When discussing Germany or Austria, I notice some use the umlaut and some don't (i.e. Wurzburg). To my knowledge, I'm not able to do that on my keyboard. I've been instructed to use the right alt key + another key, but that doesn't work for me. Nothing appears on the screen when I do that. Do I need a special keyboard?

Here's a link to answer your question Maggi:
http://www.howtotype.net/category/umlaut/
hth,

You should hold down ALT key, while you use the separate numeric keypad on the right of the keyboard, to type numbers.

The codes are alt + numbers, as below:

ä 0228, ë 0235, ö 0246, ü 0252

Ä 0196 ,Ë 0203, Ö 0214 ,Ü 0220

Another alternative is to use the following spellings:

ä = ae
ö = oe
ü = ue
ß = ss

This mostly works if you are typing place names into websites such as bahn.de.

In the German-speaking world there is a different keyboard than the QWERTY keyboard, and the umlauted characters are represented on it.

Lavandula

Here's a handy web site for typing all sorts of symbols:

http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/i...s/codealt.html

Thank ü !!!!!

Valtor, it was your suggestion to use the keypad that did the trick for me. I was trying to do this using the numeric keys at the top and nothing was happening. Thanks again everyone.

It's perfectly fine if you omit the "Umlaut" in a word - proper English spelling of these places simply doesn't have them. So unless you are using a poncey "Milano" in English if you are referring to the major Northern Italian city of Milan, you can well just refer to Dusseldorf rather than using it with the proper "ü" or the easier "ue"-substitution.

Germans will normally revert to adding an e to the similar vowel if they are faced with a keyword without the "Umlaut".

With the major places there won't be any problem. The only exception I can think of are the towns of Munster and Muenster (Münster), where the spelling actually results in a different destination.

I agree that most wouldn't need to use this, hsv, but I speak German and do write to my relatives in Germany and have often wondered how to get those umlauts in my correspondence.

Wow, this turned out to be quite an interesting thread! Now I don't feel so dumb about leaving off the umlaut. It's not as easy as you'd think - at least not for an American! OK, I'm trying the umlaut here: rüdesheim. Yay! (Yes, I know I should have capitalized the "R" here!)

On my keyboard I use shift " then the letter to get ä. If I want to use double quotation marks I have to type "space. It is set to US-International keyboard btw, and I use Windows 7 - it also worked with earlier Windows.

Much easier than remembering ASCII codes .

I use Microsoft's tool on my PC

>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Character Map

Just copy into your document.

I use the same method hetismij uses - MUCH easier than those stupid codes. Set your keyboard to US International, then hold down the " key while typing the letter you want with the umlaut. Same thing for any other accented letter.

One way I do it is to type what I want in Word, where you can insert umlauts and other symbols. Then I cut and paste to where I want it to go.

It's Option + u for the Mac set ... ü, ö, etc.

Thanks for the link! Now, does anyone know how to type the he COEXIST bumper sticker?

StCirq, I set my keyboard to US International but when I hold down the " key it just gives me a bunch of """"""""""""""""""" What am I doing wrong?

Maggi, hit Shift, then the " key and then whatever letter you want the umlaut to go over. Actually, the only thing you have to hold down is the Shift key, and just long enough to hit the "

Thanks, flowlow. I put that link on my Favorites Bar.

Ooops, now that I have the Shift " option, it also tries to put umlauts on everything I try to capitolize! I might have to set it back to US after all...