French

Almost all applications support French accents. Guidelines for typing and using accents are given below.  lf you need to refer to additional characters, look under the Accents tab.

Windows ALT Codes

In Windows, combinations of the ALT key plus a numeric code from the number keypad can be used to type a non-English character in any Windows application.

See the detailed instructions on the ALT Code How To for complete information on implementing the code. Additional options for entering accents in Windows are also listed in the Accents section of this Web site.

French ALT Codes

Quick Examples

1. To input capital À (ALT+0192), hold down the ALT key then type 0192 (all four digits) on the numeric keypad. The ALT codes do not work with the row of number keys on the top.
2. To input lowercase à (ALT+0224), change the code from 0193 to 0224.

See the ALT Code How To for complete information on implementing the code.

Windows International Keyboard Codes

In order to use these codes you must activate the U.S. international keyboard.

Once the U.S. International keyboard has been activated, you can use the codes below.

Accented Vowels

This list is organized by Accent type. For the Template, the symbol "V" means type any vowel.

Example 1: To type lower case ó – Type the apostrophe key (‘), then O.  For capital Ó, type the apostrophe, then capital O.

Consonants and Puncutation

For these codes, you must make sure you use the Alt key on the right side of the keyboard.

Note: that there is no shortcut for the joined O-E.

Windows French Keyboard

If you wish to simulate a non U.S. keyboard, follow the instructions for Activating Keyboard Locales to activate and switch Microsoft keyboards.

Macintosh Accent Codes

Accented Vowels

The format is to hold the first two keys down simultaneously, release, then type the vowel you wish to be accented. For the Template, the symbol "V" means any vowel.

Example 1: To input the lower case ó, hold down the Option key, then the E key. Release both keys then type lowercase o.
Example 2: To input the capital Ó, hold down the Option key, then the E key. Release all both keys then type capital O.

Other Characters

AZERTY Keyboard Options

The AZERTY keyboard is a variant layout where the Q and A keys are switched from the English QWERTY layout. The layout is used in many French speaking countries because it also supports other French characters.

Both Windows and Macintosh can simulate an AZERTY or other similar layouts as desired. See the Keyboards section to learn how to activate them in each platform.

French Web Pages

If you are developing Web pages with French content, the following information can make sure that the content is properly displayed.

Historical Encodings

Unicode (utf-8) is the preferred encoding for Web sites. However, the following historic encodings may still be encountered.

• iso-8859-1 (Latin 1),
• iso-8859-15 (adds support for the euro (€)
• win-1252

If possible, you should transition to Unicode.

Language Tags

Language Tags allow browsers and other software to process text more efficiently. They are also important for optimal screen reader accessibility.

Below are some common codes that might be used in the Francophone world.

French and Major Dialects

• fr (French)
• fr-FR (Parisian French/France)
• fr-CA (Canadian French)
• fr-BE (Belgian French)
• frc (Cajun French, Louisiana)
• Other country codes (ISO 3166-1-alpha-2)

Historical Stages

• fro (Old French)
• frm (Middle French)

Selected Minority Languages

• gsw-FR (Alsatian/Low German)
• frp (Arpitan)
• eu (Basque)
• br (Breton)
• ca (Catalan)
• co (Corsican)
• fp (Franco-Provençal)
• pfl (Lorraine Franconian/Low German)
• nrf (Jersey/Guernsey)
• pcd (Picard)
• oc (Occitan)
• vls (Vlaams "French Flemish")
• wa (Walloon)

HTML Accent Codes

Use these codes to input accented letters in HTML. For instance, if you
want to type île you would type île.

The numbers in parentheses are the numeric codes assigned in Unicode encoding. For instance, because î is number 238,
île can also be used to input île.
These numbers are also used with the Windows Alt
codes listed above.

French Entity Codes

Links

Linux/Unix

• Linux Accent Codes (English)
• Linux How To for Belgium
• Accents on Sun Stations (in French)

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