How do I type accents without a number pad?
I frequently need to include Q accented letters. My old laptop had a separate number pad, so it was no problem. Unfortunately, my new laptop does not. I feel sure there must be a simple workaround, but so far I have not discovered it. Please help! Patrick Shepherd
A There are a few options here.
It sounds like up until now you’ve been using what are known as Alt codes to type accented characters. This involves holding down Alt and then tapping some digits on the number pad. First, then, are you sure your new laptop doesn’t have an ‘embedded’ number pad? This is where some keys, typically in a ‘square’ around J, K and L, have secondary functions as number pad keys. If yours has one, you can hold down the Function (Fn) key to use these keys as you do a real number pad (pictured above right).
If not, then you might be able to type the accents you need using other keyboard shortcuts. For example, to type an acute accent you can hold down Control (Ctrl)+’ (the apostrophe key), and then type the letter. There are far too many of these shortcuts to detail here, but Microsoft has published a comprehensive list at www.snipca. com/41537.
Alternatively, you could use the touch keyboard feature in Windows. Right-click a blank part of the taskbar and then click to tick ‘Show touch keyboard button’. Now, when you need to type an accented letter, first click the touch keyboard icon in the notification area, at the far right-hand side of the taskbar. Then, on the touch keyboard that appears, click and hold on the letter for which you want to see a panel of accent options – and then insert the one you want by clicking it (see screenshot above).