Choose a keyboard below to view its layouts. In this article. Choose a keyboard below to view its layouts. To see different keyboard states, move the mouse over state keys such as Shift, Caps or AltGr. Installing US International keyboard To install this keyboard in Windows 95 open the Control Panel, double click on Keyboard, click on the Language tab, then on Properties. Click on the selected keyboard layout (the default is US English) then on US International from the drop-down menu. This lesson demonstrates how to change your keyboard from English EN to Spanish ES and back. This allows you to easily type accents, upside-down questio. Choose a keyboard below to view its layouts. In this article. Choose a keyboard below to view its layouts. To see different keyboard states, move the mouse over state keys such as Shift, Caps or AltGr.You can also lock or unlock those keys by clicking them. In the Settings window, click on the Addbutton to open the Add Input Languagewindow From the Input language drop-down list, select a language from the drop-down menu, then a Keyboard Layout/IME corresponding to the language keyboard you wish to activate. Click OKto close the Input window.

QWERTY (pronounced 'quirty') is an adjective used to describe standard Western (or Latin-based) keyboards. If you look at your keyboard, and the first six letters under the numbers are Q-W-E-R-T-Y, then you have a QWERTY keyboard.

Nearly all keyboards used in the western hemisphere have a QWERTY layout. Some countries use slightly modified versions, such as the Swedish keyboard, which includes the letters Å, Ä, and Ö and the Spanish keyboard, which contains the letters Ñ and Ç. But these keyboards still have the QWERTY characters in the upper-left corner.

History

The original QWERTY keyboard layout was developed over 150 years ago by Christopher Latham Sholes. It was popularized by the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, which was initially produced in 1867. Remington bought the rights to the typewriter and made some slight changes before mass-producing an updated version in 1974.

The only significant competitor to the QWERTY keyboard came 1932, when August Dvorak developed a new layout. His design placed all the vowels and the five most common consonants in the middle row. The goal was twofold: 1) to make the most common keys even easier to type and 2) to create an alternating rhythm between the left and right hands.

While the Dvorak keyboard may have been technically more efficient, even in the early 1900s, people were not willing to learn a new keyboard layout. The result is that the QWERTY layout has survived for over one and a half centuries. It can be found in typewriters, desktop computers, laptops, and the touchscreen devices we use today.

Updated: May 30, 2019

Foreign Language Word Processing

Western Spanish Keyboard Layout Character

Papers assigned in foreign language literature and culture classes should be written on a word processor. Accents and other special characters will print on all modern printers. They should not be written in by hand.

Microsoft Windows lets you change the keyboard layout so it responds as Spanish, French, or German typewriter would. However some characters will be in a different location so this can be confusing when you type in English and will be totally frustrating for anyone else who uses your computer. (See below for Macintosh)

Western Spanish Keyboard Layout Windows 10

US International keyboard
A good solution is to install the US International keyboard. It can be used for all Western European languages (Romance, Germanic, and Scandinavian) and makes minimal modifications to the way you type in English. The illustration below shows what characters are available.

Installing US International keyboard
To install this keyboard in Windows 95 open the Control Panel, double click on Keyboard, click on the Language tab, then on Properties. Click on the selected keyboard layout (the default is US English) then on US International from the drop-down menu. The first time you do this you'll be asked to insert the Windows 95 disks or CD. When finished click OK.

To install this keyboard in Windows 3.1 open the Control Panel, double click on International, click on the selected Keyboard and select US International from the drop-down menu. The first time you do this you'll be asked to put in one of your Windows disks. Do not change the Country or Language settings.

Using the US International keyboard
To get the character on the lower right of each key press either the right Alt key, or the left Alt key + left Ctrl key, then the key that has the character you want (before releasing the other keys). To get the characters on the upper right, do the same but also press either Shift key at the same time.

There's another way to get accented letters. When the US International keyboard is installed the ` ~ ' ' and ^ keys become 'dead' keys as on traditional foreign language typewriters. You press ` or ' and release and nothing happens. Then you press a vowel and you get that vowel with a grave (`) or acute (´) accent over it. Press Shift + ^ or Shift + ', then release and type a vowel and you get a vowel with a circumflex accent (^) or a vowel with a dieresis (umlaut) over it (¨). You can type an ñ by pressing Shift + ~ and then typing an n.

If you type a consonant after these dead keys( ~ ` ^ ' and ') you simply get the symbol followed by the consonant (except, as noted above, tilde plus n gives you ñ). To type the symbol by itself press the dead key and then the Spacebar.

Typing quotation marks
One drawback to using the US International keyboard is that a complication arises when typing quotes. If you want a single or double quote followed by a vowel you have to hit the Spacebar after you press ' or '. Then type the vowel. No space will appear but you'll get the ' or ' plus the vowel instead of a vowel with an acute accent or umlaut over it. After an ending single or double quote you must press the Spacebar once to print the quote mark and again to insert a space.

Some other solutions
If you don't want to install a different keyboard there are a few shareware programs which enable you to conveniently type the accented characters only when you run the programs. 3-D Composer is for Windows 95 and 3.1; the shareware version expires after 45 days if you don't register it: cost $25. Accent Version 3.0 is for Windows 3.1 and DOS; it's free to try but costs $25 to register. Accent Composer is for Windows 95; also shareware, it costs $30 to register. Do an internet search to find these programs or give me one high density diskette and I'll copy all three of them for you.

Western Spanish Keyboard Layout Shortcut

Accents on a Macintosh
If you use a Macintosh accented vowels are always available by pressing either of the Option keys together with a given character, releasing, and then pressing the vowel you want.

• Press Option + e, then a vowel to get that vowel with ´ over it.
• Press Option + u, then a vowel to get that vowel with ¨ over it.
• Press Option + i, then a vowel to get that vowel with ^ over it.
• Press Option + `, then a vowel to get that vowel with ` over it.
• Press Option + n to get ñ, Option + ! to get ¡, and Shift + Option + ? to get ¿.

Open the Key Caps utility from the Apple menu and press the Shift key to see what other characters are available.

Western Spanish Keyboard Layout Accent Mark

This page created and maintained by William Miller, Spanish section coordinator

Last revised: 14 August 1998