typing spanish accents

[loridori]

i can't seem to manage typing accents. i used to type them using Alt + a number, but for some reason now it is not working on my computer, any suggestions
gracias loridori

[mightykaboosh]

I struggle with this myself and end up cutting and pasting from elsewhere :'(

If you use "Word" you can press ctrl and the @ sign together, then press the vowel you want the accent on- you do have to write in Word for this to work, pasting all your text into the forum.

[loridori]

i found the solution, i had to click on the number lock no. on top of the numbers on the right side, and now i have no problem.
Alt + a number and its fine again thanks
laura

[kev]

... or you could use this site:

http://spanish.typeit.org/

it's very handy

[mightykaboosh]

Thanks for that kev,

That really is handy- i'm a convert!

[katieee]

Not sure if this will work for other computers, but on mine I've set my keyboard up so I can flip between different keyboard languages.

Control panel > Change keyboards and other imput methods > Keyboards and languages > Change keyboards > Add > Spanish (Spain, international sort).

So if I want I can change my keyboard to a Spanish one by pressing Control + a number, and then I can type with Spanish characters anywhere I want (MS word, MSN, e-mails, the internet etc). Then I can change it back to an English one again easily by pressing control + another number.

It's easier than copying and pasting. :/

[Jules]

This thread from long ago includes a discussion (amongst other things) of typing accents.
http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1573&page=2

The international language method (mentioned by katieee) is best. When its set up, an icon appears in the lower-right taskbar to enable quick flipping between languages.
So using it now:
é is produced by typing Alt Gr and e together
ñ by typing Alt Gr and n
¿ by typing Alt Gr and ?
¡ by typing Alt Gr and !
etc
Its as fast as typing normally

[gastephen]

Whenever this topic comes up, I always find myself recommending AllChars (http://allchars.zwolnet.com/) (Windows freeware). I've been using it for several years, and have had no problems with it whatsoever under XP and Vista.

All the special characters are available via very intuitive keyboard shortcuts, so there is no interrupting the flow of typing.

And it's not just Spanish characters (ñ ¡ ¿ á etc) that you can do with it — ½ ¼ © ® ™ Æ ß œ § ¶ † ‡ ¤ • × ÷ µ ± ° º ª … « » Þ ð ¹ ² ³ ç ë ø š ã å etc.

[greytop]

This thread from long ago includes a discussion (amongst other things) of typing accents.
http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1573&page=2

....The link is to "Numpty and his books"
I think the sticky in "Learning Spanish" (http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5263) is possibly the one you meant.

[eldeano]

The link is to "Numpty and his books"

Top link. :thumbs-up:

[stella]

That AllChars application looks pretty impressive. I love that there's a macro for adding the date.

I've added the international keyboard that katieee and Jules mention, but it's annoying that the @ sign moves using this, and it does funny things with the ' and " punctuation marks. However, maybe because I'm using Vista, the ordinary keyboard seems to be able to do é, á, ó etc, but doesn't do ñ, ¿, ¡ so for those I do have to switch.

The AllChars app seems to require more key strokes than using the international keyboard, but provided it keeps characters as they usually are, it seems worth a try.

[gastephen]

The AllChars app seems to require more key strokes than using the international keyboard, but provided it keeps characters as they usually are, it seems worth a try.

I'd say it is definitely worth giving a go to see if you like it.

And no, it doesn't mess with the standard keyboard layout so all your original characters will be where you'd expect.

The shortcuts are all 3-character sequences (as opposed to chords) starting with CTRL. So there are only two characters to remember for each shortcut, and these are all very intuitive, so it won't take any time at all to get accustomed to using it. Furthermore, it doesn't matter what order you type the two keys in, so, for example:

CTRL then ~ then n --> ñ

or

CTRL then n then ~ --> ñ

A few more examples:

CTRL then > then > --> »

CTRL then ? then ? --> ¿

etc.

I actually tend to still use the ALT GR + e etc for á é í ó ú (one keystroke less) and the AllChars shortcuts for « » ñ ü ¿ ¡ º ª

[mightykaboosh]

Find these useful, add as favorites and whip 'em out when needed:

http://www.incks.com/en/spanish.html

http://spanish.typeit.org/ ;D