How to sort particular characters on a Windows 11 PC

Here’s the scenario: you’re typing a report for work, and also you out of the blue have to write down the phrase “Jones née Berkowitz.” Or you might be including a phrase in Spanish and want to make use of the phrase “años.” How do you add the particular characters to the letters along with your Windows 11 PC?

Special characters (often known as diacritical marks) could also be extra widespread in sure languages, however there are many circumstances wherein English audio system may have to make use of them. But as a result of they’re so uncommon in English, native English audio system might not have realized find out how to add these marks to paperwork, emails, or different writings. It’s not tough so as to add them to your Windows doc, though it’s not fairly as clean an operation as on a Mac, the place all it’s a must to do is maintain the suitable key down. (In truth, as soon as upon a time, you’d have needed to search for the image character codes.)

Here are varied methods so as to add particular characters whenever you’re utilizing a Windows 11 pc.

Use the contact keyboard

The simplest way so as to add diacritical marks to a doc is to allow the Windows contact keyboard. (Thanks to Ed Bott from ZDNet for first main me to this technique.) The contact keyboard routinely seems in the event you’re utilizing a Windows pill or a PC in pill mode. If you don’t have a touchscreen, you need to use the keyboard icon that seems within the taskbar on the suitable facet close to the date. Don’t see it? This is the way you get it:

• Click on the search icon within the toolbar and seek for “touch keyboard.” Or go to Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard.
• Check Show the contact keyboard when there’s no keyboard hooked up.

Now, whenever you need to use a particular character:

• Click on the contact keyboard icon. (You’ll normally discover it on the suitable facet of the taskbar.)
• The contact keyboard will seem. Long press (along with your mouse button or, in case you have a touchscreen, your finger) on the letter you need to use.
• You’ll now see a number of further keys exhibiting the methods you possibly can sort that letter with completely different symbols. Select the one you need, and it’ll seem in your doc.
• If you need to add an emoji or a GIF, click on on the emoji button. (It’s the icon with the center situated on the higher left of the keyboard.)

Use the emoji keyboard

Another keyboard that you may entry and that may allow you to simply add particular characters to your textual content is Windows’ emoji keyboard. Yes, it’s primarily for including emojis to your textual content, nevertheless it’s obtained different makes use of as nicely. And it’s easy to make use of.

• Hold down the Windows key and hit the interval key.
• The emoji keyboard will pop up. Click on the symbols tab on prime (the fourth from the left).

The emoji keyboard additionally helps you to entry particular characters.

• Scroll down till you discover the character you need. You may also leap to varied kinds of characters by utilizing the classes (reminiscent of “General punctuation” or “Currency symbols”) on prime.

Use the character map

If you’d prefer to attempt a extra old style technique of including particular characters to Windows, you need to use the character map, which is a much less polished and extra sophisticated model of the contact keyboard however affords the same service.

To entry it in your Windows 11 system:

• Select the search icon in your taskbar, sort “character” in your search area, after which choose the Character Map app.
• You’ll get a pop-up map exhibiting a bunch of particular characters for a particular font. You can change the font by clicking on the drop-down font menu on the prime.

• Click on the letter(s) or particular characters that you simply need to use in your doc, after which click on on the “Select” button. They’ll seem within the Characters to repeat area.
• Once you’ve chosen all of the characters you need, click on on the Copy button, after which paste the character(s) into your doc.

Use the US International Keyboard

If you’re an English speaker who’s multilingual and makes use of particular characters so much, you could need to attempt the US International Keyboard, which maps your keyboard to extra simply will let you add particular characters. (Thanks to “shiroledat” for the tip.)

First, it’s good to add the US International Keyboard to Windows:

• Go to Settings > Time & Language > Language & area.
• Look for Preferred languages and (assuming you’re an English speaker within the US) click on on English (United States). Then choose the three dots on the proper and select Language choices.
• Look for the Keyboards part, which (in the event you’ve by no means been there earlier than) will most likely solely comprise a single keyboard icon labeled US / QWERTY. That’s the keyboard map you’re now utilizing. Click on the Add a keyboard button to the suitable of Installed keyboards.

• In the pop-up menu that seems, scroll to United States-International / QWERTY and click on on it.

Now, you at all times have the selection of utilizing both the usual US keyboard or the US International Keyboard. You can see which one is lively within the lower-right facet of your taskbar close to the date. It will both learn ENG / US or ENG / INTL. Click on that (or simply hit Windows key+area bar) and a pop-up menu will allow you to swap from one to the opposite.

The US International Keyboard provides you two methods so as to add a particular character:

• Use the right-hand Alt key together with the suitable letter to get one of many extra widespread combos. For instance, Alt+e will end in é.
• Press the image you need to use after which the letter you need to use it with. For instance, in the event you first press the ~ image after which the n key, you’ll get ñ.

Washington State University has published a useful chart exhibiting the entire symbols you may get utilizing the US International Keyboard.

Use the Unicode worth

Remember the character map? If you have a look at the decrease right-hand nook of the character map after you’ve chosen a letter or particular character, you’ll see the phrase Keystroke adopted by Alt and a four-digit quantity. This quantity represents the Unicode value of the image, and it’s the time-honored customary for including characters.

If you employ a couple of particular characters persistently, it may be sooner to easily add the character you need utilizing your regular keyboard. There are a number of methods to do that; listed here are two of the simplest (every of which has its limitations):

• Press the Alt key after which sort the four-digit Unicode worth. For this to work, it’s good to have a separate quantity pad in your keyboard, and the NumLock key ought to be enabled.
• If you’re working with Microsoft Word, WordPad, Outlook, or one other Microsoft app, you possibly can sort within the Unicode worth after which sort Alt-X.
• You may also press the Control key plus an emblem after which the letter you need to accent. For instance, Ctrl+’ and e will end in é — assuming you’re in a Microsoft app.