FHUHS Spanish

Typing Accents on the Computer

It’s not difficult to type accents on the computer after you have set a couple of settings. Macintosh computers have been able to type accents without any configuration changes since the very first version of the OS in 1984. On Windows it’s not hard to type them once you make the change below. For Macintosh instructions on how to type accented characters, click here.

Whatever you do, resist the temptation to use Microsoft Word’s input methods! Use the native operating system methods on this page. That way you can type accents in any program, including a web browser.

Windows-based PCs

This is only one of several ways to get accents on the correct letters in Spanish when using a PC running Windows. On Windows, programs like Microsoft Word have their own special codes for typing accents, but those codes won’t work if you’re entering text in a web browser. These instructions will work in any program including Word and a web browser. The instructions depend upon the version of Windows installed on your computer.

For versions of Windows before XP

1. Click on the Start menu and select Control Panels.
2. When the control panels window opens, double-click on the Keyboard icon.
3. Depending upon the version of windows you have, you should see one or two tabs across the top of the window. One of them should be Input Locales. Click that.
4. In the part of the window labeled Installed Input locales it’s quite likely that your computer will say English [United States] US. Click the Properties button. A small window will open.
5. In the pop-up list in the new window, select United States-International. and click OK
6. Now click Apply in the Keyboard properties window.

For Windows-XP and Later

1. Click on the Start menu and select Control Panels.
2. When the control panels window opens, double-click on the Regional and Language Options icon.
3. You should see a few tabs across the top of the window. One of them should be Languages. Click that.
4. You should now see a button Details. Click that. Another dialog box will open up.
5. In the part of the window labeled Installed Services it’s quite likely that your computer will say something like English [United States] US. Click the Add button. A small window will open.
6. In the pop-up list labeled Keyboard layout/IME in the new window, select United States-International. and click OK
7. Now click Apply. The top window should close, and you can click OK or Apply in the Regional and Language Options window.Your computer is now configured to use the US-International keyboard.

Typing Accents in Windows

Once you have made the change above and configured your Windows PC to use the US International keyboard, here’s how to actually type the accents and other special Spanish characters.

¿ : press ctrl + alt + ?

¡ : press ctrl + alt + !

ñ : press shift-~ (tilde – that’s the key in the upper left corner of the keyboard on the same key as the backtick), release both keys and then press n

For vowels with an accent : press the single quote key (next to the return/enter key) –nothing will appear on the screen * now press the vowel you want.

What if you want a single quote character? (‘) Easy. Press the single quote key and then anything OTHER than a vowel. (most likely the ‘s’, right?)

Typing Accents on Macintosh

Accents on the Macintosh are easy and consistent across all versions of the operating system (whether OS9 or OSX, and all the way back to the first version of the MacOS in 1984). You do not need to configure anything in advance–you just need to use the keyboard sequences below.

To type:

¿ – press and hold the option and shift keys together and then type the question mark (?)

¡ – press and hold the option key and type 1 (one–the same key as the regular exclamation mark)

ñ – press option-n and release, then type ‘n’ (for Portuguese ã, and õ, just press ‘a’ or ‘o’ instead of ‘n’)

ü – press and hold the option key and type the ‘u’, release both keys, and then type the ‘u’ again (you can also put the umlaut character over any other vowel for German, etc. by pressing that vowel instead of ‘u’)

For any vowel with an accute accent (á, é, í, ó, ú), press and hold the option key and then type the ‘e’ key. Release. Now type the vowel you want. If you want the capital version (Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú) just add the shift key when you type the vowel.

For our suffering French friends who need a few additional characters, here’s how to type them:

ç – press option-c

Ç – press option-shift-c

For vowels with the “grave” accent (à, è, ì ò, ù) press and hold the option key and tap the ‘~’ key (in the upper left corner of the keyboard), release both keys, and then tap the vowel you want.

For vowels with the circumflex (â, ê, î, ô, û) press and hold the option key and tap the ‘i’ key, release both keys, and then tap the vowel you want.