For U.S. English keyboard users, the international keyboard (which is not a physical keyboard, but rather a simple Control Panel setting) is the easiest and most convenient method for typing French accents because it maintains the QWERTY layout, with just a few changes and additions:

Note: The minor disadvantage of the international keyboard is that when you want to type the "helping" character (e.g., single or double quotes) by itself rather than above a vowel, you have to type the symbol then hit the space bar. For example, to type c'est, type c then ' then hit the spacebar then type e s t. It takes a little while to get used to typing that extra space when you just want to type ' or "Troubleshooting the international keyboardIf you are plagued by strangeness such as cést when you try to type c'est, re-read the note above.In order to use the international keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.

If you currently use a UK keyboard, you will probably find the UK extended keyboard the easiest way to type French accents. The keyboard layout will be maintained, but you can type most accents with the AltGr key, which is located to the right of the spacebar.

In order to use the UK extended keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.

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The layout of the French keyboard, known as AZERTY, is somewhat different than the layouts of other keyboards. If you're used to QWERTY, I recommend that you use the international keyboard.Otherwise, with the French keyboard layout, you'll find - among other changes - that the A and Q have switched places, W and Z have switched, and M is where the semi-colon used to be. In addition, numbers require the shift key.On the other hand, you can type the grave accent (à, è, ù) and acute accent (é) with a single key, and the other accented letters with a combination of two keys:

In order to use the French keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.

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The layout of this keyboard is similar to QWERTY, making it somewhat simpler if that is what you are used to (though I still believe that the international keyboard is better).Typing accents on the Canadian French keyboard is fairly simple:

In order to use the Canadian French keyboard to type French accents, you need to select that keyboard layout.

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

Windows 7

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Windows 95, 98, ME, NT

Windows 2000

*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)

The best way to type accents on a PC is by using the international keyboard, which requires a simple control panel configuration - there is no keyboard to purchase or software to download.If you're really set against the international keyboard, you can type accented characters with ALT codes, which use the ALT key and a 3 or 4 digit code. However, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, not the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard. So they won't work on a laptop unless you hit number lock to activate the number pad "built into" the right-side of your keyboard, which is a big hassle because then the letters won't work. Bottom line, if you're on a laptop, choose a different keyboard rather than messing around with ALT codes.To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. When you release the ALT key, the character will appear.a with grave accentà  ALT + 133    À  ALT + 0192a with circumflexâ  ALT + 131    Â  ALT + 0194a with trémaä  ALT + 132    Ä  ALT + 142a e ligatureæ  ALT + 145    Æ  ALT + 146c with cedillaç  ALT + 135    Ç  ALT + 128e with acute accenté  ALT + 130    É  ALT + 144e with grave accentè  ALT + 138    È  ALT + 0200e with circumflexê  ALT + 136    Ê  ALT + 0202e with trémaë  ALT + 137    Ë  ALT + 0203i with circumflexî  ALT + 140    Î  ALT + 0206i with trémaï  ALT + 139    Ï  ALT + 0207o with circumflexô  ALT + 147    Ô  ALT + 0212o e ligatureœ  ALT + 0156   Œ  ALT + 0140u with grave accentù  ALT + 151    Ù  ALT + 0217u with circumflexû  ALT + 150    Û  ALT + 0219u with trémaü  ALT + 129    Ü  ALT + 154French quotation marks«  ALT + 174    »  ALT + 175Euro symbol€  ALT + 0128

To type accents on an Apple with the option key, hold down the option key while pressing the key(s) in bold in this list. For example, to type ê, hold the option key while typing i, then release both and type e. To type î, hold option, type i, release and type i again.​

Note: In these instructions, "and" means to keep holding the option key and the first key listed while typing the second. "Then" means to release the option key and the first key before typing the second.

To type any of the above as capital letters, add shift key to the first step. So for É, hold shift key, option key, and e, then e.French quotation marks  «   Hold option key and \»   Hold option key and shift key and \Euro symbol  €   Hold option key and shift key and 2KeyCaps (OS9 and below) is similar, but it gives you a keyboard to click.

Opening the special character palette to type accents on a Mac:

Using the palette:

You can type French accents and immerse yourself in French at the same time on an Apple OSX by setting your system language to French so that your OS, as well as most Apple software, use French:

Here are two ways to type accents in Linux:

Character Palette (Ubuntu 10.04)

Right-click on the top bar and click on "Add to Panel," select and add "Character Palette." The small arrow on the left will give a choice of palettes which you can modify to contain any accented or other character required. Left-click a character, then hold down Control Key and type V to insert it at the cursor position.

Compose Key

Specify a particular unused key (e.g., the Windows key) to be the Compose Key, then you can hold down Compose Key and type e` to get è, or o" to get ö. The combinations are pretty intuitive. Where to specify the Compose Key changes from system to system. On a SuSE installation, go to Control Center > Accessibility Options > Keyboard Properties > Options > Compose Key option.

If you have an Android tablet or smartphone, you can download the app Smart Keyboard to get access to accented letters.

You're all set! Now you can type accents by pressing and holding the button for the unaccented letter for a moment. A list of accented letters will pop up for you to choose from.For example, to type à, press and hold the letter a, then choose à. To type é, è, ê, or ë, press and ​hold e, then make your selection. For ç, press and hold the letter c.

To type accented letters on an iPhone or iPad, press and hold the button for the unaccented letter for a moment. A list of accented letters will pop up for you to choose from.For example, to type à, press and hold the letter a, then choose à. To type é, è, ê, or ë, press and hold e, then make your selection. For ç, press and hold the letter c.