Macintosh Accented Characters

On a Macintosh, you can use the key combinations listed below to type accented letters and other symbols.

Examples:

To type a lower case letter with an acute accent on it (á é í ó ú)

Press the alt/option key and an e together, release the keys, then press a, e, i o or u.

To type a upper case letter with an acute accent on it (Á É Í Ó Ú)

Press the alt/option key and an e together, release the keys, then press the shift key and a, e, i o or u.

Windows: 4-digit codes

To type accented letters and other symbols on a Windows PC, you can use either the numeric codes or the short cuts listed below. The numeric codes work in any application but the short cuts seem to only work in Word.

NB. In Word 2000, the shortcut for acute accents (Áá) is ctrl-' (apostrophe) plus the letter

Examples:

To type a lower case letter with an acute accent on it (á é í ó ú) you can:

Press the ctrl key and the , (comma) key together, release the keys, then press a, e, i o or u.
or
Press the alt key and the numeric code on the number pad together.

To type a upper case letter with an acute accent on it (Á É Í Ó Ú)

Press the ctrl key and the , (comma) key together, release the keys, then press the shift key and a, e, i o or u.
or
Press the alt key and the numeric code on the number pad together.  

Windows: 3-digit codes and other methods

Some characters also have 3-digit codes, or can be inserted using the "Character Map" program.

Character Map:

1. Open Character Map. Open the "Character Map" inside the Accessories portion of the Windows Start Menu.
2. Click the Font box, and then click a font.
3. Double-click each character you want. The character(s) will appear in the Characters To Copy box.
4. Click Copy.
5. In your document, click where you want the character(s) to appear, click the Edit menu, and then click Paste.
6. Select the character(s), and then change them to the same font you used in Character Map.

Tips:
Key stroke shortcuts appear in the lower right-hand corner of the Character Map dialogue box.
To magnify a character in Character Map, click it and hold down the mouse button.
Character Map works only with Windows-based programs.

Using 3-digit codes:

3-digit character lists can vary among computer manufacturers. Most manufacturers use the same characters for codes 0-127, but can vary with regard to codes 128 and above. The most common USA set of 3-digit codes is below, but if they do not work you will have to consult your computer's documentation or use the 4-digit codes above. If they do work for you, they may be easier to remember than the 4-digit codes.

To enter an IBM ANSI character, hold down alt and type the 3-digit code from the ANSI chart below on your numeric keypad.

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