Making Foreign Diacritics on Windows XP

[zoobyshoe]

I haven't run into any instructions for how to make foreign diacritical marks such as the lovely German Umlaut or the French accent aigu. I used to be able to do most of these with WebTV, and the instructions were easy to find. Where does windows xp keep this info?

 

[scott1]

Did you try going to tools > languge and try to set the langaue?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Where's "tools"?

 

[scott1]

It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

 

[zoobyshoe]

It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.

Heheheheheheh.

 

[zoobyshoe]

OK, I found it. It's damned complex and inconvenient.

start->all programs ->accessories -> system tools ->character map

In "character map" there is a huge chart of all kinds of foreign language characters and other symbols. You click on the symbol you want, then click "copy" then you can paste it here in the usual way (ctrl+v).

Very, very tedious. Or têdiöuş.

 

[Cyrus]

press the 'any key' I can't find the anykey! E-machines told me to go F' myself! I love that commercial.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Not "anykey", "åņŷЌЄΫ".

 

[Cyrus]

αήγκεγ کۂۆۉۘۑ ۩۝۞ ЕИЌЉ ∙♫♪

 

[Math Is Hard]

Zooby, try some of these shortcuts:
http://www.french.uiuc.edu/courses/100/accents.htm

 

[zoobyshoe]

Я говорю по русқии.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Zooby, try some of these shortcuts:
http://www.french.uiuc.edu/courses/100/accents.htm

No, these aren't working for me. This is very similar to the way I used to be able to do it with web TV. That site says it's good for Windows 95, 98, and 2000. Must not work with XP.

 

[Math Is Hard]

What are you using to compose messages? I usually do this in Microsoft Word, if it is a foreign language.

 

[Cyrus]

Alternate accent codes on PC for French

Press ALT + the corresponding number at the same time.


use that table.

e.g. alt+ 0228 = ä

 

[zoobyshoe]

What are you using to compose messages? I usually do this in Microsoft Word, if it is a foreign language.

It's for here, for composition in the box after hitting the quote button, or "Reply To Thread".

Alternate accent codes on PC for French

Press ALT + the corresponding number at the same time.


use that table.

e.g. alt+ 0228 = ä

I tried this, as well, but strangely PF doesn't like it and has taken me someplace strange each time I try it, like to a page that says:

This forum requires that you wait 30 seconds between searches. Please try again in 29 seconds.

 

[Mk]

Wow, if you have a PC its so hard to use the computer. I'm scared!

 

[zoobyshoe]

Wow, if you have a PC its so hard to use the computer. I'm scared!

şĕŋξЖǾǾſЊ ҚђЮП¶®!

 

[Cyrus]

Press alt and the numbers, it will work. You're not pressing something right.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Press alt and the numbers, it will work. You're not pressing something right.

Nope. I'm pressing alt + 0228 and it takes me to that page again.

Even before I get there, pressing just alt, then the zero, get me the windows "thunk" noise, meaning you're doing something wrong.

 

[Cyrus]

you are not actually pressing the '+' key are you? Don't do that. The numbers have to be on the keypad.

 

[Mk]

pressing just alt, then the zero

How about... uhm. I don't know.

 

[Gale]

make sure you're using the number pad, and not the numbers above the letters or have num lock on. i believe that's your problem.

 

[Astronuc]

To use - hold down ALT key while typing in the numbers 0### on the key pad (with NUM-lock activated as Gale indicated) or type on numbers across the top of the keyboard. Keep this list handy, as it should word in MS Word, rather than ALT-I, S which inserts special characters. Sometimes language support is necessary in browser or application.

0192 À
0193 Á
0194 Â
0195 Ã
0196 Ä
0197 Å
0198 Æ
0199 Ç
0200 È
0201 É
0202 Ê
0203 Ë
0204 Ì
0205 Í
0206 Î
0207 Ï
0208 Ð
0209 Ñ
0210 Ò
0211 Ó
0212 Ô
0213 Õ
0214 Ö
0215 ×
0216 Ø
0217 Ù
0218 Ú
0219 Û
0220 Ü
0221 Ý
0222 Þ
0223 ß
0224 à
0225 á
0226 â
0227 ã
0228 ä
0229 å
0230 æ
0231 ç
0232 è
0233 é
0234 ê
0235 ë
0236 ì
0237 í
0238 î
0239 ï
0240 ð
0241 ñ
0242 ò
0243 ó
0244 ô
0245 õ
0246 ö
0247 ÷
0248 ø
0249 ù
0250 ú
0251 û
0252 ü
0253 ý
0254 þ
0255 ÿ

 

[zoobyshoe]

you are not actually pressing the '+' key are you? Don't do that. The numbers have to be on the keypad.

This is not the problem.

make sure you're using the number pad, and not the numbers above the letters or have num lock on. i believe that's your problem.

To use - hold down ALT key while typing in the numbers 0### on the key pad (with NUM-lock activated as Gale indicated) or type on numbers across the top of the keyboard. Keep this list handy, as it should word in MS Word, rather than ALT-I, S which inserts special characters. Sometimes language support is necessary in browser or application.

OK, now we're getting somewhere.

The "number lock" has to be "on" and, instead of the regular numbers that are across the top of the letters, you have to use a separate set of numbers that are, apparently, second functions of keys already used in other capacities. You people are calling this second set "the key pad".

This information is in the "help" section of the character map:

Then, with NUM LOCK on, hold down the ALT key while using the number pad keys to type the Unicode character value."

except it fails to explain what "the number pad keys" are.

Thanks for the list, Astro. I'll print it out and try to keep it around.

 

[Astronuc]

The key pad set is usually on the right side of the keyboard, and basically mimics on old simple accounting machine set of keys.

Usually Num Lock is a button at the top, with / and * and - and + nearby.

Numbers are arranged

7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3
0 .

They might also serve as cursor arrows on some keyboards.

The the right side of then numbers might be arranged -, + and enter.

On mine, Ins and Del are the functions associated with buttons 0 and .

where . is a decimal point for real numbers vs integers.

I also use a powerful text editor "TextPad" which has a character list with the decimal and key equivalents built in.

 

[Gale]

astronuc explained the traditional keypad, if you have a lap top its pretty different, but you have keypad there too. did you figure everything out?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Ïch denke daß Îch habe es ausgefigured, yes.

 

[zoobyshoe]

astronuc explained the traditional keypad, if you have a lap top its pretty different, but you have keypad there too. did you figure everything out?

Yeah, these second function numbers are activated by pressing a dedicated key designated by the letters fn enclosed in a box printed in blue ink and then pressing a key labeled "num lk" in blue letters under a first function labeled in white called "scroll". Doing this causes a blue LED to light indicating the number lock is on. This allows me to punch in the codes from Astro's list on the keys that are marked in blue with these second function numbers, all the while pressing "alt".

Now, when I press alt + any of these keys when the number lock is not engaged, I get a "thunk" noise and nothing happens. So, there is no real reason this I can see to have to turn the num lk on in the first place. It should always be engaged, since nothing's going to happen unless you press "alt" first. That is the very easy way the WebTv foreign language marks worked, except just about every key on the board had a second function that you found in a list in the help menu.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The "Character Map" has a bi-racial choice of smiley faces: ☻☺. But they both have weird little nubbins on the top of their heads.

 

[Astronuc]

The two smiley faces are/were part of the original IBM-dos character set. They are not standard ASCII.

See - http://www.jimprice.com/ascii-dos.gif

Windows has a slightly different set -

http://www.jimprice.com/ascii-win.gif


What happens when there is lack of standardization.

 

[zoobyshoe]

With WebTV if I wanted to put an ® all I needed to do was press "alt" + r, and it was done.

Here I either have to hunt up the character map, select the ®, copy and paste it, or, hunt up the 4 digit code, engage the num lk, press "alt", then the four digit code, and be sure to remember to disengage the num lk. before trying to type normally, cause if you don't disengage it all the "keypad" letters come out as numbers.

In so many ways this $1000.00 laptop is simply a 10 step way of doing what was a one step process with the $129.00 WebTv, and, on top of it, the laptop has consistantly poorer, more obscure instructions to get you through the extra, unnecessary steps.

I am not going to go into the trouble I've had with my printer and scanner.