A Simple Tip

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Can't believe I never thought of this before.

I have an English laptop, but frequently need to type in French. Using the character map is a pain in the bum, and there is no real other simple way I've found of getting those special French characters.

Today, I solved that problem. I bought myself a cheap French usb keyboard. Now every time I need to type in French, I just plug the keyboard in, switch my regional settings over to French, and away I go.

Simple, cheap and a quick fix.

[tenniswitch]

That is a good idea for those who are comfortable using a French keyboard.

For those that aren't, and use Windows (especially if you have bits and pieces of Office 2003 or later), I find that using spellcheck in French (occasionally augmented by the "insert character" icon) works quite efficiently, and I change from English to French and back without missing a beat.  Word and Outlook automatically detect the language and start correcting as I type.

[Suze01]

[quote user="tenniswitch"]

That is a good idea for those who are comfortable using a French keyboard.

For those that aren't, and use Windows (especially if you have bits and pieces of Office 2003 or later), I find that using spellcheck in French (occasionally augmented by the "insert character" icon) works quite efficiently, and I change from English to French and back without missing a beat.  Word and Outlook automatically detect the language and start correcting as I type.

[/quote]

I used to plug a French keyboard into my laptop before I changed to a desktop PC.  To change between the two I had a shortcut on my tool bar at the bottom of the screen to flick between the two at one click of the mouse.  It's a good solution especially if your laptop is sat on your desk all the time.

[Thibault]

A French keyboard is no help if you are a touch typist!  [:@]

[gosub]

[quote user="Thibault"]A French keyboard is no help if you are a touch typist!  [:@][/quote]

It does if you are a French touch typist.[:)]

[Cat]

[quote user="Thibault"]A French keyboard is no help if you are a touch typist!  [:@][/quote]

That's what I thought until I changed over to one full-time. 

I used to use French keyboard from time to time (mostly when fiddling with friends' PCs) and cursed them loudly and often for having their keys in such dumb places.  Since I bought a French PC and keyboard I have relearned the key positions (not intentionally, it just kind of happened).  My little finger now "knows" that the A is where the Q used to be, and once I'd realised that I didn't need to use the shift key to get at the full stop, I dropped all of my resistance to French key boards.

If you spend any amount of time typing stuff in French, it is just so much easier to have all those accents at your fingertips, so to speak [:)]

[Callie]

I agree Cat, it's just a question of getting used to it. I had the same problem when i went to live in Germany. I had a shorthand and typing test (in English), didn't even think to look at the keys, and, blow me, perfect except for the inversion of some letters. It didn't take long to get used to it, though.

What would be difficult for me would be to have to keep changing from one keyboard to another.....

[Cat]

[quote user="Callie"]

What would be difficult for me would be to have to keep changing from one keyboard to another.....[/quote]

I agree, but now that I am used to a French keyboard I have no need of a QWERTY one.  I reckon it takes about 2 weeks to get used to one, and after that there is no need to keep swapping around, just use the French keyboard for everything.

[Chancer]

duplicate post deleted

[Chancer]

I have real problems with qwery keyboards now when I visit the Uk and use a computer in the library or whatever, its quite amusing to be getting het up about the problem that I used to have when travelling.

[cheminot]

[quote user="Cat"]

[quote user="Thibault"]A French keyboard is no help if you are a touch typist!  [:@][/quote]

That's what I thought until I changed over to one full-time. 

I used to use French keyboard from time to time (mostly when fiddling with friends' PCs) and cursed them loudly and often for having their keys in such dumb places.  Since I bought a French PC and keyboard I have relearned the key positions (not intentionally, it just kind of happened).  My little finger now "knows" that the A is where the Q used to be, and once I'd realised that I didn't need to use the shift key to get at the full stop, I dropped all of my resistance to French key boards.

If you spend any amount of time typing stuff in French, it is just so much easier to have all those accents at your fingertips, so to speak [:)]

[/quote]

So how do you get the full stop without using the shift key?

cheminot

[Lehaut]

... on the numerical keypad!

[pachapapa]

Always worth considering an Online Virtual Keyboard if you have difficulties whilst on a world tour; useful for doing e-mails if the Thai Keyboard in your Phuket Cyber Caff is confusing one.

http://www.gate2home.com/

[tenniswitch]

[quote user="Lehaut"]... on the numerical keypad![/quote]

Assuming you have one. [:D]

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

And even then it's a mile away from the main keyboard.

Or am I just being lazy?

R.

[Cat]

It's what your other little finger is for (the one that's not tapping the A) [:)]

[cheminot]

No numeric keypad on my laptop so its back to the shift key!

cheminot

[Chancer]

Pachapapa

I last travelled in Thailand long before the internet, long before computers had found a home on every desk and before there was an airport at Koh-Samui, even back then I avoided Phuket like the plague.

The on-line keyboard would have been usefull when I travelled in 2004 though, the ironic thing was that despite using the net constantly to communicate, shift money to debit card account etc and being able to get web access even in the most remote parts of Bolivia or Melanesia when I arrived in France I couldnt [:(]

Nowhere at all in the local town (population 100k), bibliotheque "non monsieur", office de tourisme "essayez La Poste", La Poste "essayez l'office de tourisme" (I think that they had a game going on between them) finally I found out that there was a cybercafe at the university in Amiens, a 50 mile round trip, it was of course "en grêve" [:P]

[Jonzjob]

You could try http://french.about.com/library/bl_faq_accents.htm

It's the one we use on both our 'qwerty' keyboards and it is very easy!

[AnOther]

Personally I still prefer the Avisoft or Lexibar solutions.

[img]http://www.avisoft.co.uk/Accentype2/ToolbarSize8.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.lexicool.net/images/lxb_fr1.gif[/img]

[Jonzjob]

Na! It's a bind háving tô gô tô thé móusé every tïmé you wânt tö use án áççent. My way is better than your way and I'll bet my dad is bigger than yours too[:P][Www]