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Accents for PCs, Macs, & HTML

PC applications often use their own conventions for reproducing accented characters; check the documentation or online Help facility for details. In many cases, however, it's possible to insert an accented character by means of a code number. First, hold down the ALT key immediately to the left of the spacebar. Next, still holding down the ALT key, go to the numeric keypad to the right of the keyboard, and type 0 followed by the appropriate three-digit code (as shown below). In some situations, having the Num Lock key pressed on or off may make a difference. At first sight, using numeric codes to type accented characters seems cumbersome, but the more you use this method, the easier it becomes: some of the numbers become memorized while others are guessable, and you do not have to learn a different scheme for each application.

For Macs, the process involves specific keystrokes. One way is pressing a number of keys simultaneously (for example holding down the ALT key when you press the c key produces ç). Another way is with a two-stage key press, one combination after another (for example, to get the é character, you first hold down the ALT key and press e, and then, after releasing, press the e key by itself).

In HTML documents, the safest way to give an accented character is by means of its entity reference: for example é produces é. Entity references ensure that accented characters work on different platforms since it's the local software which converts the reference into an accented character.