How To Type Letters with Accents on a Computer

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Cory Stillman. Cory Stillman is a Technology Writer for wikiHow. Cory has experience writing about Film and TV for several online publications, including Screen Rant and Film Cred. He earned a degree in Film and Media Studies with a minor in Creative Writing and certificates in Global Studies and Children’s Literature from the University of Pittsburgh.

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When you're typing in a language other than English on an English keyboard, it's important to know how to type accented characters, tildes, and umlauts. Fortunately, typing non-English accented characters like é, í, and á is quick and easy, and there are many ways to do it. This wikiHow article will teach you simple ways to add accents to letters in any application on your PC or Mac.

Things You Should Know Method 1 of 8:

Using Microsoft Word & Office Apps

Step 1 Try shortcut keys.

Try shortcut keys. Shortcut keys work on most newer PCs that run Microsoft Word. [1] X Research source They tend to be faster and easier to remember than using ASCII Code to create accents.

Step 2 Press Control + `, then the letter to add a grave accent.

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Step 3 Press Control +

Press Control + ', then the letter to add an acute accent. Hold Control, then tap the apostrophe key. You can find the apostrophe next to the enter key. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter to accent.

Step 4 Press Control, then Shift, then 6, then the letter to add a circumflex accent.

Press Control, then Shift, then 6, then the letter to add a circumflex accent. Hold down the Control and Shift keys then tap the 6 key. Release the keys and select the desired letter. The 6 key is used because of the ^ character found above the number.

Step 5 Press Shift + Control + ~, then the letter to add a tilde accent.

Press Shift + Control + ~, then the letter to add a tilde accent. You will find the tilde is the same key used to make the grave accent. Be sure to hold down the Shift key or you will end up with a grave accent instead. Release the keys, then select the desired letter.

Step 6 Press Shift + Control + :

Press Shift + Control + :, then the letter to add an umlaut accent. The colon key can be found next to the apostrophe key. You must hold down the Shift key to select the colon as opposed to the semicolon. Release the keys. Now select the letter.

Step 7 Add accents in the same way for uppercase accented letters.

Add accents in the same way for uppercase accented letters. However, this time, simply type the shift key straight after typing the Control + (choice), then type the letter. It will automatically capitalize.

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Using the Windows Character Map

Step 1 Open the Windows Start menu.

Open the Windows Start menu. Using the Character Map is most convenient for users who need to type accented letters outside of Microsoft Office. Open the Start menu in the bottom-left corner of your screen to get started.

Step 2 Search

Search "character map". Type "character map" into the available search field and click on the result.

Step 3 Click on the accented letter you need.

Step 4 Click Select.

Click Select . Use the Select button to place the accented character in the field at the bottom of the Character Map.

Step 5 Click Copy.

Click Copy . With the accented character now in the copy field, you may click the Copy button to then paste it elsewhere. [2] X Research source

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Typing Accents on a Mac (Accent Menu)

Step 1 Hold down a letter on your keyboard.

Step 2 Select the appropriate accented letter from the pop-up menu.