Making the @ sign on a European Computer
 

HELP!

My mother is off to Europe this Thursday. She just called and wants to know how to make the @sign so she can access hotmail. I can't remember and I have tried a few ideas on my keyboard, but...

Thanks!

Pressing AltGr + 2 :) That's the way it works in my Spanish keyboard :)

On my French keyboard, it's AltGr + 0.

Thanks. This will really confuse her that it's different at different places.

I suggested she (A) copy and paste, but she seems to think she needs to know how to do this or (B) Ask, but Something tells me that if she doesn't know how she just won't email. (Which is fine, she can call if there is a real crisis!)

Ok, then she has to use Ascii code, that's international :) NumLock switched on and then Alt + 64 (the number written in the numerical keyboard , the little one ) :)))

CarolA - You might want to check out the following website. You can also print out the various keyboard configurations.


http://www.sussex.ac.uk/its/faciliti...eyboards.shtml

Where will she be using a computer? Since it obviously won't be her own keyboard, isn't there someone she can ask? I always have to ask this question at internet cafes in Europe. Yes, they are different.
Often, though the key to use with the Alt key will have the @ symbol on it.

Good question. Europe is not a country, it is about 45 countries and just about every one has it's own unique keyboard. Ask the manager of the internet joint for instructions before you start the meter.

There are some e-mail addresses which require you to be able to type the @ symbol, even to be able to get into your e-mail ([email protected] for example - - and yes, [email protected] as well!)

But make sure she knows how to get here - - to Fodors - - and search for "CarolA" will bring her to this thread.

And make sure she knows how to cut and past and have two windows open at once - - since you have the @ symbol right in the message header of this posting!

Best wishes,

Rex

Finding an exclamation point on a French keyboard is also interesting, especially when it's part of a access code. No one in our hotel could tell us how to find the character.

Okay, Underhill! I used one exclamation point in my earlier post... but here you go, again!

...and again!

The exclamation point on a French keyboard is right under the Section symbol (§) on the lower right of the keyboard, next to the shift key.

To produce an at sign @ on any Windows keyboard:

1. Make sure the Num Lock light is lit, indicating that the numeric keypad is locked in number mode. If it's not lit, press the Num Lock key to light it (in other languages it has different names, but it's usually not too hard to find).

2. Press and hold the Alt key while you type 064 on the numeric keypad.

This will generate an 'at' sign @ on any Windows computer, irrespective of the keyboard layout.

If she's at an internet cafe she can try asking for an "American keyboard. They'll usually plug one in for you! Makes typing a LOT easier.

AnthonyGA, you are brilliant! I use those "alt" codes to type German letters (ü, for instance is 0252 with the alt key). But they disappeared from my computer at work about a month ago, along with certain symbols I could type that way, like §, and the IT people here said they didn't know what I was talking about and couldn't fix the problem. So just now I hit the "num lock" key, and my unlauts are back in use. Thanks for the hint.

kenderina, you are brilliant! And much quicker than AGA. :))

You're right, I didn't see Kenderina's post. . . . It was the "num lock light on" in AGA's that caught my attention. I never realized what that was. Now I wonder what else I have actived or de-activated by turning it on?

Alas! The keyboard that my husband was using did not have the ! sign anywhere on the board; it finally turned out to be a special key sequence.

Just for future reference: you can form any character in the Windows Character Map* by clicking on it and noting the numeric sequence in the lower right-hand corner of the window.

Enter this number on the numeric keypad as described above.

*The name of the program is CHARMAP, and you can either launch it from the Run window or find it in the Programs|Accessories menu.

For hotmail, you don't actually have to type the "@hotmail.com", just type your username and press tab, and the rest will come up.