How to Use French Diacritical Markings With XP

There are five diacritical signs in French language that differ from the English letters.

Typing in French on an English keyboard does not cause any problem until you need to use the five diacritical French markings that are not on your regular keyboard.

French uses four accents on top of the vowels and one accent under one consonant. They are called respectively "accent aigu" (´); "accent grave"(`); "accent circonflexe" (ˆ); "tréma" (¨) and "cedilla" (¸). If you write in French, it is very important to use these accents to avoid spelling mistakes and confusions. Fortunately, Windows XP allows their use in an International keyboard, which is obtained by a configuration in the Control Panel.

Instructions

1. Click on the "Start" logo at the bottom-left of your screen.

   Go to Control Panel.

   Scroll down and then click on "Regional and Language Options." A window will pop up.

2. Click on the tab that says "Languages." Click "Details."

3. Click on "Add." A window will open. Choose your "Input language." Scroll until you find the French language. Click "OK."

4. Click "Language Bar" on the "Settings" tab. Make sure you tick "Show the language bar on the desktop" and click "OK."

Tips & Warnings

• Buy French language keyboard labels to put on your keyboard.

• You need to click on the Language bar on your desktop and select "FR" before you can type with the French keyboard.

References

• Accents Made Easier

Resources

• French accent codes
• French Language Keyboard