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| French
accents |
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In this course, you will need to type accents
for written assignments, both for compositions and for web assignments
and messages for the electronic bulletin board (CUBBoard). In
writing, accents are required for correct spelling. These accents
are:
- L'accent aigu (é)
- L'accent grave (à, è,
ù)
- L'accent circonflexe or "chapeau"
(â, ê, î, ô, û)
- La cédille (ç)
- Le tréma (ë, ï, ü)
Accents with uppercase letters are not
necessary in most circumstances and you don't need to use them
(French spelling checkers will often suggest accented capitals,
and it is certainly fine to leave them).
Entering accents into your document can
be a little tricky…
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| PC |
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Using a word processor such as Microsoft
Word
Using a word processor will probably be the easiest way to enter
accents with your text, not only for compositions, but also for
electronic messages that you can type first and then paste it
into the CUBBoard. (You should also take advantages of your word
processor's spelling checker—if a French dictionary is installed,
it will check and correct your answers with your spelling).
Microsoft Word will allow you to insert
characters with accents by clicking Insert-Symbol. Even better,
however, are the keyboard shortcuts available since Word 97:
é: Press Ctrl and type "'"
(apostrophe). Release both keys and type "e".
à-è-ù: Press Ctrl
and type "`" key (left-hand side, top of the keyboard). Release
both keys and type "e", "a", or "u".
â-ê-î-ô-û:
Press Ctrl and Shift and type "^" key. Release both keys and
type "a", "e", "i", "o", or "u".
ç: Press Ctrl, and type ","
key. Release both keys and type "c".
ä-ë-ï-ü: Press Ctrl,
Shift, and type ":" key. Release both keys and type "a", "e",
"i", or "u".
œ: Press Ctrl, Shift, and type
"&" key. Release both keys and type "o".
Using Extended ASCII characters
If you need to write a message directly into Columbia's electronic
bulletin board—if you are, for example, at a public terminal
that does not have a word processor—you will need to use
Extended ASCII codes to enter accents. (You can use Extended ASCII
codes in a word processor such as Microsoft Word, but they are
more complicated than Word's own codes). These characters are
generated by holding down the "ALT" key and typing in a three-digit
numeric code with the numeric keypad on the right side
of the keyboard. In addition, Windows also uses an extra system
of keystrokes for entering these ASCII characters, which uses
"ALT" plus a four-digit numeric code. In a Windows application,
either code can be used. For example, typing ALT + 130 or ALT+
0233 will produce "é":
â: ALT + 131 or 0226
à: ALT + 133 or 0224
ä: ALT + 132 or 0228
ç: ALT + 135 or 0231
é: ALT + 130 or 0233
è: ALT + 138 or 0233
ê: ALT + 136 or 0234
ë: ALT + 137 or 0235
î: ALT + 140 or 0238
ï: ALT + 139 or 0239
ô: ALT + 147 or 0244
ù: ALT + 151 or 0249
û: ALT + 150 or 0251
ü: ALT + 129 or 0252
œ: ALT + 0157
For a complete table of ASCII codes, see
www.asciitable.com;
for a table of Windows Extended ASCII codes, see http://www.waunakee.k12.wi.us/midlschl/ascii.htm
Using a built-in keyboard
You can switch the keyboard settings to reflect the standard
French keyboard layout. You might want to use stickers to indicate
which keys are which, since the French keyboard is somewhat different
from the standard U.S. keyboard. Check your computer's Settings
folder to see if this option is available.
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| Macintosh |
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Using the Option key (all applications)
You can generate all the characters you need in Macintosh by using
the "Option" key. To generate accents, you press the Option
key and another key together to generate the accent, and then
type the letter which contains the accent:
é: Press option and type "e".
Release both keys and type "e".
à-è-ù: Press option
and type "`" key (left-hand side, top of the keyboard). Release
both keys and type "e", "a", or "u".
â-ê-î-ô-û:
Press option and type "i" key. Release both keys and type "a",
"e", "i", "o", or "u".
ä-ë-ï-ü: Press option
and type "u" key. Release both keys and type "a", "e", "i",
or "u".
ç: Press option and type "c".
œ: Press option and type "q".
«: Press option and type "|" key
(right below the delete key).
»: Press shift + option and type
"|" key (right below the delete key).
Using a built-in keyboard
You can switch the keyboard settings in your Macintosh to
reflect the standard French keyboard layout. You might want to
use stickers to indicate which keys are which, since the French
keyboard is somewhat different from the standard US keyboard.
Check Control Panels-Keyboard in your computer's Apple Menu to
see if this option is available.
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| Writing in HTML & Other
Internet Languages |
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If you are writing in HTML, cutting and
pasting text from another document (for example, a Microsoft Word
document) can often result in loss or distortion of accents. You
can use special codes to generate diacritics in your HTML documents.
For example, the combination...
é
à
è
ù
â
ê
î
ô
û
ä
ë
ï
ü
ç
produces é à è ù
â ê î ô û ä ë ü ç
For further information, check out Webmonkey
Guides for using the Web, including the page on HTML special
characters
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