French: practical hints for typing accents
When you tutor French, a student might ask how to produce the accents on an English keyboard. Here are a couple of options:
On a Microsoft product, every French accent has its own Alt+(4 digit code). For instance, this ç was typed using Alt+0231. You need to hold down the Alt key, then type 0231 using the numeric keypad to the right – not the numbers across the top. Here are some codes that, once memorized, can really speed up your French typing:
é: Alt+0233
è: Alt+0232
à: Alt+0224
ç: Alt+0231
î: Alt+0238
ô: Alt+0244
Another way to produce accents is to use the character map. Look under All Programs→Accessories→System Tools and you should see it. It’s a grid of different characters which you can copy and paste to your work – really a great tool.
If you’re in Word, of course, you can go Insert→Symbol to find everything you need. Word has its own shortcut sequences; my wife uses them all the time. However, the sequences above will work in Word as well.
If you like the copy and paste method, here’s a time saver: Copy and paste all the accents you’ll need when you first start, like so:
à ç è é î ô
Now, you don’t have to flip back and forth between a menu and your work; you can just copy and paste from the list.
I hope this helps:)
Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.
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