AltGr key
Encyclopedia
Modifier key
In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....
found on many computer keyboard
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
s and primarily used to type characters that are unusual for the locale of the keyboard layout
Keyboard layout
A keyboard layout is any specific mechanical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key–meaning associations of a computer, typewriter, or other typographic keyboard....
, such as currency symbols and accented letters. On a typical IBM compatible PC keyboard, the AltGr key, when present, takes the place of the right-hand Alt key
Alt key
The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A, the computer...
. In Mac OS X, the Option key
Option key
The Option key is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. It is located between the Control key and Command key on a typical Mac keyboard. There are two option keys on modern Mac desktop and notebook keyboards, one on each side of the space bar....
has functions similar to the AltGr key.
AltGr is used similarly to the Shift key
Shift key
The shift key is a modifier key on a keyboard, used to type capital letters and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row...
: it is held down when another key is struck in order to obtain a character other than the one that the latter normally produces. AltGr and Shift can also sometimes be combined to obtain yet another character. For example, on the US-International keyboard layout, the
C key can be used to insert four different characters: → c (lower case — first level) → C (upper case — second level) → © (copyright sign — third level) → ¢ (cent sign — fourth level)Meaning
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
for alternate graphic, and Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
keyboards label the key as Alt Graph.
Apparently, AltGr was originally introduced as a means to produce box-drawing characters, also known as pseudographics, in text user interface
Text user interface
TUI short for: Text User Interface or Textual User Interface , is a retronym that was coined sometime after the invention of graphical user interfaces, to distinguish them from text-based user interfaces...
s. These characters are, however, much less useful in graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
s, and rather than alternate graphic the key is today used to produce alternate graphemes.
Control + Alt as a substitute
Originally, US PC keyboards (specifically, the US 101-key PC/AT keyboards) did not have an AltGr key, it being relevant to only non-US markets; they simply had "left" and "right" Alt keyAlt key
The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A, the computer...
s.
As those using such US keyboards increasingly needed the specific functionality of AltGr when typing non-English text, Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
began to allow it to be emulated by pressing the Alt key together with the Control key
Control key
In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself...
:
- ≈
Therefore, it is recommended that this combination not be used as a modifier in Windows keyboard shortcuts as, depending on the keyboard layout and configuration, someone trying to type a special character with it may accidentally trigger the shortcut, or the keypresses for the shortcut may be inadvertently interpreted as the user trying to input a special character.
US international
On US international keyboard layouts, the AltGr key can be used to enter the following characters:
¡ ² ³ ¤ € ¼ ½ ¾ ‘ ’ ¥ ×
ä å é ® þ ü ú í ó ö « »
á ß ð ø ¶ ´ ¬
æ © ñ µ ç ¿
And, in combination with the Shift key:
¹ £ ÷
Ä Å É Þ Ü Ú Í Ó Ö
Á § Ð Ø ° ¨ ¦
Æ ¢ Ñ Ç
Note that a lot of these symbols can also be entered using dead key
Dead key
A dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
s.
For comparison, the US international keyboard layout follows. Note that the "`/~" key has been omitted; it does not react to the AltGr key.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - =
Q W E R T Y U I O P [ ]
A S D F G H J K L ; ' \
m Z X C V B N M , . /
Here "m" denotes the "Macro" key. It generally produces a "\", although applications receive a different keycode and can therefore instead use the key to, for example, run macros.
UK & Ireland
In UK & Ireland keyboard layouts, the only two symbols printed on most keyboards which require the AltGr key are:- € the EuroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
currency symbol. Located on the "4/$" key. - Either |, the vertical barVertical barThe vertical bar is a character with various uses in mathematics, where it can be used to represent absolute value, among others; in computing and programming and in general typography, as a divider not unlike the interpunct...
("pipe symbol") or ¦, the broken vertical bar ("broken pipe symbol"). Located on the "`/¬" key, to the immediate left of "1". The other bar symbol is the shift-keyed symbol on the "\" key immediately to the left of the Z key.
The two latter symbols interchange places in UK keyboards according to the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
in use. In OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
, the "UK keyboard layout" (specifically: the UK166 layout) requires AltGr for the vertical bar and the broken vertical bar is a shifted key—which, coincidentally, matches the actual symbols that are printed on most UK keyboards; in Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, the "UK keyboard layout" requires AltGr for the broken vertical bar and the vertical bar is a shifted key—the converse of what is usually printed on the keys; and in Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, the "UK keyboard layout" produces the unbroken vertical bar with both AltGr plus "`/¬" and shifted \, and produces the broken vertical bar with AltGr plus shifted \.
Using the AltGr key on Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
produces many foreign characters and international symbols, e.g. ¹²³€½¾{[]}@łe¶ŧ←↓→øþæßðđŋħjĸł«»¢“”nµΩŁE®Ŧ¥↑ıØÞƧЪŊĦJ&Ł<>©‘’Nº×÷·
Using the AltGr key on UK & Irish keyboards in some versions of Windows (for example XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
) in combination with vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
characters produces acute accent
Acute accent
The acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
s also known as "fadas" in the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
over the vowels (for example, á,é,í,ó,ú and Á,É,Í,Ó,Ú).
The UK-Extended keyboard available in versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
from XP with SP2, and Linux allows many characters with diacritical marks, including accents, to be generated by using the AltGr key in combination with others. Details are to be found in the article on QWERTY
QWERTY
QWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
.
Croatian, Slovene, Bosnian and Serbian (Latin)
On Croatian, Slovene, Bosnian and Serbian (Latin) keyboards, the following letters and special characters are created using AltGr:→ \ → | → € → ÷ → × → [ → ] → ł → ß → ¤
→ @ → { → } → § → < → > → ~ → ˇ → ^
→ ˘ → ° → ˛ → ` → ˙ → ´ → ˝ → ¨ → ¸
Finnish multilingual
The Finnish multilingual keyboard standard adds many new characters to the traditional layout via the AltGr key, as shown in the image below (the blue characters can be written with the AltGr key; several dead keyDead key
A dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
diacritics, shown in red, are also available as an AltGr combination).
French
On French keyboards, AltGr enables the user to type the following characters:→ € → ¤ → ~ → # → { → [ → |
→ ` (a dead key
Dead key
A dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
: then → ò) → \ → ^ (generally not dead
Dead key
A dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
: then → ^o, not ô) → @ → ] → }
German
On German keyboards, AltGr enables the user to type the following characters, which are indicated on the keyboard:→ ² → ³ → { → [
→ ] → } → \ → ~
→ @ → € → | → µ
Hebrew
On Hebrew keyboardHebrew keyboard
A Hebrew keyboard comes in two different keyboard layouts. Most Hebrew keyboards are bilingual having both Hebrew and English, as English letters are necessary for URLs and Email addresses...
s, AltGr enables the user to type the following characters:
→ ₪ → €
Yiddish
Utilizing a Hebrew keyboard, one may write in Yiddish
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
as the two languages share many letters. However, Yiddish has some additional digraphs and a symbol not otherwise found in Hebrew which are entered via AltGr.
→ פֿ → ײ → ױ → װ
Italian
On Italian keyboards, AltGr enables the user to type the following characters:→ € → @ → #
→ [ → ] → { → }
Latvian
Having LatvianLatvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
set as the system language, the following letters can be input using Alt Gr.
Lowercase letters
→ ā → č → ē → ģ → ī → ķ → ļ → ņ → š → ū → žUppercase letters
→ Ā → Č → Ē → Ģ → Ī → Ķ → Ļ → Ņ → Š → Ū → ŽMacedonian
On MacedonianMacedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
keyboards, AltGr enables the user to type the following characters:
→ € → Ђ → ђ → [
→ ] → Ћ → ћ → @
→ { → } → §
Nordic and Estonian
The keyboard layouts in the Nordic countriesNordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
(DK), Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
(FO), Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(FI), Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(NO) and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(SE) as well as in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
(EE) are largely similar to each other. Generally the AltGr key can be used to create the following characters:
→ @ → £ → $ → € → µ
→ { → [ → ] → } → ~ (excluding EE)
Other AltGr combinations are peculiar to just some of the countries:
→ \ (EE, FI, SE) → | (EE, FI, SE) → \ (DK, FO) → | (DK, FO) → ´ (NO) → ~ (FO) → ¨ (FO)
→ ^ (FO) → € (DK, FO, SE, sometimes FI) → š (EE, sometimes FI) → ž (EE, sometimes FI) → § (EE) → ½ (EE)
Polish
Typewriters in PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
used a QWERTZ
QWERTZ
thumb|175px|A computer QWERTZ keyboardThe QWERTZ or QWERTZU keyboard is a widely used computer and typewriter keyboard layout that is mostly used in Central Europe...
layout specifically designed for the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
with accented characters
Polish alphabet
The Polish alphabet is the script of the Polish language, the basis for the Polish system of orthography . It is based on the Latin alphabet, but includes certain letters with diacritics: the line or kreska, which is graphically similar to an acute accent ; the overdot or kropka ; the tail or...
obtainable directly. When personal computers became available worldwide in the 1980s commercial importing into Poland was not supported by its communist government, so most machines in Poland were brought in by private individuals. Most had US keyboards, and various methods were devised to make special Polish characters available. An established method was to use AltGr in combination with the relevant Latin base letter to obtain a precomposed character
Precomposed character
A precomposed character is a Unicode entity that can be defined as a combination of two or more other characters. A precomposed character may typically represent a letter with a diacritical mark, such as é...
with a diacritic
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
; note the exceptional combination using x instead of the base letter z, as the letter has been reserved for another combination: → ą
A
A is the first letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is similar to the Ancient Greek letter Alpha, from which it derives.- Origins :...
→ ć
C
Ĉ or ĉ is a consonant in Esperanto orthography, representing the sound .Esperanto orthography uses a diacritic for all four of its postalveolar consonants, as do the Latin-based Slavic alphabets...
→ ę
E
E is the fifth letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet. It is the most commonly used letter in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Latin, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish languages.-History:...
→ ł → ń
N
N is the fourteenth letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.- History of the forms :One of the most common hieroglyphs, snake, was used in Egyptian writing to stand for a sound like English ⟨J⟩, because the Egyptian word for "snake" was djet...
→ ó
Ó
is a letter in the Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Kashubian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Sorbian languages. This letter also appears in the Catalan, Irish, Occitan, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Vietnamese languages as a variant of letter “o”. It is also used in English for other purposes...
→ ś
S
S is the nineteenth letter in the ISO basic Latin alphabet.-History: Semitic Šîn represented a voiceless postalveolar fricative . Greek did not have this sound, so the Greek sigma came to represent...
→ ź
Z
Z is the twenty-sixth and final letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Name and pronunciation:In most dialects of English, the letter's name is zed , reflecting its derivation from the Greek zeta but in American English, its name is zee , deriving from a late 17th century English dialectal...
→ ż
Z
Z is the twenty-sixth and final letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Name and pronunciation:In most dialects of English, the letter's name is zed , reflecting its derivation from the Greek zeta but in American English, its name is zee , deriving from a late 17th century English dialectal...
At the time of the political transformation and opening of commercial import channels this practice was so widespread that it was adopted as the standard. Nowadays most PCs in Poland have standard US keyboards and use the AltGr method to enter Polish diacritics. This layout is referred to as Polish programmers' layout () or simply Polish layout.
Another layout is still used on typewriters, mostly by professional typists. Computer keyboards with this layout are available, though difficult to find, and supported by a number of operating systems; they are known as Polish typists' layout (). Older Polish versions of Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
used this layout, describing it as Polish layout.
Turkish
In Turkish keyboard variants the AltGr can be used to display the following characters:→ € → @ a → ã a → ä
X Window System
In the X Window SystemX Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
(GNU/Linux, BSD, Unix), AltGr can often be used to produce additional characters with almost every key on the keyboard. For example, the Danish keymap features the following key combinations: → Ω → ø → µ
The Italian keymap includes, among other combinations, the following:
→ ħ → ~
→ ` → ×
With some keys, AltGr produces a dead key
Dead key
A dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
; for example on a UK keyboard, semicolon
Semicolon
The semicolon is a punctuation mark with several uses. The Italian printer Aldus Manutius the Elder established the practice of using the semicolon to separate words of opposed meaning and to indicate interdependent statements. "The first printed semicolon was the work of ... Aldus Manutius"...
can be used to add an acute accent
Acute accent
The acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
to a base letter, and left square bracket can be used to add a trema: followed by → é followed by → Ö
This use of dead keys enables one to type a wide variety of precomposed character
Precomposed character
A precomposed character is a Unicode entity that can be defined as a combination of two or more other characters. A precomposed character may typically represent a letter with a diacritical mark, such as é...
s that combine various diacritics with either uppercase or lowercase letters, achieving a similar effect to the Compose key
Compose key
A compose key, available on some computer keyboards, is a special kind of modifier key designated to signal the software to interpret the following sequence of two keystrokes as a combination in order to produce a character not found directly on the keyboard...
.
Modified key tables
Swedish keymap
In this diagram, the grey symbols are the standard characters, yellow is with shift, red is with AltGr, and blue is with Shift+AltGr.Danish keymap
q w e r t y u i o p å ¨a s d f g h j k l æ ø '
< z x c v b n m , . -
The keymap with the Alt Gr key:
@ ł € ® þ ← ↓ → œ þ " ~
ª ß ð đ ŋ ħ j ĸ ł ' ^ ˝
\ « » © “ ” n µ ¸ ·
The keymap with Alt Gr+Shift:
Ω Ł ¢ ® Þ ¥ ↑ ı Œ Þ ˚ ˇ
º § Ð ª Ŋ Ħ J & Ł ˝ ˇ ×
¬ < > © ` ' N º ˛ ˙ ˙
Brazilian ABNT2 keymap
' 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - =q w e r t y u i o p ´ [
a s d f g h j k l ç ~ ]
\ z x c v b n m , . ; /
The keymap with Shift:
" ! @ # $ % ¨ & * ( ) _ +
Q W E R T Y U I O P ` {
A S D F G H J K L Ç ^ }
| Z X C V B N M < > : ?
The keymap with the AltGr key:
¹ ² ³ £ ¢ ¬ §
/ ? ° ª
º
₢ °
The AltGr+Shift combination does not result in any character by default in Windows.
Some notes:
- The AltGr+C combination results in the (obsolete) symbol for the former Brazilian currency, the Brazilian cruzeiroBrazilian cruzeiroThe cruzeiro was the currency of Brazil from 1942 to 1986 and again between 1990 and 1993. The name refers to the constellation of the Southern Cross, known in Brazil as Cruzeiro do Sul, or simply Cruzeiro ....
. - The AltGr+Q, AltGr+W, AltGr+E combinations are useful as a replacement for the "/?" key, which is physically absent on non-Brazilian keyboards.
- Some softwares (e.g. Microsoft Word) will map AltGr+R to ® and AltGr+T to ™, but this is not standard behavior.
Romanian keymap
The keymap with the AltGr key:â ß € r ț y u î o § „ ”
ă ș đ f g h j k ł ;
z x © v b n m « »
See also
- Modifier keyModifier keyIn computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....
- Option keyOption keyThe Option key is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. It is located between the Control key and Command key on a typical Mac keyboard. There are two option keys on modern Mac desktop and notebook keyboards, one on each side of the space bar....
- Shift keyShift keyThe shift key is a modifier key on a keyboard, used to type capital letters and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row...
- Dead keyDead keyA dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
- Compose keyCompose keyA compose key, available on some computer keyboards, is a special kind of modifier key designated to signal the software to interpret the following sequence of two keystrokes as a combination in order to produce a character not found directly on the keyboard...
- Windows Alt keycodes
- Precomposed characterPrecomposed characterA precomposed character is a Unicode entity that can be defined as a combination of two or more other characters. A precomposed character may typically represent a letter with a diacritical mark, such as é...