Using a Spanish keyboard with Windows 7

Question

Hi all,

I have a laptop running Windows 7, but two of the keys on the keyboard are broken due to a small spill I had on it. I want to buy a new keyboard that I could just plug into my computer (I am not tech-savvy at all). I would like a Spanish one that would make typing the accents easier, and Amazon does have a few cheap ones for sale. Does anyone know if these will run with Windows 7 and actually produce the Spanish characters? Or will I need to change the software to make that happen? I have tried switching my keyboard input to US/international, which only works part of the time for typing Spanish, and the rest of the time it either doesn't produce Spanish characters or types very strange, unrecognizable characters.

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

Before you buy a 2nd keyboard for your laptop make sure that there is a port to plug into. Some cheaper laptops may not have a regular PS/2 keyboard port. If it doesn't have one (and you don't go wireless) then you need to find a keyboard that plugs into a USB port. Some of the Spanish keyboards at Amazon were USB keyboards and some didn't mention which they were. Make sure that you are buying whichever you need.

The Spanish keyboards at Amazon.com are standard Qwerty keyboards. None said they came with their own drivers so they must work with the drivers provided by the Windows 7 OS (and run on typical computer current).

There is more than one Spanish layout (Latin American and Spain for sure) so make sure that you are getting the one that you want.

This is great advice and may save my from a clueless and poor choice, thanks. - aceydoubleyou, Aug 12, 2010

Answer 2

I don't have an answer to your question, but I do have a possible solution to your problem. You could use Vikingo's program that inserts the relevant Spanish character when you press the Windows logo key and related plain one. I really like it. Here's the link if you decide to change your mind or just go with an American keyboard.

Thanks, I will check it out - aceydoubleyou, Aug 12, 2010

Answer 3

I would just get a regular English one and use the US International keyboard setting on windows 7 to type Spanish characters. That's what I do, although with the original built-in keyboard on my laptop. That way you don't have to get used to a new keyboard layout. If they aren't too expensive, you might like a wireless one better actually because, obviously, there's not a cord.

That's what I am using and it doesn't function properly ;_; Thanks for the wireless suggestion! - aceydoubleyou, Aug 12, 2010