Preexisting Shortcuts for International Characters for Word and Outlook


Overview: 

Microsoft has preexisting keyboard shortcuts to create international characters within a Word document or an Outlook email.  This can be useful for everyday correspondence and foreign language courses.

 

The following link goes to the Microsoft support website with directions as well as a list of the available options for language characters:  Keyboard shortcuts for international characters

 

The following article will provide a step-by-step explanation of the Microsoft support article called Keyboard shortcuts for international characters in a little more detail with an example.

 

NOTE:  If you do not see the language character that you need or would like to create your own custom shortcuts for a language character or symbol, you can click on the following link for an article that walks through how to set custom keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Word:  https://radford.service-now.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0011996

 

How to Use Preexisting Shortcuts for International Characters

  1. Search the Keyboard shortcuts for international characters article for the language character you would like to use.  For this example, the umlaut (ä) will be used.

 

  1. The Press commands are separated by a comma (,) to let you know which keys to hold together and which ones to press alone afterwards.  Hold down the Press commands for your chosen language character.  Do not hold down the plus sign (+) as that is being used in place of the word “and.”  

 

Example:  For the umlaut, it says CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON) before the comma so that means the CTRL, SHIFT, and colon (:) keys will need to be held down together.

 

  1. Let go of the Press command combination keys you used.

 

  1. It may look like nothing happened at first but directly after you let go of the key combinations you can now type the letter you planned on using with its correct accent.  You can also do a capitalized version of the letter like any other letter by holding SHIFT and then typing your chosen letter.

 

Example:  After letting go of the CTRL+SHIFT+: (COLON) keys, typing an “a” will result in “ä” or “Ä” if the SHIFT key is held down while typing an “a.”

 

If you experience issues or have any questions regarding this topic, please contact the TAC at 540-831-7500 or enter a support ticket at www.radford.edu/itonestop.