How to Type French Accents

By Laura K. Lawless, About.com Guide

In order to use one of these alternate keyboard layouts, you need to add it to Windows. Once you've done this, you can either set it as your default keyboard, or use alt plus shift to toggle between two or more layouts. The way to do this is slightly different for each operating system.

Windows 8

1. Open Control Panel
2. Under "Clock, Language, and Region," click "Change input methods"
3. Click "Options" to the right of your language
4. Click "Add an input method"
5. Scroll down to the language you want to add, click + next to it, then select the layout*
6. Click OK in each dialog window.

Windows 7

1. Open Control Panel
2. Under "Clock, Language, and Region," click "Change keyboards or other input methods"
3. Click "Change keyboards"
4. Click Add
5. Scroll down to the language you want to add, click + next to it, then select the layout*
6. Click OK in each dialog window.
7. To use the layout, click the language input button on the taskbar (it probably says EN) and select it.

Windows Vista

1. Open Control Panel
2. If in Classic View, click "Control Panel Home" in upper-left corner
3. Under "Clock, Language, and Region," click "Change keyboards or other input methods"
4. Click "Change keyboards"
5. Click "Add"
6. Scroll down to the language you want to add, click + next to it, then select the layout*
7. Click OK in each dialog window.

Windows XP

1. Open Control Panel
2. Double-click "Regional and Language Options"
3. Click "Languages"
4. Click "Details"
5. Click "Add"
6. Under "Input Language," pick the language you want to add*
7. Under "Keyboard layout/IME" make your selection
8. Click OK in each dialog window.

Windows 95, 98, ME, NT

1. Open Control Panel
2. Double-click "Keyboard"
3. Click "Language"
4. Click "Properties," "Settings," or "Details" (whichever you see)
5. Click "Add"
6. Pick the layout you want to add*
7. Click OK in each dialog window.

Windows 2000

1. Open Control Panel (via Start menu or My Computer)
2. Double-click "Keyboard"
3. Click "Input Locales"
4. Click "Change"
5. Click "Add"
6. Pick the layout you want to add*
7. Click OK in each dialog window.

*Layout names:
   International Keyboard: English (United States), US-Int'l
   UK Extended Keyboard: English (UK - extended)
   French Keyboard: French (Standard)
   French Canadian Keyboard: French (Canadian)