñ, ç). The only thing I'm unsure is about the vowels and tildes (I don't write portugese!)

[gary]

and getting on topic, keyboard layout in GNU/Linux (at least on intel) is the sanest I've found; we can type almost any sign (or even guess them):

control + alt + c = ©
control + alt + o = Ø
control + alt + s = ß

and of course, we have good "dead keys" combinations (´ ` ^ ¨) and native keys (ñ, ç). The only thing I'm unsure is about the vowels and tildes (I don't write portugese!)
ç is alt + c on a mac

ñ - tilde on a mac is alt + n then release and type an n

éáíóú - accent type alt+e then release ant type the letter you want eith an accent

î - Circumflex is alt + u then release and type the letter

ü - Umlout is alt + u release and type the letter

ñ ç éáíóú îô œ ∑ ® † ¥ ü ö ø π å ß ∂ ƒ © ∆ ˚ ¬ Ω ≈ ç √ ∫ ~ µ
Œ „ ‰ Â Ê Á Ë È Ø ∏ Å Í Î Ï Ì Ó Ô  Ò Û Ù Ç ◊ ◊ı ˆ ˜ ¯ ˘

etc all standard on mac if you know there they are, Being a Mac guy in a PC world you have to be able to be a slider - the OS is the OS its the apps!

[gitanarosa]

Thank you SIN!! I find that little programme just brilliant!! I now have an icon on my destop that I just click and there it is! I am new here .. this is my first post and for YEARS I have struggled with a way to use accents, having given up in the past few months but now I have no excuse thanks to you!! :)
I am so excited about joining this site and have lots of reading up to do re all the great information here!! Finding an easy way to use accents etc was a truly wonderful start!! :)

[Ben]

Hello and welcome to the forums gitanarosa, look forward to seeing you in here!

[Brian]

Thank you SIN!! I find that little programme just brilliant!! I now have an icon on my destop that I just click and there it is! I am new here .. this is my first post and for YEARS I have struggled with a way to use accents, having given up in the past few months but now I have no excuse thanks to you!! :)
I am so excited about joining this site and have lots of reading up to do re all the great information here!! Finding an easy way to use accents etc was a truly wonderful start!! :)

Glad to have you here, gitanarosa. :)

[tad]

After failing to do the international keyboard thing I tried the allchars utility suggested by Mark -very good and no fiddly triple fingered key combinations.

[Culebronchris]

Away from the "my operating system is better than your operating system stuff" - I'm like the rest of the World and I use the things that Bill sells to me. Also my keyboard is too old or too English or something to have the Alt Gr key.

I tried the link to braser whatever and the message says the page has moved and I can't find anything by hunting around.

All chars did OK with the accented a etc but wouldn't work with the n tilde.

The zipped up job wouldn't load properly and not for the reasons given on the webpage. So I'm still stuck with alt+164 and the like.

Anything more?

[tad]

All chars did OK with the accented a etc but wouldn't work with the n tilde.

With my allchars for ñ its ctrl, shift and ~ together then n -are you shifting to get the ~?

[greytop]

....

I tried the link to braser whatever and the message says the page has moved and I can't find anything by hunting around.
...
I've got MoreKeys 1.2 still on my PC but had a look and they seem to have removed it from the Braser site as you say. Google still provides lots of links to it but they don't work. I have a Spanish keyboard so use it for £ signs!
I've got the files in a .zip but it's too big to upload. I'll try it as an attachment if you like to PM me with a mail address

[Realaficionada21]

[quote=Cat;965]Sin,

http://www.braser.com/pr_mk1.html

Thanks for that link...what a fab little program sitting very neatly on screen and so easy to use for a "plug and play" girl.

This link is no longer available. Can someone tell me the product/program name so I can search for it. I am having a really hard time with the accents on my laptop.

Thanks!

[greytop]

...
This link is no longer available. Can someone tell me the product/program name so I can search for it. I am having a really hard time with the accents on my laptop.
Thanks!
This thread (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1659&highlight=typing+accents) has useful info in it
In case you miss it, there is a link in one post to a blogspot (http://es-xchange.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-type-special-characters-in.html)with some very good stuff in it.
I have had another look for the Brasher "More Keys" software but they do not seem to be providing it any more.

[greytop]

Mozilla / english keyboard users may find this new add-on (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2335) useful.
It enables Microsoft Keyboard shortcuts for international characters.
Sorry I can't try it out as I have a Spanish keyboard.

[Hugo]

Typing Spanish accents is easy if you have a Spanish keyboard at your fingertips (though many Spaniards don't always bother :rolleyes:).

For other keyboards around the world, there is an explanation of different ways to get the accents here (http://www.studyspanish.com/accents/typing.htm). (Don't worry though, if you leave a few off in this forum we won't mind :))

Firefox Users: Please note that the alt+number method for typing accents does not work with this forum when browsing with Firefox (it's a forum coding thing). We're very sorry about this!


Hola Ben
I have enclosed in an attachment my way of using accent I find it very usefull, I an 72 and taking a Open University course in spanish this year, I love your chats with your wife great for my listening practice. Thank Hughie (Hugo)

[gastephen]

Hola Ben
I have enclosed in an attachment my way of using accent I find it very usefull, I an 72 and taking a Open University course in spanish this year, I love your chats with your wife great for my listening practice. Thank Hughie (Hugo)

Hola Hugo

¡Suerte con tu carrera en la universidad abierta!

Saludos.

[Hugo]

Using accent keys on a standard keyboard in Word

From the top line of files select Insert
Click on Symbol
In the font box select ( normal text )
On the 6th row down you will find á click on á and then click on shortcut key the cursor will blink in press shortcut key Press f5 key now press assign á will now appear whenever in the future you press the f5 key .
Now do the same for each letter é f6 í f7 ó f8 ú f9 ñ f10 ¡ f11 and ¿ f12
You will find on the 7th row é í ó ú ñ
The ¡ is 4 rows down near the centre
And the ¿ is 5 rows down in the centre under the £ sign



Cut out this strip it is better on card and stick it with blue tack on the keyboard above the f keys starting at f5
The spacing allows for the bigger gap between f8 and f9
Each time you want a special key just press the appropriate f key
e/g á é í ó ú ñ ¡ ¿

Hugo

[MissLena]

[I checked both threads here on this subject and, to my surprise, did not see MicroSlop's own solution. Here it is...]

Microsoft's procedure for enabling accents in XP is given at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306560&sd=tech#2

I just now followed these instructions (took a couple minutes and a reboot) and now I type the accent I want [ ' ` ^ ~ ] and the character I want it on [a...u] and I get all this lovely stuff: á ç è ú ñ ã ....

and I hold down [right-alt] and type ?/ or 1! and get ¿¡

[¡woo-hoo!]

Very easy. Much easier than all the other goofy stuff mentioned... :rolleyes: [for XP users, that is] >:D

Because MicroSlop likes to change their links around periodically just to break stuff, and because you're unbelieveably lazy, I reproduce the instructions for you right here (see the link above for more characters and custom keys):

===================================
Adding the United States-International Keyboard Layout [ ¡¡¡ XP ONLY !!! ]

To add the United States-International keyboard layout, follow these steps:

1.Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2.Under Pick a category, click Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options.

3.Under or pick a Control Panel icon, click Regional and Language Options.

The Regional and Language Options dialog box appears.

4.On the Languages tab, click Details.

The Text Services and Input Languages dialog box appears.

5.Under Installed services, click Add.

The Add Input language dialog box appears.6.In the Input language list, click the language that you want. For example, English (United States).

NOTE: When you use the United States-International keyboard layout, you should also use an English language setting.

7.In the Keyboard layout/IME list, click United States-International, and then click OK.

8.In the Select one of the installed input languages to use when you start your computer list, click Language name - United States-International (where Language name is the language that you selected in step 6), and then click OK.

9.In the Regional and Language Options dialog box, click OK.

Notice that the Language bar appears on the taskbar. When you position the mouse pointer over it, a ToolTip appears that describes the active keyboard layout. For example, United States-International.

10.Click the Language bar, and then click United States-International on the shortcut menu that appears.

The United States-International keyboard layout is selected.

===================================

[eldeano]

[I checked both threads here on this subject and, to my surprise, did not see MicroSlop's own solution. Here it is...]

Microsoft's procedure for enabling accents in XP is given at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306560&sd=tech#2

I just now followed these instructions (took a couple minutes and a reboot) and now I type the accent I want [ ' ` ^ ~ ] and the character I want it on [a...u] and I get all this lovely stuff: á ç è ú ñ ã ....

and I hold down [right-alt] and type ?/ or 1! and get ¿¡

[¡woo-hoo!]


Do MS do a UK-International Version?

[gastephen]

[I checked both threads here on this subject and, to my surprise, did not see MicroSlop's own solution. Here it is...]

Changing keyboard layouts in XP is included in this article (http://es-xchange.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-to-type-special-characters-in.html), which has been mentioned here before. It also shows maps of the layouts for Spanish, US International and UK keyboards.

Caveat: that article also contains a bunch of other goofy stuff ;)

PS: Certain international characters are available in the standard UK keyboard configuration.

[Retazo]

Hi

Forgive me if I have missed the answer to the question I am about to ask. I use Vista and as yet have been unable to type the relevant accents. I am not a great computer user. Can anyone explain how I can use accents or a site that I can access.

[eldeano]

Hi

Forgive me if I have missed the answer to the question I am about to ask. I use Vista and as yet have been unable to type the relevant accents. I am not a great computer user. Can anyone explain how I can use accents or a site that I can access.

I think that the link on post #37 of this thread can apply to Vista.

[Elvis]

:p It's all very well knowing how to type accents, the real problem is knowing when to use them.:p

[Perrault]

:p It's all very well knowing how to type accents, the real problem is knowing when to use them.:p

¡jijiji!

¡Tienes mucha razón!

[swaeraas]

Thank you very much pablo and Gary! In fact I have a MacBook that I'm very satisfied with, and I will try your suggestions at once! (but I am quite stupid in technical matters..)

[pabloscrito14]

Thanks for the Mac OS X tips, Pablo. I was aware of the keyboard mapping option, but didn't know about the option key method.

I've used the Dvorak layout for my English typing as it's supposed to be easier on the wrists. It's actually difficult for me to go back to a regular "QWERTY" layout now. I haven't found a Dvorak equivalent for Spanish, though, so I'll probably be using the option method.

[Flanny]

This may have been covered and maybe not. I just skimmed after much of the first page.

This is WAY late but I thought I'd post some info for those who actually want the feel of a spanish keyboard but don't want to pay bucks for it.

I have 2 links to provide for windoze users. The first is a site that provides "how to" in both vista and xp. FOR FREE IN MICROSOFT WINDOWS (not something you see or hear everyday) you can have the KEYBOARD LAYOUT of your choice (within limits). Without extra software you can add multiple keyboard layouts to choose from and if you wish, even have a toolbar icon that allows you to switch between keyboards in different applications. I.E. you can be in Notepad in English and in Firefox in Spanish and in openoffice.org writer in french if you so choose. Here's the link for that "how to":

http://www.conversationexchange.com/resources/keyboard-language.php

Since this is a site dedicated to Spain and learning Castellano I'll assume you'll want a reference for a spanish keyboard layout. :D

http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/spanish/images/kspanish.gif

You can use a variety of clear sticker print pages found at most office supply stores to print overlays to put onto your keyboard if you wish. I just use the above keyboard image when I forget where something is on the spanish layout.

(added in edit, instructions for doing the same in mac os x)
http://tlt.psu.edu/suggestions/international/keyboards/mackey.html

Be careful though, the windows built in keyboard switching utility can take a bit of getting used to and likes to prove you wrong when you think you've got it all figured out.

Now that I've gotten the how to's out of the way for those who just gotta have their windows, Linux is a completely free software, if you don't mind installing it and are somewhat tech savvy. I like fedora the best but in most of the linux flavors you can install multiple languages during the installation process. Additionally you can log in and out of any given user login, set up both the language and keyboard preferences to start up the same for that log in each time. I.E. I have an "American" user and a "Castellano" user and an "Italia" user, etc. etc. etc. I have the keyboard options set on each one respectively, and the login language for each one is the proper language for that login. All this is done free where I would have to pay boocoo bucks for an "addon" pack of several disks to do this in windoze. i.e. when I log into "Castellano", every choice I click on is in spanish, right from the start up, to the log off, to the date in the tool bar, to the menu items on the sound control, etc. etc. etc. and when I log into "American" it's all in u.s. english. etc. etc. Or if I prefer I can have everything display in english and just have the keyboard set to spanish. My choice.

PS you don't have to give up windows or mac to run linux. You can have what's called a dual boot system (2 operating systems on the same computer). Either you or a tech savvy friend partitions your hard drive into multiple partitions. Install your main o.s. (windows or mac) on one partition then use your linux install disk to install linux on the remaining space. Linux installs a "boot loader" which gives you a menu with a choice of which OS to start into, with a "default" option selected so that if you don't do anything in the specified time period it starts into that one automatically. This way you can set up your mac os or windoze the way you like and you can have linux to boot into when you want that "spanish feel" so that windoze doesn't go flaky from too many user option changes enabled.


Sorry this is so late. I hope it helps someone that may have shown up recently or joins later that wonders these things.

[marie-chan]

when using Vista or XP here's a way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc59XJ_mHfU

i think i've written something.. dont know if it was posted... nways here's the video guide..;D

[millerseth]

For firefox users, this page has directions to install a cool little app that lets you toggle to Spanish characters with the F2 key

http://www.1729.com/spanish/index.html

[mdbham]

¡Hola!

¿Que tal?

Just a quick question about the MAC and getting spanish keyboard settings. Thanks for the advice btw.

Is there a way of "seeing" the letters for the spanish keyboard once you change it to spanish??

[tad]

Linux is a completely free software, if you don't mind installing it and are somewhat tech savvy. I like fedora the best but in most of the linux flavors you can install multiple languages during the installation process.
I'm using ubuntu at the moment simply because when I broke my computer I didn't have a set of Windows disks and I've kind of got used to it now (and my computer seems to work faster). I've put a Spanish keyboard on but there doesn't seem to be that facility that Windows has to swap keyboards with a mouse-click -is there a way to do it without resetting from the preferences menu? Actually I've pretty much memorized the keystrokes I need now.
By the way, this is a Spanish keyboard.



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3253/2938320667_ef376d750d.jpg?v=0


http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3%5B/IMG%5D

http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/www.notesfromspain.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3
http://http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3

[Cortez]

I swear I posted something in this thread the other day and now it's gone ...

[greytop]

I swear I posted something in this thread the other day and now it's gone ...Maybe it was this (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?p=62380#post62380)?

[Cortez]

Maybe it was this (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?p=62380#post62380)?

Ah yes, that is it. Two threads with the same title is quite confusing! :p

[deecree]

I'm using ubuntu at the moment simply because when I broke my computer I didn't have a set of Windows disks and I've kind of got used to it now (and my computer seems to work faster). I've put a Spanish keyboard on but there doesn't seem to be that facility that Windows has to swap keyboards with a mouse-click -is there a way to do it without resetting from the preferences menu? Actually I've pretty much memorized the keystrokes I need now.
By the way, this is a Spanish keyboard.
http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/www.notesfromspain.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3
http://http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=2&pictureid=3

You can right click on the task bar and add the language tool. If in your preferences you have the two keyboard configs in the list you can click the ENG or ESP on your task bar to switch.

[tad]

Thanks oh techy Incan one.:thumbs-up:

[tad]

º1234567890'¡ª!"·$%&/()=?¿
`1234567890-=¬!"£$%^&*()_+

hey it works! -I installed some eyeballs there too.:)

On my list it was listed as 'keyboard indicator' and had some flags next to it.

[gary]

º1234567890'¡ª!"·$%&/()=?¿
`1234567890-=¬!"£$%^&*()_+

hey it works! -I installed some eyeballs there too.:)

On my list it was listed as 'keyboard indicator' and had some flags next to it.

have you got an ñ?

[tad]

have you got an ñ?

ño.

[gary]

ño.

Then you'll not be able to sing the old Cockney anthem

ñ old iron
ñ old iron
ñ ñ ñ old iron

[tad]

Then you'll not be able to sing the old Cockney anthem

ñ old iron
ñ old iron
ñ ñ ñ old iron
...that's probably just as well then.:p

[Lri]

On your computer, click on Start/Run and type charmap.
Click OK and a Character Map window will open.
Select the character, copy it and paste it where you need it.

Have fun,

Lri

[tad]

You can right click on the task bar and add the language tool. If in your preferences you have the two keyboard configs in the list you can click the ENG or ESP on your task bar to switch.
I'v just noticed also that on my ubuntu (Hardy Heron) you can select 'character palette' from the toolbar list and simply have a range of characters sitting on your toolbar that can be accessd with one click. ;)

[deecree]

I'v just noticed also that on my ubuntu (Hardy Heron) you can select 'character palette' from the toolbar list and simply have a range of characters sitting on your toolbar that can be accessd with one click. ;)


Yep. Great isn't it?
I don't have an en-gb keyboard, so I use it for the £ symbol. You can edit the characters by the way.

[Larry Leche]

¡Ah! Gracías, just what I needed to know. Now I'll just have to resist using them where they're not needed :confused:

[MiVidaEsParaTiJesús]

I have windows vista, and followed the instructions off studyspanish.com, but still cant get the accents to work right. Any ideas?

[greytop]

I have windows vista, and followed the instructions off studyspanish.com, but still cant get the accents to work right. Any ideas?There is a thread with similar info here (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58)

[greytop]

An ingenious way (http://www.copypastecharacter.com/) of adding non standard characters to your work. ñ for example. I just clicked on it in the page of characters and then <CTRL>V in this post. It stays in the clipboard until you overwrite it.
Some more ideas in Lifehacker (http://lifehacker.com/5286970/copypastecharactercom-makes-special-characters-easy-to-paste)may also be of use.

☃ ☂

[nievesalvarez]

Oh Ben,
Thank you.
I know different different languages but i never try my self in a Spanish. I thought its really different and very tough to learn but after reading your thread i realized that why i can't learn it?
I must try my self to learn this things.

So i visit that all information you provided and finally decided to learn Spanish through this program.
I am really very thankful to you.

[Garry Knight]

I've just joined the forums and, since I use Linux (Kubuntu 9.04) I thought I'd let any other Linux users know the keys I use to post in Spanish. Here's the list:

AltGr ; á é í ó ú
[ ü
] ñ
_ ¿
1 ¡
z «
x »Explanation: Hold down the AltGr key and press the key in the 2nd column (e.g. for the vowels, hold down AltGr and press ;), then press the vowel of your choice. So, for example, to type an á, hold down AltGr and press ; then press the a key. Note that in order to type a ¿ you need to hold down AltGr and press Shift + - (to get the _).

I hope this all makes sense but if it's not clear, just try it. Any questions, just ask.

[JohnlearningSpanish]

I usually just ignore the accents. My laptop can't do the accents. If i have to use accents i will go to a translator and type a word like satuday for the accented a, morning for n-yay, last for u ect....

[richardksa]

However, a useful letter for the 1st of January is Ñ ;););)

[greytop]

Just another ano ;)

[JohnlearningSpanish]

Just another ano ;)
ComerAs doce uvas?

[Jane Wylen]

I have a Mac. Therefore, typing accents is a cinch. If you have a PC, you can type your text at this site, http://spanish.typeit.org/, and then cut and paste.

Ben's PC solutions are probably more elegant, but they do appear rather daunting.:rolleyes:

[Lorna G]

Those Spanish accents have given a lot of frustration myself. I read all the useful ways of doing it. I asked my son to teach me how to write those symbols, still I failed. I have written a lot of ano:blush::blush::blush: instead of año until I figured out that I am using Windows instead of Linux , Mac or whatever. I read the instructions for Windows and voila, success, i finally got them right.:):):)

[greytop]

This guide (http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/12578/add-keyboard-languages-to-xp-vista-and-windows-7/) from the HowToGeek may make life simpler for somebody! (or put you off for ever ;D)

[JackMcG]

I followed the directions here and changed my keyboard so that typing accents is a breeze! I didn't read all of the posts here so if somebody already posted this site.. then.... great reference!!!!!!!!!!;D

http://www.studyspanish.com/accents/typing.htm

[Lise]

Dont forget
Option (alt) + 1 to give you the inverted exclamation mark - ¡Hola!

and
Option (alt) + Shift + ? for the inverted question mark - ¿Que?

----once youve had a Mac youll never go back!

Can't get the question and exclamation marks to work.
International -> Spanish
Option (alt) + 1 gives me ‘
Option (alt) + Shift + ? gives me ’
International -> Spanish IS0 gives me | and ı respectively.

Any suggestions ? Thanks in advance. (PS My iBook IS old, OS X 10.3.9)

[Lupine Chemist]

Can't get the question and exclamation marks to work.
International -> Spanish
Option (alt) + 1 gives me ‘
Option (alt) + Shift + ? gives me ’
International -> Spanish IS0 gives me | and ı respectively.

Any suggestions ? Thanks in advance. (PS My iBook IS old, OS X 10.3.9)

If you are already in Spanish mode, which is probably best, it's just shift + 1 and shift +2 for ¡ !.

Question marks are shift + , and shift + .

¿?

Also, from the language and text options, you can enable keyboard viewer which is nice for starting to remember things. It took me forever to get used to the ü.

[gary]

Can't get the question and exclamation marks to work.
International -> Spanish
Option (alt) + 1 gives me ‘
Option (alt) + Shift + ? gives me ’
International -> Spanish IS0 gives me | and ı respectively.

Any suggestions ? Thanks in advance. (PS My iBook IS old, OS X 10.3.9)


On every mac Ive had (including this one and Sys 9)

alt>1 = ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡

alt+shift+? = ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿