Attendantsʼ Tutorial: Writing with Accents and How to Change the Input Language
*Accents are used when writing with the Romance languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, etc.
Accents for Macs:
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á — Option + e, a
Á — Option + e, Shift + a
é — Option + e, e
É — Option + e, Shift + e
í — Option + e, i
Í — Option + e, Shift + i
ñ — Option + n, n
Ñ — Option + n, Shift + n
ó — Option + e, o
Ó — Option + e, Shift + o
ú — Option + e, u
Ú — Option + e, Shift + u
ü — Option + u, u
Ü — Option + u, Shift + u
To type Spanish punctuation, it necessary to press two or three keys at the same time. Here are
the combinations to learn:
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Inverted question mark (¿) — Shift + Option + ?
inverted exclamation point (¡) — Option + 1
left angle quote («) — Option + \
right angle quote (») — Shift + Option + \
quotation dash (—) — Shift + Option + -
Accents for PCs:
To write with accents on a PC use the ASCII code. Each character in your computer has a code
made up of pressing the ALT key then a three-digit number, all of which are listed below.
á = Alt + 0225
é = Alt + 0233
í = Alt + 0237
ó = Alt + 0243
ú = Alt + 0250
ñ = Alt + 0241
ü = Alt + 0252
¡ = Alt + 0161
¿ = Alt + 0191
To type the numbers, you must use the numeric keypad on the right side of your
keyboard, not the number keys on the top row. Make sure the Num Lock is off.
How to change the input language for a Mac:
*This will change the input language for all programs (i.e. Word, PPT, etc.)
You can use the Input Sources pane of Language & Text preferences to turn on input
sources, so you can type in other languages.
1. From the Apple ( ) menu, choose System Preferences.
2. From the View menu, choose Language & Text.
3. Click the Input Sources tab. You should see a window similar to this:
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To enable a different language's input source, select the checkbox next to any input
source you want to use.
To show the Input menu at the right side of the menu bar, select "Show input menu in
menu bar". The Input menu contains all the enabled language input sources you
selected so you can easily switch between them.
Use "Input Source options" to select whether you want to use the same input source in
all documents, or if you want to use different input sources in different documents.
How to change the input language for a PC:
*This will change the input language for all programs (i.e. Word, PPT, etc.)
In the bottom right corner of your desktop, click the language button.
Select the desired language from the list. You have successfully changed the in-put language.
Quick Reference Guide- Accents
*Used when writing with the Romance languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, etc.
Macs:
á
Á
é
É
í
Í
ñ
Ñ
ó
Ó
ú
Ú
ü
Ü
inverted question mark (¿)
inverted exclamation point (¡)
left angle quote («)
right angle quote (»)
quotation dash (—)
Option + e, a
Option + e, Shift + a
Option + e, e
Option + e, Shift + e
Option + e, i
Option + e, Shift + i
Option + n, n
Option + n, Shift + n
Option + e, o
Option + e, Shift + o
Option + e, u
Option + e, Shift + u
Option + u, u
Option + u, Shift + u
Shift + Option + ?
Option + 1
Option + \
Shift + Option + \
Shift + Option + -
PCs:
Use the ASCII code to input accents on a PC. Each character in your computer has a code
made up of pressing the ALT key then a three-digit number, all of which are listed below.
á = Alt + 0225
ñ = Alt + 0241
é = Alt + 0233
ü = Alt + 0252
í = Alt + 0237
¡ = Alt + 0161
ó = Alt + 0243
¿ = Alt + 0191
ú = Alt + 0250
To type the numbers, you must use the numeric keypad on the right side of your
keyboard, not the number keys on the top row. Make sure the Num Lock is off.