Using Your Keyboard To Make Spanish

Accents and Punctuation in Windows

Installing the International Keyboard
Since diacritical marks are rarely used in English and weren't part of the typewriter
keyboards used in the United States, typing accented letters and the special punctuation
of Spanish can be a bit more challenging than it should be if you're using the computer
configurations most common in the U.S.

Fortunately, there are some effective workarounds. If you're using Microsoft Windows,
by far the most common operating system, the best way to type Spanish characters —
especially if you'll be doing it often — is to install software that configures your
keyboards with an international character set. (This configuration is also useful if you're
using German, French or most other European languages.)

This page covers installation of the international keyboard software in Windows, and the
following page provides information for workarounds you can use if you seldom type in
Spanish or if you're using someone else's computer system.

Installing the international keyboard in Windows XP: From the main Start menu, go
to the Control Panel and click on the Regional and Language Options icon. Select the
Languages tab and click the "Details..." button. Under "Installed Services" click "Add..."
Find the United States-International option and select it. In the pull-down menu, select
United States-International as the default language. Click OK to exit the menu system
and finalize the installation.

Installing the international keyboard in Windows Vista: The method is very similar to
that for Windows XP. From the Control Panel, select "Clock, Language and Region."
Under Regional and Language Options, pick "Change keyboard or other input method."
Select the General tab. Under "Installed Services" click "Add..." Find the United States-
International option and select it. In the pull-down menu, select United States-
International as the default language. Click OK to exit the menu system and finalize the
installation.

Using the international keyboard with the "right-Alt" method: The international
keyboard provides two ways of typing special characters. The method I have found easier
involves pressing the right-Alt key (the key labeled "Alt" on the right side of the
keyboard, usually to the right of the spacebar) and then another key simultaneously. To
add the accents to the vowels, press the right-Alt key at the same time as the vowel. For
example, to type á, press the right-Alt key and the a at the same time. If you're
capitalizing to make Á, you'll have to press three keys simultaneously — the a, right-Alt
and the shift key.
The method is the same for the ñ — press the right-Alt key and the n at the same time. To
capitalize it, also press a shift key.

To type the ü, you'll need to press right-Alt and the y key.

The inverted question mark (¿) and inverted exclamation point (¡) are also done similarly.
Press right-Alt and the 1 key (which also is used for the exclamation point) for the
inverted exclamation point; for the inverted question mark, press right-Alt and the
question mark key at the same time.

The only other special character used in Spanish but not English are the angular quotation
markets (« and »). To make those, press the right-Alt key and one of the bracket keys
(usually to the right of the p) simultaneously.

Using the international keyboard with the "sticky keys" method: This method can be
used to make the accented vowels. To make an accented vowel, press the single-quote
key (usually to the right of the colon key) and then, after releasing the key, type the
vowel. To make the ü, press the shift and quote keys (as if you were making a double-
quote) and then, after releasing the key, type the u.

Something that takes getting used to when using the international keyboard configuration
is a result of the "sticky keys" method. When you type a quote, initially nothing will
appear on your screen until you type the next character. If you type anything other than a
vowel (which will show up accented), the quote mark will appear followed by the
character you just typed. To type a quote mark, you'll need to press the quote key twice.

Note that some word processors or other software will not let you use the key
combinations of the international keyboard because they are reserved for other uses.

The next page looks at some more-cumbersome methods you can use if you don't have
the international keyboard installed.

Built into Windows are two cumbersome methods you can use to type accented
characters and Spanish punctuation. If you're going to be typing a lot of Spanish, you're
better off to install the English international keyboard software as described on the
previous page. But these options will work if you have occasional use of Spanish
characters or are using someone else's computer system and aren't free to modify the
operating system configuration.

Using the Character Map: The Character Map allows you to type almost any character,
as long as it exists in the font you are using.

To access the Character Map, use the Start menu to select Accessories, then System
Tools, then Character Map. (If you know how to use the command line, you can also
access the tool with the "charmap" command.)
To use the Character Map, click on the character you want, the click the Select button and
then press the Copy button. Click your cursor in your document where you wish the
character to appear, and then press the Ctrl and V keys at the same time. Your character
should appear in your text.

Using the numeric keypad: Windows allows the user to type any available character by
holding down one of the Alt keys while typing in a numeric code on the numeric keypad.
For example, to type the long dash — such as those used surrounding this clause — hold
down the Alt key while typing 0151 on the numeric keypad. Here is a chart showing the
combinations you're most likely to need when typing Spanish. Simply type these numbers
on the numeric keypad (not the numbers on the main part of the keyboard) while holding
down an Alt key:

• á — 0225
• Á — 0193
• é — 0233
• É — 0201
• í — 0237
• Í — 0205
• ñ — 0241
• Ñ — 0209
• ó — 0243
• Ó — 0211
• ú — 0250
• Ú — 0218
• ü — 0252
• Ü — 0220
• ¿ — 0191
• ¡ — 0161
• « — 0171
• » — 0187
• — — 0151