why do the french accent shortcuts not work on my computer?

Question

look, i am doing it correctly:

alt then 130, let go of alt....no e accent

130

Answer 1

some programs don't accept the shortcuts, like Excel, or certain shortcuts in Mozilla or IE cause other things to happen, like go back a page when you're writing an email... Try to copy and paste from a program like Word. Sometimes I use MSN too, since it's easier to type the accent.

Note that there are two keyboard shortcut methods: one is the Alt+number code, like 130 for the e accent aigu (é). The other is using the accent keys like on the azerty keyboards. In Word (and MSN, which uses both the CTRL and ALT methods), to make the é accent aigu for example, you need to press the CTRL and apostrophe keys at the same time, then immediately press the e key. So the trick for other accents is the CTRL+accent key, shift if it's a secondary option, like for the ñ in spanish you need to press CTRL+shift+~ then the n. This way is the easiest to get any accent you need over any vowel or letter without memorizing the codes.

My advice, open up Word and just practice the CTRL+accent then letter method until you can easily make an ë or ê or even ï without messing up your typing. I have Office XP and the CTRL method is the only one that works (other than Insert Symbol), but I remember using the ALT shortcuts in high school when my parents still had Office 98. Test your programs BEFORE writing something important, like a paper or an email in Mozilla or IE, since the ALT shortcuts often have pre-assigned tasks like "Close" or "Previous" and that can get annoying. That way you also have an idea which programs use which method. Like I mentioned, MSN seems to use both, Word CTRL, and Mozilla and IE use only ALT (but be careful with the 160s and 170s, they will mess up your emails).

One more thing: if you are typing on a laptop, without a keypad like on a desktop keyboard, you need to use FN+ALT and the appropriate keys. I hope these tips help. If you try them all, and it still doesn't work, ask again and maybe someone else knows a setup change that would help. But Copy and Paste always work, at least for me, when nothing else does.

Answer 2

that's very strange... did you try the other way I told you? "start, programs, accessories, system tools, character map" ?