special characters not inserting when using hotkey method

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Stu - 15 Oct 2003 18:38 GMT

How can I get a new Windows XP based laptop with Office
2000 to accept hotkey characters? (e.g.: ctrl+~,n for
Spanish N) The shortcuts are handy and used frequently here
in our school where so many families are immigrants. The
shortcuts are simply ignored in Word. Any idea why?

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Michael \(michka\) Kaplan [MS] - 15 Oct 2003 18:54 GMT

Word has to use control keystrokes for its own work. Why not just use a
Spanish keyboard layout?

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MichKa [MS]
NLS Collation/Locale/Keyboard Development
Globalization Infrastructure and Font Technologies

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> How can I get a new Windows XP based laptop with Office
> 2000 to accept hotkey characters? (e.g.: ctrl+~,n for
> Spanish N) The shortcuts are handy and used frequently here
> in our school where so many families are immigrants. The
> shortcuts are simply ignored in Word. Any idea why?

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Mike Williams [MVP] - 16 Oct 2003 01:46 GMT

1. Word has a number of keyboard shortcuts for entering accented characters.
Look them up in Help.

2. Use Word's Insert>Symbol feature, or Windows' Character Map utility

3. Type the numeric code of the character you desire on the number pad thus
e.g. ALT+0140= O

4. Set up an International keyboard layout (which works in all
applications):

HOW TO: Use the United States-International Keyboard Layout in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306560

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Stu - 17 Oct 2003 21:13 GMT

Sure, there are other ways to skin a cat, and we did wind
up having to do that. But the more more convenient way
WHICH IS STILL SUPPOSED TO WORK does not, and I remain
curious why. I do appreciate all the responses. I'd just
like to know why the ctrl hotkeys no longer work and what
can be done to restore them? (Actually it never worked on
this new laptop, but most certainly should. From the next
post up I'm wondering if XP might not have a minor glitch
with this?)

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Mike Williams [MVP] - 18 Oct 2003 10:02 GMT

> Sure, there are other ways to skin a cat, and we did wind
> up having to do that. But the more more convenient way
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> post up I'm wondering if XP might not have a minor glitch
> with this?)

They've never stopped working for me. Are you including the SHIFT when you
try the Ctrl+~ ?

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Mike Williams - Office MVP
http://www.mvps.org/

Please respond in the same thread on this newsgroup. Make sure you
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or not you have included any service pack updates.

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John Rogers - 17 Oct 2003 07:27 GMT

I have this problem too. The shortcuts are recorded in
the Symbol insert window & the right box is checked in
Autocorrect.

The feature used to work but stopped sometime in the last
few months - possibly following one of the many critical
updates to Windows but I am not sure.

>-----Original Message-----
>How can I get a new Windows XP based laptop with Office
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>shortcuts are simply ignored in Word. Any idea why?
>.

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