Denmark: Typing Æ, Ø, and Å

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Instructions for typing the Danish letters Æ, Ø, and Å (Windows and MAC)

There are a few options to type the Danish letters Æ, Ø, and Å into a program such as PAF, FamilySearch, a search field of a database, a word processing document or your e-mail.

You can:


 * Activate the Danish Keyboard (for all Microsoft operating systems).
 * Use the 10 key pad, while holding down the Alt key and typing a code (for all Microsoft operating systems).
 * Copy and paste the Danish letters Æ, Ø, and Å from another document that already has them.

Here are the instructions for all three methods

Activate the Danish Keyboard for Windows XP
a) Go to Start b) Choose Settings c) Choose Control Panel d) Double Click Regional and Language Options In the window that opens, you will see 3 tabs. Choose Languages e) This opens Text Services and input languages, click on Details… f) This opens another window titled: Text Services and Input Languages, click on Add… g) This opens Add Input Language, click on drop down window for the field Input language: Scroll down and click on Danish and click OK h) Click Apply, and then OK i) Click Apply and OK again You might get a message saying that you need to put your Windows XP installation CD into the CD drive to install the file. j) Close the Control Panel

Using the Danish Keyboard in Windows
a) After activating the Danish keyboard, you should see a little icon in the lower right hand corner of your screen that appears as an EN.

b) When you click on the EN a pop up list appears with the option of choosing English or Danish. Choose Danish. Now the EN icon has changed to DA

c) As long as the little icon shows DA, you are using a Danish keyboard. The Danish keyboard provides the Æ, Ø, and Å as follows:


 * Æ is the ; (or : ) key
 * Ø is the ‘ (or “ ) key
 * Å is the [ (or { ) key

You can type the upper case or lower case of each letter by using holding down the Shift key as usual. While the Danish keyboard is activated, other keys have been rearranged as well.

Type the Æ, Ø, and Å using the 10 key pad and the Alt key.
When you want to type in a Danish letter you hold down the Alt key and type a code into the 10 key pad. Once you release the Alt key, the letter will appear. The codes are:


 * Æ is 146
 * æ is 145
 * Ø is 0216
 * ø is 0248
 * Å is 143
 * å is 134

If you are using a laptop which does not have a numeric keypad, you can use the Fn (function) key with the Alt key to access these special characters. The actions of the function key are usually below the main key action (e.g. under the J key on my keyboard is a number 1) and may also be in a different color. The keys used for numeric entries are usually as follows: M = 0, J = 1, K = 2, L = 3, U = 4, I = 5, O = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8, and 9 = 9. For example, to enter the Æ character, hold down both the Fn key and the Alt key, then type each key in sequence: J, then U, then O; when you release the Fn and Alt keys, the Æ character will appear in your text entry box.

Copy and paste the Æ, Ø, and Å from another document
a) This can be done by highlighting the letter, then with the mouse pointer on the highlighted text, do a right click on the mouse and choose copy (or hold down the Ctrl key while you type the letter c).

b) Move your mouse pointer to the location you want to paste. Click one time so the location curser is active. Right click on the mouse and choose paste (or hold down the Ctrl key while you type the letter v).

c) These characters are also in many of the fonts found in the Character Map (Start/All Programs/Accessories/Character Map) and can be selected, copied and pasted as above.

Instructions for MAC
1. Hold down the Option key, and type a u (the letter u). 2. Let go of the keys (don't hold them down for step 3). 3. Type the vowel over which you want the umlaut to appear.

Hold the Shift key down in step 3 Above. Option+A = å Shift+Option+A = Å

Option+' (apostrophe key) = æ Shift+Option+' = Æ

Option+O = ø Shift+Option+O = Ø