To type accents on a keyboard, the method depends on your operating system and software. Here are the main ways:
On Windows (including in Word and Outlook)
- Use keyboard shortcuts with Ctrl and other keys :
- Grave accent (è, à):
Ctrl + \(grave key), release, then type the letter. - Acute accent (é, á):
Ctrl + '(apostrophe), release, then letter. - Circumflex (ê, â):
Ctrl + Shift + ^(caret), release, then letter. - Tilde (ñ, ã):
Ctrl + Shift + ~(tilde), release, then letter. - Umlaut/diaeresis (ü, ö):
Ctrl + Shift + :(colon), release, then letter. - Cedilla (ç):
Ctrl + ,(comma), release, then c.
- Grave accent (è, à):
- Alternatively, enable the US International Keyboard :
- Go to Control Panel > Region and Language > Keyboards and Languages > Change keyboards > Add > English (United States) > US International.
- With this layout, type accent keys like
',", ```,~, or^followed by the letter to get accented characters. - For example,
'+e= é;~+n= ñ.
- Use Alt codes by holding the Alt key and typing a numeric code on the number pad (less convenient).
On Mac
- Press and hold a letter key to see accent options pop up, then select the desired accented letter.
- Use Option key combinations (dead keys):
- Option + E, then letter = acute accent (é)
- Option + ` (grave), then letter = grave accent (è)
- Option + I, then letter = circumflex (î)
- Option + N, then letter = tilde (ñ)
- Option + U, then letter = umlaut/diaeresis (ü)
- You can also use the Character Viewer or enable the ABC - Extended keyboard for more options.
These methods cover most common accented characters used in languages like Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and others
