Typing Special Characters
In Windows, special characters are typed by holding the Alt and typing a sequence of four numbers. If you can't remember a sequence, use a handy application called Character Map. To find it, from the Start menu, browse to Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and choose Character Map. A more comprehensive list of special characters is also available.
Special Characters in Windows
Hold Alt and type the sequence of four numbers associated with each character. If you're using a laptop, see our tips for laptop users.
| French | â 0226 |
à 0224 |
ä 0228 |
é 0233 |
ê 0234 |
è 0232 |
ë 0235 |
î 0238 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ï 0239 |
ô 0244 |
ù 0249 |
û 0251 |
Ç 0199 |
ç 0231 |
æ 0230 |
œ 0156 |
|
| German | ß 0223 |
Ä 0196 |
ä 0228 |
Ö 0214 |
ö 0246 |
Ü 0220 |
ü 0252 |
|
| Spanish | Á 0193 |
á 0225 |
É 0201 |
é 0233 |
Í 0205 |
í 0237 |
Ó 0211 |
ó 0243 |
| Ú 0218 |
ú 0250 |
Ñ 0209 |
ñ 0241 |
¿ 0191 |
¡ 0161 |
Special characters in Mac OS
For Mac OS, in most cases, first hold down the Option key then a regular character key as indicated below. Nothing will appear on your screen at this point. Release both keys, and then type the letter which should carry the diacritical. For some special characters press Option and one key together. See the following table to get the character that you want:
- Option + e + vowel = á, é, í, ó, ú
- Option + ` + vowel = à, è, ì, ò, ù
- Option + i + vowel = â, ê, î, ô, û
- Option + u + vowel = ä, ë, ï, ö, ü
- Option + c = ç
- Option + a = å
- Option + o = ø
- Option + q = œ
- Option + ' = æ
- Option + s = ß
- Option + shift + ? = ¿
- Option + 1 = ¡
- Option + n + n = ñ
Tips for Windows laptop users
- Press FN and F11/NumLock keys to activate the numeric key pad
- Hold Alt and type your key sequence
- Press FN and F11 to return to normal use.
Activating your numeric key pad maps the following characters to a corresponding number:
- J = 1
- K = 2
- U = 4
- I = 5
- O = 6
- 7 = 7
- 8 = 8
- 9 = 9
- 0 = 0
For example, FN + NumLock + Alt 0KKI = á.