
Character Entry for Languages Using Latin Alphabets







METHOD ONE
The following key combinations are the most common for the Macintosh system using the US EXTENDED KEYBOARD.
First, certain keys become "prefix" or "dead" keys. It's similar to how accent marks are typed on mechanical typewriters. When pressing the Option key (or Option+Shift keys) and then the letter of the accent mark you wish to make, you will see the accent mark appear first with a colored space around the accent.
When followed by a letter that can take an accent mark, this sequence creates the accented characters. Examples: á, ü, è, ô, ñ.
Second, other keys will work by simply pressing Option (or Option+Shift) and then the key.
In the table below, if a combination has a plus sign (+), hold both keys simultaneously. If a comma (,) separates the key combination, release the keys you are holding and press the next set of keys.
DESCRIPTION | EXAMPLE | KEY COMBINATION |
---|---|---|
Acute | é É |
OPTION + E, letter OPTION + E, SHIFT + letter |
Acute Double | ő Ő |
OPTION + J, letter OPTION + J, SHIFT + letter |
Arch (Inverted Breve) | ȇ Ȇ |
OPTION + SHIFT + S, letter OPTION + SHIFT + S, SHIFT + letter |
Ash | æ Æ |
OPTION + ‘ OPTION + SHIFT+ ‘ |
Breve | ĕ Ĕ |
OPTION + B, letter OPTION + B, SHIFT + letter |
Bullet | • | OPTION + 8 |
Caron (Hacheck) | ě Ě |
OPTION + V, letter OPTION + V, SHIFT + letter |
Cedilla | ç Ç |
OPTION + C, letter OPTION + C, SHIFT + letter |
Cent | ¢ | OPTION + 4 |
Circumflex | ê Ê |
OPTION + 6, letter OPTION + 6, SHIFT + letter |
Circumflex Below | ḙ Ḙ |
OPTION + SHIFT + G, letter OPTION + SHIFT + G, SHIFT + letter |
Comma | ș Ș |
OPTION + P, letter OPTION + P, SHIFT + letter |
Copyright Sign | © | OPTION + G |
Dagger | † | OPTION + SHIFT + 5 |
Dagger Double | ‡ | OPTION + SHIFT + 7 |
Degree | ° | OPTION + SHIFT + 8 |
Division Sign | ÷ | OPTION + / |
Dot | ė Ė |
OPTION + W, letter OPTION + W, SHIFT + letter |
Dot Below | ẹ Ẹ |
OPTION + X, letter OPTION + X, SHIFT + letter |
Elipsis | … | OPTION + ; |
Eth | ð Ð |
OPTION + D OPTION + SHIFT + D |
Em Dash | – | OPTION + - |
En Dash | — | OPTION + SHIFT + - |
Euro | € | OPTION + SHIFT + 2 |
Florin | ƒ | OPTION + F |
French/Spanish Quote | « » |
OPTION + \ OPTION + SHIFT + \ |
Grave | è È |
OPTION + `, letter OPTION + `, SHIFT + letter |
Grave Double | ȅ Ȅ |
OPTION + SHIFT + Y, letter OPTION + SHIFT + Y, SHIFT + letter |
Greater Than Or Equal To Sign | ≥ | OPTION + > |
Hook | ẻ Ẻ |
OPTION + Z, letter OPTION + Z, SHIFT + letter |
Hook Below | ȥ Ȥ |
OPTION + SHIFT + ., letter OPTION + SHIFT + ., SHIFT + letter |
Horn | ơ Ơ |
OPTION + I, letter OPTION + I, SHIFT + letter |
Inverted Exclamation Mark | ¡ | OPTION + 1 |
Inverted Question Mark | ¿ | OPTION + SHIFT + / |
Less Than Or Equal To Sign | ≤ | OPTION + < |
Line Below | ḇ Ḇ |
OPTION + H, letter OPTION + H, SHIFT + letter |
Macron | ē Ē |
OPTION + A, letter OPTION + A, SHIFT + letter |
Not Equal To Sign | ≠ | OPTION + = |
Oethel | œ Œ |
OPTION + q OPTION + SHIFT + q |
Ogonek | ę Ę |
OPTION + M, letter OPTION + M, SHIFT + letter |
Ordinal (Masculine) | º | OPTION + 0 |
Ordinal (Feminine) | ª | OPTION + 9 |
Paragraph Sign | ¶ | OPTION + 7 |
Per Mille Sign | ‰ | OPTION + SHIFT + R |
Plus-Minus Sign | ± | OPTION + SHIFT + = |
Pound | £ | OPTION + 3 |
Registered Sign | ® | OPTION + R |
Ring | å Å |
OPTION + K, letter OPTION + K, SHIFT + letter |
Section Sign | § | OPTION + 5 |
Sharp S | ß | OPTION + S |
Stroke O | ø Ø |
OPTION + O OPTION + SHIFT + O |
Stroke or Bar | ƶ Ƶ |
OPTION + L, letter OPTION + L, SHIFT + letter |
Thorn | þ Þ |
OPTION+ T OPTION + SHIFT + T |
Tilde | ñ Ñ |
OPTION + N, letter OPTION + N, SHIFT + letter |
Tilde Below | ḛ Ḛ |
OPTION + SHIFT + F, letter OPTION + SHIFT + F, SHIFT + letter |
Trademark Sign | ™ | OPTION + 2 |
Umlaut (Diaresis) | ë Ë |
OPTION + U, letter OPTION + U, SHIFT + letter |
Yen | ¥ | OPTION + Y |
METHOD TWO
These codes add accents to ANY Letter via Unicode. As a result, there may be unusual display issues with certain fonts or certain letters (e.g. capital letters).
To use these codes first type the letter, then type the code.
DESCRIPTION | KEY COMBINATION |
---|---|
Combining Acute | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + E |
Combining Acute Double | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + J |
Combining Breve | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + B |
Combing Caron (Hachek) | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + V |
Combining Cedilla | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + C |
Combining Circumflex | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + 6 |
Combining Comma | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + P |
Combining Dot Above | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + W |
Combining Dot Below | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + X |
Combining Grave | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + ` |
Combining Horn | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + I |
Combining Macron | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + A |
Combining Macron Below | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + H |
Combining Ogonek | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + M |
Combining Ring | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + K |
Combining Stroke | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + L |
Combining Tilde | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + N |
Combining Umlaut (Diaresis) | letter, OPTION + SHIFT + U |
METHOD THREE
Fonts often contain many characters that don’t appear on the Apple keyboard. These characters include accented characters, math symbols, and special punctuation symbols. On some applications (Microsoft Word, for example), one simple way to access these characters is to press and hold the base character key for a second or so and you will see a popup menu with the extended character options. This works for all extended characters based on A, C, E, I, L, N, O, S, U, Y, and Z.