Virtual Keyboards for Typing Special Characters

This post was prompted by one of my colleagues who asked for help with typing special characters on his keyboard.

Type It is a free online program for typing accent marks and other special characters that are often required for languages other than English. Type It supports twenty-one languages and currency symbols. You can insert accents and characters by selecting them from the menu provided by Type It or by using their suggested keyboard shortcuts.

Lite Type is a virtual keyboard that allows you type and search the web in your choice of 53 different languages. To use Lite Type select a language and begin typing. Lite Type displays a keyboard that shows you what each key on your computer's keyboard will generate. The keyboard key is displayed directly below the box in which your typed text appears. Lite Type has some other convenient features like integrated search for images, videos, and websites. Lite Type also has an integrated multilingual dictionary.

One of the challenges foreign language students sometimes face when trying to complete assignments while using a standard English keyboard is learning the key combinations for creating accents and other special characters. For Windows users there is a solution to that problem and it is called AX. AX is a free open source program that will allow you to type accents using just the F8 key on your keyboard.

Learn more about AX in the episode of Tekzilla Daily embedded below.



If you're a Mac user and would like to know how to type special characters on your keyboard, here are three free PDFs from Go Squared that offer directions on how to type accents and symbols by using the correct combination of keys on your Mac's keyboard.