Spanish Alt Codes – Type Spanish Characters On Your Computer

Some people will tell you it doesn’t matter if you use Spanish diacritics (i.e. accents, umlauts, etc) correctly while typing so long as you are understood. I disagree. To me, typing the language correctly complete with accents and other diacritics is essential for Spanish learners because it explicitly reinforces proper pronunciation and, no less significantly, a sense of accomplishment when you type an entire paragraph correctly. It just looks better and more professional and in my opinion, that goes a long way towards helping maintain your enthusiasm for the long and often difficult learning process.

Spanish Alt Codes

On Windows PCs, alt codes work quite simply and you’ll be able to do them quickly on the fly once you get the hang of it. To use a particular alt code, follow these steps:

• Make sure your numlock is enabled
• Hold down the left alt key (just left of the space bar) while you type the desired alt code on the number keypad to the right of your keyboard. After you’re done typing the code, release the alt key and your character will appear. For example, to type the Spanish ‘ñ’ first make sure your numlock is enabled. Then, press and hold the left alt key as you type the proper alt code (in this case 164) on the number keypad on the right site of your keyboard. NB: Alt codes will not work with the number keys at the top of your keyboard, only with the number keypad to the right.

A Word On Using Alt Codes On A Laptop

Alt codes work the same way on laptops with one notable exception: most laptop keyboards are too compact for a proper number pad. Instead, the number keypad is combined with the regular keyboard, usually with the numbers in tiny squares in the top-left corner of they key. On my keyboard, the number ‘4′ corresponds with the letter ‘u’. To activate these numbers, press and hold down the fn key (usually just left of the alt key) and then press the num lk key. Now that numlock is enabled, you can use the alt codes like above. When you’re done, simply hold the fn key and press the num lk key again to disable numlock so you can type normally.