On
a Mac:
Umlaut:
press "option" and "u" simultaneously ==> nothing appears on
the screen. Now press "a," "o," or "u" and the desired
umlaut will appear.
ß:
press "option" and "s" simultaneously, and "ß" will
appear.
These shortcuts work in all programs on a Mac.
On
a PC:
There
are lots of ways to do the special characters on a PC (please
send me (Hartmut) a message
if you have an idea for doing this that I should include here!).
Here are the two ways to do it that sound easiest to me. Unfortunately, these first two options generally only work in Microsoft Word and not e.g. in a web browser.
- For ways of getting Umlaute to appear in your web browser, see further below, or click here for information on the "ZombieKeys" extension ["ZombieKeys brings your dead keys to life!"] you can use to make the "default combinations" described under (1) below work in Firefox or Thunderbird.
1.
Use the default key combinations on your computer, which should
be as follows:
umlaut:
Hold down "control" and press the colon (:) (i.e. Shift +
;) [Nothing will appear on your screen when you press this
combination of keys]. Then release all three keys you just
pressed and type the letter over which you wish the umlaut
to be (i.e. "a," "o," or "u"). The umlaut should now
appear.
"s-zet"
(ß): Hold down "control" and press the ampersand
(&) (i.e. Shift + 7) [Nothing will appear on your
screen when you press this combination of keys]. Then release
all three keys you just pressed and type the letter s.
The "s-zet" (ß) should now appear.
Note:
If these key combinations don't work on your PC, go to "Insert"
and then "Symbol." Click on the special character you
want, and then click "Shortcut" as described below.
The key combinations currently defined for that special character
on your computer will appear.
2.
If you don't like the above key combinations, there is a way
to define simpler ones: From the "Insert" menu, choose "Symbol."
A graphic appears with all sorts of cool characters.
Click on the special character you want, and then click on
the "Shortcut" option. There, you can define a key combination
for that character that's convenient for you, or you can read
and memorize the one set by the computer as a default (which
should be the combination of keys described above). The computer
will tell you if the key combination you choose is already
in use. If you have your own computer, you only need to do
this once; if you're using a computing center, you'll need
to do it each time you come.
Other
possibilities (which will also work e.g. in your web browser, and not just in Microsoft Word) include:
- pressing
"alt" + some numbers that constitute the ASCII code for
these characters (laborious for most people, but click
here if you're interested in the codes), or
- changing
your keyboard to a German keyboard (confusing unless you
happen to have learned to type in Germany; e.g. "y" and
"z" are interchanged on the German keyboard).
- downloading the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator and defining your own shortcuts. Here is a description someone sent me:
- With the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator, I've created my own custom keyboard layout, giving up the right-hand Alt key to serve as my "AltG" key [as in "Alt key for German"], and mapping the appropriate keys to their German keyboard equivalent when the right-hand Alt key is held (so AltG-hyphen gives me an "ß," AltG-semicolon gives me an "ö," etc.), without having to remember where my y and z (and @) are. It also means I can add other shortcuts for common non-German characters without having to switch keyboard layouts. AltG-2 gives me ½, for example.
This only works with Windows 2000 or later and the Microsoft .NET Framework v1.0 or v1.1 must be installed.
Typing
the symbol for the Euro (€)
On
a Mac: hold down shift and option keys and type 2 (but NOT on
numeric keypad)
On
a PC:
- From
the "Insert" menu, choose "Symbol." A graphic appears with
all sorts of cool characters. Click on the Euro character
(€---be sure to select "Times New Roman" font; the
€--symbol appears towards the bottom of the list of
characters), and then click on the "Shortcut" option. There,
you can define a key combination that's convenient for you.
The computer will tell you if the key combination you choose
is already in use. If you have your own computer, you only
need to do this once; if you're using a computing center,
you'll need to do it each time you come.
- OR:
Hold down "alt" and type 0128 on the numeric keypad (you
MUST use the zero)
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