{"id":6491,"date":"2014-11-05T10:26:46","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T18:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/?p=6491"},"modified":"2014-11-05T10:30:29","modified_gmt":"2014-11-05T18:30:29","slug":"easier-typing-german-letters-windows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/","title":{"rendered":"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"

do you often need to type accented German letters or the Euro symbol? are you running Windows with a US keyboard layout? then this is for you!<\/em><\/p>\n

i recently got a new work laptop and discovered i was missing something i took for granted. having lived in Germany and having to use a US keyboard layout (which is preferable because that switched out Y and Z<\/a> will get you every time, plus it’s easier for my day job, programming), i tried to find a better way to type accented characters no matter what program i’m in (because if you just need to work Word, you’re in luck — see below).<\/p>\n

\"letters\"<\/a><\/p>\n

many years ago i found you could\u00a0make your own custom keyboard layout<\/a>. i did it while i was a student there\u00a0to help me type German (because why look like a n00b and type Raetsel<\/em> for R\u00e4tsel or Strasse<\/em> for Stra\u00dfe) and have kept it around to install on every computer since. now i can type \u00e4,\u00f6, \u00fc, \u00df, and \u20ac each with a simple keystroke combination.<\/p>\n

i figured i might as well share it just in case anyone else has the same need. if not, and you need accented characters in other languages, or the keyboard combinations i chose aren’t to your liking, use that link to download the custom layout tool and make your own. it’s not\u00a0easy<\/em>, but it will definitely save you time if you’re used to other methods like copying\/pasting or those alt+number combinations. (heh, i still remember so many from growing up in a town called La Ca\u00f1ada<\/a> [alt+0241] and taking French \u00e9 [alt+0233].)<\/p>\n

sidebar: Microsoft Word<\/strong> if you only need to type accented characters in Microsoft Word, there’s an easier way: control + accent, then letter. for instance, to type “\u00e4”, hold down control and type a colon (so control+shift+;), then press a. For “\u00e9”, type control+’, then e (yes, i know that’s not typically found in German). for \u00df, type Control+&, then s. pretty much all European accented characters can be typed using a series of keystrokes like this<\/a> in Word.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

instructions<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. download the ZIP file<\/a> containing the installer. this should work on everything from Vista on up — for sure Windows 7 and 8.<\/li>\n
  2. unzip it, and run setup.exe. this will install a new keyboard layout called “US+DE”.<\/li>\n
  3. you may now need to change your default keyboard layout — here’s how to do it on Vista<\/a>,\u00a0Windows 7<\/a>, and Windows 8<\/a>.
    \np.s.\u00a0i’ve actually removed the default US keyboard because i don’t want to accidentally switch back and lose this functionality! this is especially true if that pesky language toolbar thing appears — accidentally hit the wrong keyboard combo and it’ll switch keyboard layouts without you realizing it.<\/li>\n
  4. typing accented characters — ah, so here’s the rub, and why this may not work for everyone. it relies on repurposing your right-hand Alt key. i, as a southpaw, never use it, so it was an easy choice for me to make. i don’t know if right-handers use it, but if not, yay! your right-hand Alt key will not work the same way anymore, SO BE WARNED.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    • \u00e4 = right-Alt + a<\/li>\n
    • \u00f6 = right-Alt + o<\/li>\n
    • \u00fc = right-Alt + u<\/li>\n
    • \u20ac = right-Alt + 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      in any case, i hope this is useful for at least one person out there!<\/p>\n

      p.s.\u00a0note that if you’re using another keyboard layout, say, UK or French, it will remap all your other keys to the US layout!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      do you often need to type accented German letters or the Euro symbol? are you running Windows with a US keyboard layout? then this is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":6495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"Easier Typing of German Characters in Windows","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[12],"tags":[330,1046,799],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nEasier Typing of German Letters in Windows - Wanderlusty<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows - Wanderlusty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"do you often need to type accented German letters or the Euro symbol? are you running Windows with a US keyboard layout? then this is...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wanderlusty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-11-05T18:26:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-11-05T18:30:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/\/sites\/48\/2014\/11\/letters.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"664\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"416\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Wanderlusty\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jonk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Wanderlusty\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/\",\"name\":\"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows - Wanderlusty\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-11-05T18:26:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-11-05T18:30:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#\/schema\/person\/d16efa90fa481ec9506b24077e8ad2f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/\",\"name\":\"Wanderlusty\",\"description\":\"A First2Board Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#\/schema\/person\/d16efa90fa481ec9506b24077e8ad2f8\",\"name\":\"Wanderlusty\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ecf08c94af5340cf7d794af6afcf525?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ecf08c94af5340cf7d794af6afcf525?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Wanderlusty\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/jett.in\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonk\"],\"url\":\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/author\/jon\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows - Wanderlusty","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows - Wanderlusty","og_description":"do you often need to type accented German letters or the Euro symbol? are you running Windows with a US keyboard layout? then this is...","og_url":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/","og_site_name":"Wanderlusty","article_published_time":"2014-11-05T18:26:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-11-05T18:30:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":664,"height":416,"url":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/\/sites\/48\/2014\/11\/letters.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Wanderlusty","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jonk","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Wanderlusty","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/","url":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/","name":"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows - Wanderlusty","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-11-05T18:26:46+00:00","dateModified":"2014-11-05T18:30:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#\/schema\/person\/d16efa90fa481ec9506b24077e8ad2f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/2014\/11\/easier-typing-german-letters-windows\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Easier Typing of German Letters in Windows"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#website","url":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/","name":"Wanderlusty","description":"A First2Board Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#\/schema\/person\/d16efa90fa481ec9506b24077e8ad2f8","name":"Wanderlusty","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ecf08c94af5340cf7d794af6afcf525?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ecf08c94af5340cf7d794af6afcf525?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Wanderlusty"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/jett.in","https:\/\/twitter.com\/jonk"],"url":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/author\/jon\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/\/sites\/48\/2014\/11\/letters.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p436sZ-1GH","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6491"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6491"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6503,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6491\/revisions\/6503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/first2board.com\/wanderlusty\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}