Windows - International Keyboard Codes

This page list codes for accented letters and other characters. The list is organized by type. If you need more information on how to activate the keyboard, please read the detailed instructions for activating the keyboard. These tables show select codes only, not all possible codes.

NOTE: For these codes, it is important to distinguish the Alt key (LeftAlt) key on the left side of the keyboard from the Alt key (RightAlt) on the right side of the keyboard.

Page Content

1. Activate the International Keyboard
2. Codes for Letters with Accents - (e.g. ó, ò, ñ)
3. Other Foreign Characters - (e.g. ç, ¿, ß)
4. Currency Symbols - (e.g. ¢, £, ¥)
5. Math Symbols - (e.g. ±, °, ÷)
6. Other Punctuation - (e.g. &, ©, §)
7. Links to External References
8. Activate Keyboard (Separate Page)

Activate the International Keyboard

Windows 7/Vista

1. Go to the Start (Windows icon) menu on the lower left and select Control Panel.
2. Click Clock, Language and Region, then Regional and Language Options.
3. While in the Regional and Language Options control panel, click on the Languages tab, then the Details button.
4. Click the Add button and select English from the Input Language pull down menu.
5. Place a check in the Keyboard layout/IME box and select one of the following from the dropdown menu.
   
   1. United State International
   2. You can also select the U.K., Canadian or Dvorak keyboards from this menu.
   See Detailed Windows 7/Vista Instructions for complete instructions with screen capture images.
6. In the top dropdown menu, you have the option of selecting the international keyboard as the default keyboard for all Windows applications.
7. Click the OK buttons until you have exited the control panels - this will save the changes in your Profile.
8. To use the International keyboard, open any Windows application then make sure the Language Bar menu on te top is set to EN and that the secondary keyboard menu is set to United States International.
   Note: If you do not see a secondary menu, click the option for Language Bar. The switcher will be relocated to the top of the page.

Codes for Letters with Accents

This table is organized by Accent type. The sample shows a letter with that accent, and the Notes present any special comments about using that accent.

For the Template, the symbol "V" means any vowel.

International Keyboard Codes for Accented Letters

ACCENT	SAMPLE	TEMPLATE	NOTES
Acute	ó Ó	', V	' = apostrophe key
Circumflex	ô Ô	Shift+^, V
Grave	ò Ò	`, V
Tilde	ñ Ñ	Shift+~, V	Only works with n,N,o,O,a,A
Umlaut	ö Ö	", V	"= quote key

Example 1: To type the letter ó - Type the apostrophe key ('), then O  For Ó, type the apostrophe, then capital O.

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Other Foreign Characters

For most of these, you will use the RightAlt key on the right side of the keyboard, not the LeftAlt key.

International Keyboard Codes for Foreign Characters

SYMBOL	NAME	CODE
¡	Upside-down exclamation point	RightAlt+1
¿	Upside-down question mark	RightAlt+?
Ç,ç	French C cedille (caps/uppercase)	Shift+RightAlt+< RightAlt+< OR  ', C and ', Shift+C ' = apostrophe key
Œ,œ	French oe liagature - there is no code. Use the combination "oe" instead.	--
ß	German Sharp/Double S	RightAlt+S
Ø,ø	O slash (caps/lowecase)	Shift+RightAlt+L RightAlt+L
Å,å	A with ring/Angstrom Sign (caps/lowercase)	Shift+RightAlt+W RightAlt+W
Æ,æ	AE ligature (caps/lowercase)	Shift+RightAlt+Z RightAlt+Z
Þ,þ	Icelandic/Old English Thorn (caps/lowercase)	RightAlt+T Shift+RightAlt+T
Ð,ð	Icelandic/Old English eth	RightAlt+D Shift+RightAlt+D
« »	This is Spanish style quote mark.	RightAlt+[ RightAlt+]

 

Example 1: To input Spanish upside down exclamation point ¡ (RightAlt+1), hold down the RightAlt, then the 1 key. Release both keys, and the ¡ punctuation will appear.

Example 2: To input capital French C cedilla Ç (Shift+RightAlt+<), hold down the Shift key, then the RightAlt key, then the < key. Release all three keys, and the letter will appear.

Currency Symbols

For most of these, you will use the RightAlt key on the right side of the keyboard, not the LeftAlt key.

International Keyboard Codes
for Currency Symbols

SYMBOL	NAME	CODE
¢	Cent sign	Shift+RightAlt+C
£	British Pound	Shift+RightAlt+4
¥	Japanese Yen. - = minus key	RightAlt+-
€	Euro Sign.	RightAlt+5
¤	Generic Currency	RightAlt+4

 

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Math Symbols

For most of these, you will use the RightAlt key on the right side of the keyboard, not the LeftAlt key.

International Keyboard Codes for Math Symbols

SYMBOL	NAME	CODE
÷	Division sign	Shift+RightAlt++ Shift, RightAlt, then the plus key.
°	Degree symbol	Shift+RightAlt+: Shift, RightAlt, then the colon key.
¬	Not symbol	RightAlt+\
µ	Micro	RightAlt+M

 

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Other Punctuation

For most of these, you will use the RightAlt key on the right side of the keyboard, not the LeftAlt key.

International Keyboard Codes for Punctuation

SYMBOL	NAME	CODE
©	Copyright symbol	RightAlt+C
®	Registered symbol	RightAlt+R
¶	Paragraph Symbol.	RightAlt+; RightAlt, then semicolon key.
§	Section Symbol	Shift+RightAlt+S

 

Links to External References

These are links to alternate instructions for inputting accents and other characters with the International Keyboard.

• Carnegie Mellon (switch to International Keyboard)
• Bowdoin University (Codes and Installation)
• US Naval Academy (Codes and installation)
• Starr.Net (Codes)

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Last Modified: Tuesday, 28-Mar-2017 13:48:23 EDT