Accents on the Macintosh

Overview:
For most cases, the process of making accented characters on the Macintosh follows a formula: First, you enter a key combination that signals what accent you would like. Then, you type in the letter that is to be accented. For example, to make an accented ñ, one would first enter a key combination that signals the tilde (~), and secondly type a lower-case N.

Rough Guide
Here is a list of commonly used accented characters used in Western European languages, and the key combinations necessary to reproduce them on the Macintosh. You may wish to print out this instruction sheet, for reference during your exam.

letter	key combination
à	While holding down the option key, type " ` " (in the upper left corner of the keyboard). Then release the option key and type a.
â	While holding down the option key, type i. Then release the option key and type a.
á	While holding down the option key, type e. Then release the option key and type a.
ä	While holding down the option key, type u. Then release the option key and type a.
è	While holding down the option key, type " ` " (in the upper left corner of the keyboard). Then release the option key and type e
ê	While holding down the option key, type i. Then release the option key and type e.
é	While holding down the option key, type e. Then release the option key and type e.
ë	While holding down the option key, type u. Then release the option key and type e.
í	While holding down the option key, type e. Then release the option key and type i.
î	While holding down the option key, type i . Then release the option key and type i.
ï	While holding down the option key, type u. Then release the option key and type i.
ó	While holding down the option key, type e. Then release the option key and type o.
ô	While holding down the option key, type i. Then release the option key and type o.
ö	While holding down the option key, type u. Then release the option key and type o
ú	While holding down the option key, type e.Then release the option key and type u.
ù	While holding down the option key, type " ` " (in the upper left corner of the keyboard). Then release the option key and type u
û	While holding down the option key, type i. Then release the option key and type u.
ü	While holding down the option key, type u. Then release the option key and type u.
ç	While holding down the option key, type c.
Ç	While simultaneously holding down both the option key and the shift key, type c.
ñ	While holding down the option key, type n. Then release the option key and type n.
ß	Hold down the option key, type s
¿	While holding down the option and shift keys, press the "?" key.
¡	While holding down the option key, press the "1" key.

Try it

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