Download Article Easy ways to add accent marks on letters Download Article When you're typing in a language other than English on an English keyboard, it's important to know how to type accented characters, tildes, and umlauts. Fortunately, typing non-English accented characters like é, í, and á is quick and easy, and there are many ways to do it. This wikiHow article will teach you simple ways to add accents to letters in any application on your PC or Mac. 1Use ALT key codes.[1] To use these codes your keyboard must have a separate numeric keypad off to the right-hand side of your keyboard-[2] ASCII codes will work for Microsoft Office. They may not work with all Windows programs, so you may have to check the programs individually to see if they are compatible. 2Hold down the ALT key.[3] While there are many numeric codes to remember, the one thing you need to do for all of the codes is to first hold the ALT key. Continue to hold the key while you type the necessary numeric code. Advertisement 3 Type the corresponding accent code on the numeric Alt and type the following codes to get grave accents à = 0224; À = 0192 è = 0232; È = 0200 ì = 0236; ÃŒ = 0204 ò = 0242; Ã’ = 0210 ù = 0249; Ù = 0217 Type the following codes to get acute accents á = 0225; Á = 0193 é = 0233; É = 0201 í = 0237; Í = 0205 ó = 0243; Ó = 0211 ú = 0250; Ú = 0218 ý = 0253; Ý = 0221 Type the following codes to get circumflex accents â = 0226;  = 0194 ê = 0234; Ê = 0202 à = 0238; ÃŽ = 0206 ô = 0244; Ô = 0212 û = 0251; Û = 0219 Type the following codes to get tilde accents ã = 0227; à = 0195 ñ = 0241; à = 0209 õ = 0245; Õ = 0213 Type the following codes to get umlaut accents ä = 0228; Ä = 0196 à = 0235; Ë = 0203 ï = 0239; Ï = 0207 ö = 0246; Ö = 0214 ü = 0252; Ãœ = 0220 ÿ = 0255; Ÿ = 0159 4Release the ALT key. The accent will appear above the corresponding letter as shown. Learning the accent codes can take some practice as there are many to remember. You can make a cheat sheet to keep by your computer so you can reference it quickly if you need to use accents often. If you use accents frequently, you should reconfigure the keyboard to better suit your typing needs. Advertisement 1Try shortcut keys. Shortcut keys work on most newer PCs that run Microsoft Word.[4] They tend to be faster and easier to remember than using ASCII Code to create accents. 2 Press Control + `, then the letter to add a grave accent. Hold the Control key down, then tap the accent key near the top left corner of your keypad. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter to accent. The accent key is usually on the same key as the ~. It is not the apostrophe key. 3Press Control + ', then the letter to add an acute accent. Hold Control, then tap the apostrophe key. You can find the apostrophe next to the enter key. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter to accent. 4Press Control, then Shift, then 6, then the letter to add a circumflex accent. Hold down the Control and Shift keys then tap the 6 key. Release the keys and select the desired letter. The 6 key is used because of the ^ character found above the number. 5Press Shift + Control + ~, then the letter to add a tilde accent. You will find the tilde is the same key used to make the grave accent. Be sure to hold down the Shift key or you will end up with a grave accent instead. Release the keys, then select the desired letter. 6Press Shift + Control + , then the letter to add an umlaut accent. The colon key can be found next to the apostrophe key. You must hold down the Shift key to select the colon as opposed to the semicolon. Release the keys. Now select the letter. 7Add accents in the same way for uppercase accented letters. However, this time, simply type the shift key straight after typing the Control + choice, then type the letter. It will automatically capitalize. Advertisement 1Use shortcut keys to create accents while typing on your Mac. This method will work for documents in Pages as well as your work on the web. The Option key will always be held down first, and then you will type a combination of two other keys to specify the type of accent and the letter.[5] 2Press Option + `, then the letter to make grave accents. Hold down the Option key, then press the ` accent key. Release the keys. You will see a highlighted yellow accent on your page. Then press the letter you wish to accent. This accent can be made with any vowel. 3Press Option + E, then the letter to create acute accents. Press and hold the Option key, then tap the E key. Release the keys. Once you see the yellow highlighted acute accent, you can select the letter. This accent can be made over any vowel. 4Press Option + I, then the letter to create circumflex accents. Hold down the Option key first, then press the I key. Release the keys. Then select the desired letter. These accents can also be used over any vowel. 5Press Option + N, then the letter to type tilde accents. Hold down the Option key, then press the N key. Release the keys. Then type your desired letter. This accent can only be used over the letters A, N, and O. 6Press Option + U, then the letter to make the umlaut accent. Hold down the Option key, then tap the U key. Release the keys. Now you can select the desired letter. 7Press the shift key to accent uppercase accented letters. You will need to hold the shift key down first to capitalize the letters. Usually if it starts a sentence, it will automatically capitalize. Advertisement 1 Know your accents first. You always want to make sure you are putting the proper accent over the word, as sometimes an alternate accent can give some words an entirely different meaning. These are some of the common accents used by most European languages Grave accents – à , è, ì, ò, ù Acute accents – á, é, í, ó, ú, ý Circumflex accents – â, ê, Ã, ô, û Tilde accents – ñ, õ, ã Umlaut accents – ä, Ã, ï, ö, ü, ÿ 2Find an example of the needed letter or word. You can pull text from an existing text file, the character map or viewer utility on your computer, or by searching online. If you search a word that normally uses the accent on your search engine, you should be able to quickly copy a sample of the entire word. 3Highlight the needed letter or word. Right-click on your PC to copy the text. Hit Command + C to copy if you are using a Mac. 4Paste individual accents into your text. If you are using a Mac, you can select the "paste and match style" option by right-clicking if you want the accent or accented word to match the rest of your text. If you are using a PC, just highlight the word once you've pasted it and change the font so it matches the rest of your document. If you rarely use accents, or you just want a quick solution, this can be the most efficient method to create accents quickly. Advertisement 1 Go to your Control Panel for Windows XP users. You can click on the main menu in the bottom left corner of the screen, then select Control Panel. Click on "Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options." Click on "Regional and Language Options." Select the "Languages" tab at the top. Click on "Details" near the bottom. Click "Add" and choose your desired language. Go back to the "Languages" tab and choose the option to "switch languages" by pressing "left alt-shift" at the same time. This way, you can switch to and from the Spanish and regular keyboard whenever you want. 2 Go to Control Panel if you want to change your keyboard configuration in Windows 8 or 10. You can pull up the menu by holding down the Win key and hitting R.[6] Switch to the small icons view. This will save you a few clicks by getting you straight to the languages menu. Click on the icon labelled Language. Select options Click add an input method. This will allow you to select your desire keyboard configuration. 3 Open "System Preferences" if you want to change keyboard configuration on a Mac computer. You can access system preferences through the Launchpad or the Applications folder. Click on "International." Select the "Input Menu" tab. Scroll down and select your desired language. Note the keystrokes necessary to switch between languages OR Select "Show input menu in menu bar" to be able to click-select which keyboard you want to use. Advertisement Shortcut Cheat Sheets Add New Question Question How can I do this using an iPad? I do not see an alt or control key. On the iPhone or iPad, simply hold down the letter you would like to add the accent to and a row of accented versions should appear for you to choose from. Question What key do I type for ? Hit "SHIFT 2". Question I am on Windows and I can't find the Num Lock key. I've tried looking for it multiple times. Is there another way? The typical keyboard contains the Num Lock key in the upper area of the number pad usually on the right side of the keyboard. See more answers Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Submit Advertisement On the iPhone or iPad, simply hold down the letter you would like to add the accent to and a row of accented versions should appear for you to choose from.[7] There are keyboards with accented letters already forming part of the keys. These may be useful investments if you need to add accents to letters frequently. Some software programs can turn some keys into accented letters, or provide a virtual keyboard which you can simply point on and click for the desired letter. Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement About This Article Article SummaryXIf you’re typing in Windows and you need to add an accent to a letter, search online to find the ASCII code, or ALT key code, for that symbol. Once you know the numeric code, hold down the ALT key and type in the numbers. ASCII codes are usually 4 digits. There are different codes for uppercase and lowercase letters. If you’re typing on a Mac, hold down the Option key, then type in the character for the symbol, followed by the letter. You can find a list of these characters online as well. Keep reading to learn how to reconfigure your keyboard for characters you use often! Did this summary help you? Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,204,722 times. Is this article up to date?