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bgColor=white background=ACCENTS_files/image001.jpg>
Tom Mathews http://weber.edu/tmathews
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HOW TO
MAKE
SPANISH ACCENT
MARKS ON A COMPUTER |
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Please get in the habit of using the computer to type accent marks and do
it as you type. This is much easier than going back over a document and
adding the marks afterwards. All word processors are capable of doing
proper accent marks in Spanish. Almost all printers are capable of
printing them. If you have a printer that will not do it, use one of the
Computer Labs on campus to print your compositions.
Below are some instructions
that might help. You will only need to do this process once; your word
processor will remember how you have set up these special
characters. |
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The best
option is to install a Spanish Keyboard in Windows. This will allow you to
use accent marks in ANY program on the computer, including the desktop,
file names, graphics and word processing. The layout on a Spanish Keyboard
is different (that is, many symbols are in different places than they are
on the English Keyboard).
To install the Spanish Keyboard on Windows, click first on "Start"
then "Settings" and then "Control Panel." Once there click on "Keyboard."
In the Keyboard Properties window that is now visible, click on the
"Input Locals" tab, and then click on "Add" and choose a Keyboard (such as
"Spanish International Sort). Click "OK" to get out of all of the open
windows.
Now (perhaps after you restart your computer) you will see a gray
square in your system tray (the lower right row of icons on the task bar
at the bottom of your screen in Windows). Clicking on this gray square (or
using the Ctrl and Shift keys at the same time) will give you the option
of toggling back and forth between any keyboards you have installed.
NOTA BENE: If you install a non-English keyboard the letters on
your actual keyboard (the hardware) will not necessarily indicate what
letter is actually typed..
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Macintosh (any
program)
Accented characters are "hard wired" into the Macintosh
Operating System. The following instructions will always work on a Mac in
any program or application since they always remain part of the system
software.
Symbols joined by a + need to be held down at the same
time;
Symbols separated by a coma need to be hit in sequence, one
after the other.
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á |
Option + E
, A |
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é |
Option + E , E |
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í |
Option + E ,
I |
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ó |
Option + E , O |
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ú |
Option + E , U |
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É |
Option + E , Shift +
E |
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ñ |
Option + N ,
N |
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Ñ |
Option + N , Shift +
N |
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¿ |
Option + Shift +
? |
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¡ |
Option +
1 |
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ü |
Option + U ,
U |
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Microsoft Word
for Windows
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The default keystrokes for accented
characters are as follows:
Symbols joined by a + need to be held
down at the same time;
Symbols separated by a coma need to be
hit in sequence, one after the other.
|
á |
Ctrl + ' ,
A |
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é |
Ctrl + ' ,
E |
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í |
Ctrl + ' ,
I |
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ó |
Ctrl + ' ,
O |
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ú |
Ctrl + ' ,
U |
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É |
Ctrl + ' ,
Shift + E |
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ñ |
Ctrl +
Shift + ~, N |
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Ñ |
Ctrl +
Shift + ~, Shift + N |
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¿ |
Alt + Ctrl
+ Shift +
? |
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¡ |
Alt + Ctrl
+ Shift +
! |
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ü |
Ctrl +
Shift + : , U |
If you want to change
the defaults and use other
keystrokes to access accent marks, follow these instructions.
You will only need to do this once and the computer you're working
on will remember the keystrokes you've set up. However, if you move
to a different machine, you'll probably have to go through this
set-up process again.
1. Go to the "Insert" menu and
choose "Symbol"
2. Get
"Normal text" and then highlight
the character you want
3.
Click on "Shortcut Key"
4.
Type in the keystrokes you want for that character
(such as "alt + e" for
"é")
5. Repeat this process for each
special character you
need |
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Word Perfect 8.0 for Windows
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There are no
default settings for international characters in WordPerfect. You
must set up your computer to recognize the keystrokes you want to
use (such as "alt + e" for "é"). You only need to do this once on
any given computer. The software will remember what you've taught
it.
- When in WordPerfect, click on "Tools"
and select "Settings."
- Now double-click on
"Customize."
- Select the "Keyboards"
tab.
- Click on the keyboard you want to edit
(I suggest "WPWIN 8 keyboard") and click "Edit."
- On the left is a list of all of the
possible "shortcut" keystrokes you can assign to accented
characters. Notice that most of them are already assigned to some
function. Don't use these. Select the keystroke you want to use
(see
suggestions below) and then click on the "Keystrokes"
tab.
- Press Ctrl + W to display a list of all
the possible characters.
- Under "Set" select
"Multinational."
- Click on the character you want to
assign to the keystroke you already selected in step
5.
- Click on "Insert and
Close"
- Click on "Assign Keystrokes ot Key"
- Repeat this process from step 5 trough 10 until you've assigned all of the
Spanish characters.
- Click OK.
NOTA BENE: the
upside down exclamation and interrogative are under the "Typographic
Symbols" Set, see step
7. |
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For the
easiest typing, I suggest setting up the following keystrokes.
Symbols joined by a + need to be held down
at the same time;
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á |
Alt +
A |
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é |
Alt + E |
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í |
Alt + I |
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ó |
Alt +
O |
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ú |
Alt + U |
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É |
Alt + Shift +
E |
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ñ |
Alt + N |
|
Ñ |
Alt + Shift +
N |
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¿ |
Alt + Shift +
? |
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¡ |
Alt + Shift +
! |
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ü |
Alt + Shift +
U |
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