diff --git a/hub/powertoys/quick-accent.md b/hub/powertoys/quick-accent.md index 3bc11d3522..ac33e25c35 100644 --- a/hub/powertoys/quick-accent.md +++ b/hub/powertoys/quick-accent.md @@ -23,6 +23,31 @@ For example: If you want "à", press and hold A and press Space< With the dialog enabled, keep pressing your activation key. +## Character discovery + +Quick Accent maps accented characters to their base letter keys. To find a specific character: + +1. **Hold the base letter key** (like A, E, I, O, U, C, N, S, Z, etc.) that the accented character is based on +2. **Press your activation key** (Space or arrow keys) while holding the base key +3. **Browse available characters** using your activation key to cycle through options +4. **Release both keys** when the desired character is highlighted + +### Supported base keys + +Most alphabetic keys support accented characters, including: +- **Vowels**: A, E, I, O, U (most accented variations) +- **Consonants**: C, D, G, H, J, K, L, N, R, S, T, W, Y, Z (language-specific accents) +- **Special keys**: Some punctuation and symbol keys for currency and mathematical symbols + +### Unsupported keys + +The following keys do **not** trigger Quick Accent overlays: +- **Semicolon (;)** - No accented variations available +- **Most numbers (0-9)** - Limited special character support +- **Function keys (F1-F12)** - Not supported +- **Modifier keys** (Ctrl, Alt, Shift) - Used for activation only +- **Space bar** - Used as activation key only + ## Character sets You can limit the available characters by selecting character sets from the settings menu. Available character sets are: @@ -63,6 +88,49 @@ You can limit the available characters by selecting character sets from the sett - Vietnamese - Welsh +### Common character mappings + +Here are examples of character mappings for popular character sets: + +#### French character set +- **A key**: à, á, â, ä, ā, ă, ą +- **E key**: è, é, ê, ë, ē, ĕ, ė, ę, ě +- **C key**: ç, ć, ĉ, ċ, č +- **O key**: ò, ó, ô, ö, ō, ŏ, ő, ø, œ + +#### German character set +- **A key**: ä, á, à, â, ā, ă, ą +- **O key**: ö, ó, ò, ô, ō, ŏ, ő, ø +- **U key**: ü, ú, ù, û, ū, ŭ, ů, ű, ų +- **S key**: ß (eszett), ś, ŝ, ş, š + +#### Spanish character set +- **A key**: á, à, â, ä, ā, ă, ą +- **E key**: é, è, ê, ë, ē, ĕ, ė, ę, ě +- **N key**: ñ, ń, ņ, ň, ŋ +- **U key**: ú, ù, û, ü, ū, ŭ, ů, ű, ų + +#### Currency character set +- **S key**: $, £, ¥, ₹, ₽, ₩, ₴, ₦, ₡, ₨, ₪, ₫, ₵, ₶, ₷, ₸, ₹, ₺, ₻, ₼, ₽, ₾, ₿, ﷼ +- **E key**: €, ₤, ₧, ₨, ₩, ₫ +- **C key**: ¢, ₡, ₵ +- **F key**: ₣, ₦ +- **L key**: £, ₤, ₦, ₧, ₨, ₩, ₫, €, ₯, ₰, ₱, ₲, ₳, ₴, ₵, ₶, ₷, ₸, ₹, ₺, ₻, ₼, ₽, ₾, ₿ + +### International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) characters + +IPA symbols are available across multiple character sets. Common IPA characters include: + +- **Vowel symbols**: Available through vowel keys (A, E, I, O, U) in various character sets +- **Consonant symbols**: Available through consonant keys in language-specific character sets +- **Special IPA symbols**: Some available through Greek character set +- **Length markers**: The vowel length/gemination marker **ː** (triangular colon) may be available through colon (:) key in certain character sets, or through T key in some language sets + +> **Note**: If you cannot find a specific IPA symbol like ː (vowel length marker), try: +> 1. Enable multiple character sets (Greek, Hebrew, or language sets that use similar symbols) +> 2. Try different base keys (colon, T, or vowel keys) +> 3. Use the "Show Unicode code and name" setting to identify available characters + ## Settings From the Settings menu, the following options can be configured: @@ -78,4 +146,37 @@ From the Settings menu, the following options can be configured: | Input delay | The delay in milliseconds before the dialog appears. | | Excluded apps | Add an application's name, or part of the name, one per line (e.g. adding `Notepad` will match both `Notepad.exe` and `Notepad++.exe`; to match only `Notepad.exe` add the `.exe` extension). | +## Troubleshooting character discovery + +If you cannot find a specific character you need: + +### Enable relevant character sets +1. **Multiple character sets**: Enable several character sets that might contain your character +2. **Language-specific sets**: Choose character sets for languages that use similar symbols +3. **Specialized sets**: Try Currency, Greek, or Hebrew sets for special symbols + +### Try different base keys +1. **Phonetic similarity**: Try keys that sound similar to your target character +2. **Visual similarity**: Try keys that look similar to your target character +3. **Related characters**: Try base keys of characters in the same family + +### Use Unicode information +1. **Enable Unicode display**: Turn on "Show the Unicode code and name of the currently selected character" in settings +2. **Character identification**: Use this to identify what characters are available on each key +3. **Character lookup**: Search online for the Unicode name if you know the character you need + +### Common troubleshooting examples +- **ñ (Spanish n with tilde)**: Try N key with Spanish character set enabled +- **ß (German eszett)**: Try S key with German character set enabled +- **œ (Latin small ligature oe)**: Try O key or E key with French character set enabled +- **ø (Latin small letter o with stroke)**: Try O key with Danish or Norwegian character set enabled +- **ː (IPA triangular colon)**: Try colon (:) key, T key, or vowel keys with Greek or Hebrew character sets enabled + +### Alternative solutions +If Quick Accent doesn't have the character you need: +1. **Windows Character Map**: Use Windows built-in Character Map utility +2. **Alt codes**: Use numeric Alt codes for specific characters +3. **Unicode input**: Use Windows Unicode input method (Alt + numeric keypad) +4. **Copy-paste**: Copy characters from online Unicode references + [!INCLUDE [install-powertoys.md](../includes/install-powertoys.md)]