Typing Spanish

Question

For those who ask how to type the ÿ, the accents and other Spanish symbols like ¿ or ¡, here is the most efficient method in Windows XP (although in Vista is similar):

Go to Control Panel

Click on Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options.

Then click on Regional and Language Options

Select the Languages tab.

Click on Details.

Click on Add, choose Spanish, and then select any variant.

The International Sort is configured like this:

The one used in Mexico like this:

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Answer 1

Natasha said:

Paralee, this isn't a very good suggestion, but it's better than nothing: you can copy-and-paste from a site like the following:

http://www.cdrummond.qc.ca/cegep/informat/Professeurs/Alain/files/a...

Of course, if you can figure out what the right code is, you should be able to type ALT and the code as long as your keyboard has a numeric keypad. For example, ALT-171 gives me ½. (If I find the codes for the ones you asked about, I'll post them.)

A while back, Zoltán posted the most commonly used ALT-keys for typing in Spanish (etc.), so I'm copying-and-pasting them here for general reference.

Alt+129 ü

Alt+130 é

Alt +144 ÿ

Alt+160 á

Alt+161 í

Alt+162 ó

Alt+163 ú

Alt+164 ñ

Alt+165 ÿ

Alt+168 ¿

Alt+173 ¡

Alt+64 @

Alt+126 ~

Alt+246 ÷

Alt+171 ½

Alt+172 ¼

Alt+156 £

Alt+193 Á

Alt+205 Í

Alt+211 ÿ

Alt+218 ÿ

Alt+220 ÿ

Thanks, Natasha, but since Mac don't have ALT buttons, those little keystrokes that got me through college with my old PC no longer apply. I guess I'm stuck with the copy/paste method for now.

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Answer 2

Paralee said:

:

Thanks, Natasha, but since Mac don't have ALT buttons, those little keystrokes that got me through college with my old PC no longer apply. I guess I'm stuck with the copy/paste method for now.

My brother-in-law has a Mac and I asked him how to do it. He sent me this:

finder > edit > special characters

I don't have a Mac to see what he means, but maybe it will help.

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Answer 3

lazarus1907 said:

Jhonny Urrego said:

hold Ctrl and type 164 ,release Ctrl then it will show the "ñ

And what about á é í ó ú Á ÿ Í ÿ ÿ ÿ ¿ ¡ ü ü ª? Do you memorize them all? The keyboard is much faster and convenient.

Actually, I sometimes have to type in French so I printed out the ASCII table which can be found at www.asciitable.com It provides you with all the alternate symbols and I keep it taped to the bottom of my monitor for easy reference. I just have to hold the alt key and type the corresponding number for the symbol I want.

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Answer 4

Wouldn't Mac users use the apple button instead of the alt key for pc users?

Natasha said:

Paralee said:

:

Thanks, Natasha, but since Mac don't have ALT buttons, those little keystrokes that got me through college with my old PC no longer apply. I guess I'm stuck with the copy/paste method for now.

My brother-in-law has a Mac and I asked him how to do it. He sent me this:

finder > edit > special characters

I don't have a Mac to see what he means, but maybe it will help.

>

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Answer 5

That certainly works! Thanks! Still a pain to have to go about clicking all over the place when all the other accents are so easy on Macs. Oh well, if anyone else knows the secret, let me know. Until then, I'll be clicking.

Natasha said:

My brother-in-law has a Mac and I asked him how to do it. He sent me this:

finder > edit > special characters

I don't have a Mac to see what he means, but maybe it will help.

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Answer 6

Not really, Kimberley. I tried that and got all kinds of weird windows popping up all over, windows disappearing, dictionaries changing, etc. The apple button is more like the CTRL button on a PC, I think.

Kimberley said:

Wouldn't Mac users use the apple button instead of the alt key for pc users?

>

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Answer 7

¡Muchas gracias, Lazarus1907! I was having trouble with this one. I had to skip the writing section until now. I aso cannot seem to do the speaking part, because my microphone isn't working with the program. Any help for this? Another good thing to have in a FAQs section. I'm such a newbie that I can't really write in Spanish yet.

Otra vez, muchas gracias. Phyllis

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Answer 8

OK lazarus, I´m borrowing someones laptop so I´m trying it now.

éáíóú¡¿ ç I think I may have to put little stickers on some of the keys though ...

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Answer 9

tad said:

OK lazarus, I´m borrowing someones laptop so I´m trying it now.éáíóú¡¿ ç I think I may have to put little stickers on some of the keys though ...

One downside is that unexpected keys are affected e.g. ( becomes ) , ) becomes =

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Answer 10

la diferencia entre mejillon y almeja es la misma que hay entre un gato,un tigre y un leon, que aunque son de la misma familia, pero son distintos animales .

Puedes decirme sobre la comida de Polonia?
Se come bien en Polonia'

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Answer 11

Did the Mac user ever get an answer? The "Option" key is what you use on a Mac. Under the flag of the language you're using, click on "Show keyboard viewer" and you can see what happens when you use the Option key... i.e. Option 1=¡ Option N='

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Answer 12

I should say that it's the case with the Canadian and US English keyboards. On the Norwegian keyboard, you can even get a ? when you type Option 'a.'

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Answer 13

En el hilo que hay en el foro

http://my.spanishdict.com/forum/topic/show'id=1710195%3ATopic%3A356387

Mira las fotos y verás las diferencias entre los mejillones y almejas

un saludo

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Answer 14

yeah, when I type in alt (holding down the key or otherwise) the 165, it either does nothing, or if I do it in a word document, it merely takes me to "save as" v-annoying, I looked at the website but still can't figure it out.

Natasha said:

Rebecca said:

Hi does anyone know how one can do this with windows vista? I can make the áéíóúÁÿÍÿÿ fine, as there are key on my keyboard for them, but i'm havig problems with making the others the most annoying is ñ, I have tried typing in ctrl-alt 164, but it comes up with a euros sign, any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks

Hi Rebecca,I don't have Windows Vista, but it looked like the following link might be useful:http://babelhut.com/languages/spanish/setting-up-a-spanish-keyboard...On my computer, you have to hold down the ALT key while typing 164. Does that help'Good luck!

>

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Answer 15

Rebecca said:

yeah, when I type in alt (holding down the key or otherwise) the 165, it either does nothing, or if I do it in a word document, it merely takes me to "save as" v-annoying, I looked at the website but still can't figure it out.

Natasha said:

Rebecca said:

Hi does anyone know how one can do this with windows vista? I can make the áéíóúÁÿÍÿÿ fine, as there are key on my keyboard for them, but i'm havig problems with making the others the most annoying is ñ, I have tried typing in ctrl-alt 164, but it comes up with a euros sign, any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks

Hi Rebecca,I don't have Windows Vista, but it looked like the following link might be useful:http://babelhut.com/languages/spanish/setting-up-a-spanish-keyboard...On my computer, you have to hold down the ALT key while typing 164. Does that help'Good luck!

Are you using the numeric key pad with NumLock on?

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