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There may come a time when you’ll need to put an accent over a letter in a Word document. After searching your keyboard, you realize you don’t have the proper key. If this has happened to you, don’t worry, you’re not the only one having difficulty figuring out how to add an accent or special character.
So how do you add an accent over letters for a word like “déjà vu?” In this article, we’ll show you exactly how it’s done.
How to Put an Accent Over a Letter in Word on a Mac
What do you do if you need to use a word that requires an accent over a letter in a Word document? There are certain words you may need to use with a particular character, like an accent. Fortunately, Microsoft Word makes this task easy to accomplish. To learn how to do this on a Mac, follow the steps below:
- Select the “Insert” tab in Word.
- From the drop-down menu, depending on which version of Word you have, choose “Symbol” or “Advanced Symbol.”
- Choose the letter you need with an accent over it by tapping on the character.
- The character will be inserted into your Word document where your cursor is located.
Letters with accents are common and should be easily located on the display keyboard. If you can’t find the correct character, tap the down arrow next to “Font” and choose a different subset.
How to Put an Accent Over a Letter in Word on a Chromebook
Chromebook users occasionally need to use a word that requires an accent over a letter in a Word document. Without a specialized keyboard, this could pose a problem. You can easily solve this issue by temporarily switching between the US and international keyboards. This is how you do it:
- Launch the “Settings” app.
- Scroll down and select “Languages and Input.”
- Tap on “Inputs and keyboards” scroll down and select Add input methods.
- Click on the box next to “US International Keyboard.” then Add.
- With the international keyboard selected, type the character with the accent.
- Once completed, you can switch back to the US keyboard by clicking in the bottom-right corner of the screen and switch back to the “US keyboard.”
How to Put an Accent Over a Letter in Word on a Windows PC
Although not entirely common, there could come a time when you’ll need to put an accent over a letter. You may need to use a Spanish word in your document, but it requires using characters that don’t seem to be on the keyboard. Thankfully, Word has an easy way to accomplish this. To do this, follow these steps:
- From the top tabs in Word, choose “Insert.”
- Select “Symbol” or “Advanced Symbol,” depending on which version of Word you’re running.
- A new window will open that displays a keyboard. Click on the character you’d like to use in the document.
- This character will be inserted into your Word document at your cursor’s location.
Letters with accents are common and generally found in the default keyboard. If not, tap on the down arrow next to “Font” and select a different subset.
How to Put an Accent Over a Letter in Word on an iPad
Users of the Word app on an iPad could run into a problem if they need to use a letter with an accent. To keep your document professional and accurate, you’ll need to find a way to type these letters properly. Although not apparent, these special characters are available. To find them, do the following:
- Within the Word app, press and hold down the key you need for the unaccented letter.
- A small pop-up menu will appear with a list of available accented letters.
- Tap on the one you’d like in your document. It will be inserted where your cursor is placed.
How to Put an Accent Over a Letter in Word on an iPhone
If you’re using the Word app on your iPhone, you may need to use a letter with an accent. Your keyboard doesn’t show any special characters, but they are there, albeit not visible. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to access the letters with accents. To do so, here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Place your cursor in your Word document where you want to insert the letter.
- Long tap on the letter that needs an accent.
- Just above the letter, a small window will open that will display that letter with accents.
- Select the appropriate accented letter to insert into your document.
How to Put an Accent Over a Letter in Word on an Android Device
If you’re using the Word app on your Android and need to type a letter with an accent, you may not think it’s possible. Your keyboard doesn’t have any characters with accents, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. These special characters are hidden but easily accessible. Here’s what you do to find them:
- Place the cursor where you want to insert an accented letter.
- Tap and hold momentarily on the letter you want to add an accent.
- A small window will appear above that letter displaying available accented letters.
- Slide your finger over the one you’d like to use and release it to select it.
Additional FAQ
I want to add other symbols to my Word document. Where do I find them?
Not only can you add letters with accents over them in Word, but you can also insert special characters. Common ones you may need to use are the symbols for trademark and copyright. You won’t find them on a standard keyboard, but Word makes it easy to insert them into your document. This is how you do it:
1. Using Word’s top tab menu, tap on “Insert” and then “Symbol” or “Advanced Symbol.”
2. A small pop-up window will open.
3. At the top of this new window, tap on “Special Characters.”
4. Scroll through the list and click on the one you want to use.
5. The unique character will be inserted where your cursor is pointed in the Word document.
If you use the same special character often, you can easily set up a keyboard shortcut for it. Here’s how to do it:
1. From the “Special Characters” window, select the character.
2. Click on “Keyboard Shortcut.”
3. Assign a new keyboard shortcut or use the one already set up. You’ll see its default setting in the “Current Keys” window.
Easily Find Those Hidden Accented Letters on Your Keyboard
Although they aren’t readily visible, you can type letters with accents over them. The process to do so is similar on all devices. For those using mobile or handheld devices, you can find them by pressing down on the letter you need to which you need to apply the accent. You’ll be shown which ones are available. For Mac and PC users, you simply need to insert them as a special symbol by utilizing the insert function.
Have you had difficulty finding letters with accents over them in Word? Did you find them using the methods outlined in this article? Let us know in the comments section below.