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How to Force Accents in MS Word
Jul. 20th, 2010 10:40 am.
I made a post about HTML codes for accented words, but did I ever tell you how to make MS Word give you the accented word you want, even if it's not part of the automatic process? I don't think so.
As I said in the post above, Microsoft Word will often put in the correct accent mark automatically. But what if it doesn't? Word considers 'latte' acceptable without the accent. It considers 'naivete' without the accent unacceptable -- gives the red spellchecker squiggle of doom -- but does not automatically correct it.
Note: this tip only works if you have spellchecker turned on: Tools - Spelling & Grammar - Options - Check spelling as you type. Some people don't like the Red Squiggle of Doom, but I find it useful. Whoops! Fumble-fingered mistype -- fix it!
1. The trick is to use the red squiggle, then right-click to access Word's internal dictionary and select the accented version. Under 'naivete', the dictionary offers both 'naiveté' and 'naïveté'. (Dictionary.com doesn't say whether one is preferable. I figure, 'naïve' has the i-umlaut, so 'naïveté' should also have it.)
2. If the typed word doesn't give the red squiggle alert -- as in 'latte' -- you can force it. Type 'lattee'; then right-click, and 'latté' is one of the selections.
But what if Word doesn't have a suggestion, as in senor? 'Señor' is not in the internal dictionary... but you can add it.
On the top menu bar, click Insert - Symbol. That opens a chart full of accented letters, Greek and Arabic characters, and various other symbols. Scan for the symbol you want -- in this case the ñ -- and select it. Then type the other letters around it to make 'señor'.
This leads to the Red Squiggle of Doom, but you want that. Now you can right click, and select 'Add to dictionary'. Now, when you deliberately mistype -- as in [2], above -- something like 'senoor', you can right-click on the squiggle, and 'señor' will be one of the possible selections. (Along with 'senior' and 'sensor'.) It's sooooo much easier than adding the special character each time you need it.
That's it -- as usual, it's longer to explain than do. Once you've added the accented words you frequently use to the internal dictionary, you'll save time and frustration when trying to create them.
As always, feel free to pass along the link to this post to anyone who needs it.
.
I made a post about HTML codes for accented words, but did I ever tell you how to make MS Word give you the accented word you want, even if it's not part of the automatic process? I don't think so.
As I said in the post above, Microsoft Word will often put in the correct accent mark automatically. But what if it doesn't? Word considers 'latte' acceptable without the accent. It considers 'naivete' without the accent unacceptable -- gives the red spellchecker squiggle of doom -- but does not automatically correct it.
Note: this tip only works if you have spellchecker turned on: Tools - Spelling & Grammar - Options - Check spelling as you type. Some people don't like the Red Squiggle of Doom, but I find it useful. Whoops! Fumble-fingered mistype -- fix it!
1. The trick is to use the red squiggle, then right-click to access Word's internal dictionary and select the accented version. Under 'naivete', the dictionary offers both 'naiveté' and 'naïveté'. (Dictionary.com doesn't say whether one is preferable. I figure, 'naïve' has the i-umlaut, so 'naïveté' should also have it.)
2. If the typed word doesn't give the red squiggle alert -- as in 'latte' -- you can force it. Type 'lattee'; then right-click, and 'latté' is one of the selections.
But what if Word doesn't have a suggestion, as in senor? 'Señor' is not in the internal dictionary... but you can add it.
On the top menu bar, click Insert - Symbol. That opens a chart full of accented letters, Greek and Arabic characters, and various other symbols. Scan for the symbol you want -- in this case the ñ -- and select it. Then type the other letters around it to make 'señor'.
This leads to the Red Squiggle of Doom, but you want that. Now you can right click, and select 'Add to dictionary'. Now, when you deliberately mistype -- as in [2], above -- something like 'senoor', you can right-click on the squiggle, and 'señor' will be one of the possible selections. (Along with 'senior' and 'sensor'.) It's sooooo much easier than adding the special character each time you need it.
That's it -- as usual, it's longer to explain than do. Once you've added the accented words you frequently use to the internal dictionary, you'll save time and frustration when trying to create them.
As always, feel free to pass along the link to this post to anyone who needs it.
.
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