Keyboards

[chrisbutler]

How do those of you with English (or non-Spanish/French) keyboards type accents (in Windows)?

Word (at least Word 2007) is very easy, but other programs (Skpe) are not.

I can't remember all the Alt+ 0161 codes for more than 10 minutes and Character Map is very clumsy.

The best I can do is use the US-International keyboard setting (which is a buried treasure in Windows). It is very easy to use, but for some reason includes every character except for "¡". Trouble is I have to turn it on/off every time I want to use it since it is a bit clumsy for typing in English.

Any other gems out there ?

BTW: To those of you with Spanish keyboards. Are they AZERTY (like French keyboards) or QWERTY like English ones ?

[Robie]

I use the Latin American spanish keyboard that is supported by Windows. It's probably similar, yet different, than the US -International Keyboard that you mention here. I learned the keystrokes for that virtual keyboard and it works for me. But I, too, have to switch back and forth to type keys like ", ', *, etc. I guess I am just used to doing it..

I also find that most of the software doesn't support the ¿ like MS Word does. But the reality seems to be that most people simply don't type the ¿ or the ¡ in their sentences in colloquial usage as in this forum. I also find that my keyboard setting is lacking in the use of the characters that are used to show conversation in spanish. We use " " to enclose our quotations but spanish uses some other characters that I can't type.

So, maybe if we get feedback from others, we'll both find the actual "best" keyboard to use.

[chrisbutler]

I've never tried to use those virtual keyboards. I thought that when you used them some of the special characters (@#" etc.) swapped places and drove you mad and also that you had to remember all the Alt-Gr placings ? That would be beyond me !!!

With the US-Int key board all the keys have the same meaning as on the physical keyboard and so you type pretty much as normal (even for the special characters). The difference is that if (for example) you type an apostrophe then nothing happens (weird eh !). What happens depends on what sort of key you hit next: if it's a vowel then you get á, é, í, ó or ú, but if it's any other key then it gives you the apostrophe and that character. Sounds screwy but it means that you just type pretty much as normal and just have to hit the ' before accented vowels.

To clarify, I just turn it on when I start to use Skype with Noelía (not that I can remember where the accents go on words !) and turn off at the end of the session. I don't need to turn it on and off each time I want a ¿ or ¡.

My impression was that using the virtual keyboards is more difficult (until you're used to it) or have I misunderstood ?

Pity is that there is only a US-International, not a UK-International so I am knackered (that will test Noelía's colloquial British English !) when I go back to the UK.

[Noelia]

Both of you have been to Spanish-speaking countries. Argentina at least... havent you thought of the possibility of buying a Spanish keyboard? A real thing, not switching the configuration of yours... A good one is about 20-25 dollars.

[chrisbutler]

Yes, I've thought of that. You can get them easily in the US, but the Spanish keyboard has problems for US/UK key board users:-

- The majority of the special charcters are in different places. Your '&' is above the '6', ours is above the 7 for example.
- you use an Alt Gr key and we don't have that at all and are not used to it.

If you want fun, go to an internet cafe in Spain and watch how long it takes the Brits to work out how to type a '@' with the Spanish keyboards !

The software 'tricks' above are a lot easier for us.

I actually did buy a French keyboard when I lived in Belgium. BIG MISTAKE. Not only do they have the above problems but their keyboards are AZERTY - i.e. all the letters are in different postions ! I am 95% sure you use the same QWERTY layout for the letters as US/UK.

[chrisbutler]

On further research the US - International keyboard gets better. If you hold the RIGHT Alt key and hit aeiou1/ you get áéíóú¡¿. Perfecto !!

[Noelia]

Ahora soy yo la que tiene un problema con esto. Estoy en una laptop con teclado en ingles y no puedo encontrar la forma de escribir la Enie... quisiera no tener que cambiar el idioma de la computadora porque despues me pierdo con las demas teclas... y los codigos ascii de alt + stuff parecen no funcionar... alguna sugerencia?

[Robie]

Trata de usar el right-alt + n. Creo que funciona perfectamente.

[chrisbutler]

Si no pudes usar right-alt + n, skpeeme. Hay muchos solucioines segun el software y hardware usas.

Right-alt + n funciona si usas el US-Int teclado en Windows o si usas un Mac, si no creo que no funciona. (Robbie - usa usted el US-Int teclado ?)

[Noelia]

Gracias Chris, creo que ya funciona! Y muchas gracias Robie tambien, por ayudarme en persona!

[chrisbutler]

Right-Alt + n funciona sin el "US-Int keyboard" configuración ? De verdad ? Me sorprende !

[sendai]

graeme said:

that should have been keyboard! i don't tend to do much by jeyboard these days...

Me either. They're so 90s!

[Noelia]

me explican el chiste que no lo entendi

[sendai]

Graeme pifió la palabra "keyboard" y puso "jeyboard", cosa que obviamente no existe. El chiste es que hablamos del jeyboard como si realmente existiera.

Supongo que entendés "That's so 90s", pero por las dudas te digo que quiere decir que se usaba en los 90s pero ya no, que está "demodé".

[Noelia]

No entiendo por que un "typo" es "so 90's" y por que este concepto es gracioso, en las locas cabezas anglosajonas....