Language Resources
Typing help for Macs
Option key
Use the option key to type special characters:
| If you want this: | Type this: |
| á, é, í, ó, ú | Option + e, then type the letter |
| à, è, ì, ò, ù | Option + `, then type the letter |
| ñ Ñ | Option + n, then type n |
| ê, Ê, ô | Option + i, then type the letter |
| ü Ü | Option + u, then type u |
| ç Ç | Option + c |
| ¿ | Option + ? |
| ß | Option + s |
| ¡ | Option + 1 |
| £ | Option + 3 |
| § | Option + 6 |
| º | Option + 0 |
| œ Œ | Option + q |
| æ Æ |
Option + ' |
Keyboard Layout Setup
| OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) | OS X 10-10.5 |
| 1. Open System Preferences (under the Apple Menu). | 1. Open System Preferences (under the Apple menu). |
| 2. Open the Language and Text panel. | 2. Open the International preferences panel. |
| 3. Click the Input Sources tab. | 3. Click the Input Menu tab. |
| 4. Check the box next to the language for which you'd like a keyboard layout. | 4. Check the box next to the language for which you'd like a keyboard layout. |
| 5. Quit System Preferences. | 5. Quit System Preferences. |
| 6. Use the flag icon on the menu bar at the top of the desktop to switch between keyboard layouts. | 6. Use the flag icon on the menu bar at the top of the desktop to switch between keyboard layouts. |
|
To see a map of your keyboard layout, use Keyboard Viewer as instructed below. |
To see a map of your keyboard layout, use Key Caps (OS X 10-10.3) or Keyboard Viewer (OS X 10.4-10.5) as instructed below. |
| OS 9 and older | |
| 1. Click the Apple Menu. | |
| 2. Go to Control Panels. | |
| 3. Open the Keyboard Panel. | |
| 4. Check the box next to the language for which you'd like a keyboard layout. | |
| 5. Quit the Keyboard Panel. | |
| 6. Use the flag menu at the top right to switch between keyboard layouts. | |
| To see a map of your keyboard layout, use Key Caps as instructed below. |
Key Caps / Keyboard Viewer
Key Caps / Keyboard Viewer shows you a map of your current keyboard layout. Hold down Shift, Option, and Shift + Option to see their effects. If you've chosen a foreign keyboard layout as above, switch to that layout to see its map of keys. Also, you can click keys in Key Caps / Keyboard Viewer to display characters which you can drag or copy and paste into your documents.
To view Key Caps:
OS 9 and older: Click the Apple Menu -> Key Caps
OS X (10-10.3): Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Key Caps
Keyboard Viewer is used in OS X 10.4–10.6. To use it, click on the flag icon on the menu bar at the top of the desktop and select Show Keyboard Viewer.