Installing the International Keyboard in Windows XP/Vista

To type accented letters and special punctuation in Spanish, it is recommended that you install the 'International Keyboard' option in Windows XP/Vista.

Instructions for Windows XP

• 1. Click "Start"
• 2. Click "Control Panel"
• 3. Click "Regional and Language Options"
• 4. Select "Languages" tab
• 5. Click "Details..."
• 6. Under "Installed Services" click "Add.."
• 7. Make sure "Keyboard layout/IME" is checked and select "United States-International"
• 8. Click "OK" and exit the system to finalize the installation

Instructions for Windows Vista

• 1. Click "Control Panel"
• 2. Select "Clock, Language and Region"
• 3. Under Regional and Language Options, pick "Change keyboard or other input method."
• 4. Select the General tab. Under "Installed Services" click "Add..."
• 5. Find the "United States-International" option and select it.
• 6. In the pull-down menu, select "United States-International" as the default language.
• 7. Click OK to exit the menu system and finalize the installation.

Using the "right-Alt"

Once installed, the international keyboard then allows you to do the following:

• Add the accents to the vowels, press the right-Alt key at the same time as the vowel.

Example: To type á, press the right-Alt key and the a at the same time. If you're capitalizing to make Á, you'll have to press three keys simultaneously — the a, right-Alt and the shift key.

• Add special characters.

Example: Angular quotation markets (« and ») can be created by pressing the right-Alt key and one of the bracket keys simultaneously. The inverted question mark (¿) and inverted exclamation point (¡) are also done similarly. Press right-Alt and the 1 key (which also is used for the exclamation point) for the inverted exclamation point; for the inverted question mark, press right-Alt and the question mark key at the same time.