Editing Dead key (section)

==Dead keys on various keyboard layouts==
{{Main|Keyboard layout|QWERTY|AZERTY|QWERTZ}}

A key may function as a dead key by default, and many non-English keyboard layouts in particular have dead keys directly on the keyboard. The basic [[US keyboard]] does not have any dead keys, but the [[US-International|US-International keyboard layout]], available on Windows and the [[X Window System]], places some dead keys directly on similar-looking punctuation marks. Keyboards sold in most of the rest of the world have an [[AltGr key|AltGr]] (Alternative graphic) key, which gives the ability to modify some letters directly and turns others into dead keys (depending on keyboard setting). Old computer systems, such as the [[MSX]], often had a special key labeled ''dead key'', which in combination with the [[Ctrl key|Ctrl]] and [[Shift key|Shift]] keys could be used to add some of the diacritics commonly needed in the [[Western Europe]]an languages (<code>´</code>, <code>`</code>, <code>ˆ</code> and <code>¨</code>) to vowels that were typed subsequently.

In the absence of a default dead key, even a normal printing key can temporarily be altered to function as a dead key by simultaneously holding down another modifier key (typically AltGr or [[Option key|Option]]). In [[Microsoft Word]] (and in most other text-input fields), using the [[Control key]] with a key that usually resembles the diacritic (e.g. <code>^</code> for a [[circumflex]]) acts as a dead key.<ref>{{cite web |title=How do I get letters with accent marks in Microsoft Word? |url=https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000657.htm |website=www.computerhope.com |access-date=21 February 2019 |language=en}}</ref> On the [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]], many keyboard layouts employ dead keys. For example, when {{key press|Option|i}} are first pressed simultaneously and then followed by {{key press|a}}, the result is ''â''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Enter characters with accent marks on Mac |url=https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/mh27474/mac |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=Apple Support |language=en}}</ref> On a Macintosh, pressing one of these Option-key combinations creates the accent and highlights it, then the final character appears when the key for the base character is pressed.{{citation needed |date=January 2023}}

However, some accented Latin letters less common in the major Western European languages, such as ''[[ŵ]]'' (used in [[Welsh language|Welsh]]) or ''[[š]]'' (used in many [[Central Europe]]an languages), cannot be typed with the "US" layout. For users with US keyboards, access to many more diacritics is provided by the "[[QWERTY#US-International|US International]]" keyboard layout. Users with UK keyboards have a similar option with [[QWERTY#United Kingdom (Extended) Layout|UK extended]] layout; many other national settings are available.

In [[AmigaOS]], dead keys are generated by pressing {{key press|Alt}} in combination with {{key press|F}} (acute), {{key press|G}} (grave), {{key press|H}} (circumflex), {{key press|J}} (tilde) or {{key press|K}} ([[Diaeresis (diacritic)|trema]]) (e.g., the {{key press|Alt|F}} combination followed by the {{key press|a}} key generates ''á'' and {{key press|Alt|F}} followed by {{key press|e}} generates ''é'', whereas {{key press|Alt|F}} followed by {{key press|a}} generates ''à'' and {{key press|Alt|G}} followed by {{key press|e}} generates ''è'').<ref>{{Cite book | author=Commodore-Amiga, Inc. | title=AMIGA ROM Kernel Reference Manual LIBRARIES | year=1992 | pages=823–827 | publisher=Addison-Wesley | isbn=0-201-56774-1}}</ref>