For Windows 95, 98, Me, 2000 do the following:

1. Click Start button
2. Click Settings
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click Keyboard
5. Click on Language Tab (Input Locales Tab for Win 2000)
6. Now you should see an entry line for English, click on English to highlight it if it is not already highlighted.
7. Click the Properties button
8. Open the drop-down box and select United States-International.
9. Click all OK buttons - depending on the way Windows is installed on your computer, you may need to insert the Windows CD disk (part of the software that was bundled with your computer when it was purchased

For Windows XP do the following:

1. Click Start button
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click Regional & Language Options (depending on your desktop settings, you may need to select Date, Time, Language and Regional Options in the Pick a category window, then select Regional & Language Options)
4. Select Languages tab in the dialog box
5. Click the Details button
6. Text Services and Input Languages dialog box should now be open - in the Installed Services area click the Add button
7. Add Input Language dialog box should now be open - select English in the Input language drop-down slot
8. If there is a check box to the left of Keyboard layout/IME, click the check box to add a check mark for Keyboard layout/IME (otherwise, ignore this step)
9. Open the drop-down slot for Keyboard layout/IME and select United States-International from the list.
10. Click the OK button for the Add Input Language dialog box
11. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, in the Default input language area, open the drop-down list and select English (United States) - United States - International
12. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click the Language Bar button to open the Language Bar Settings dialog box
13. Place a check mark in the check box next to Show Language bar on the desktop
14. Close all dialog boxes by clicking their OK buttons. Your computer should now be set for International Keyboard.

For Windows 7 do the following:

1. Click Start button
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click Region & Language
4. Select the Keyboards and Languages tab
5. Click the Change Keyboards button
6. Select the General tab and click the Add button
7. Scroll the list down and find English (United States) - expand the list under English (United States)
8. Click the check box next to United States International
9. Close all dialog boxes by clicking their OK buttons. Your computer should now be set for International Keyboard.

For Mac OS X 10.6 and higher do the following:

1. Click on the apple (upper-left corner of screen)
2. Select System Preferences in the menu
3. Click on Language & Text
4. Click on the Input Sources tab
5. In the Input Methods list on the left, scroll down and enable U.S. International - PC
6. At the bottom of the dialog box, make sure there is a check in the check box labeled Show Input Menu in menu bar
7. Your computer is now configured to use the International Keyboard as an option

Using the International Keyboard (use for French, German, Italian and Spanish)

For Windows: First, open the software you intend to use (e.g., Microsoft Word) and make sure that the software has the focus (click inside the software window). If you have more than one input language installed on your computer, the active language is indicated on the Taskbar (e.g., English is represented by the letters EN as illustrated below ). If you have multiple languages installed, make sure EN appears on the taskbar (if not click on the two letters representing the active language and select the English (United States) from the menu). Now click the keyboard icon and select United States - International on the menu. The International keyboard is now active. Follow the directions below for entering accented characters.

For Mac OS X: find the Input Menu on the menu bar (nearer to right side at top of screen - it should have a US flag as the icon if set to English - US). Click on the flag and select US International - PC. The computer is now set to use the International Keyboard.

There are three keys on the keyboard that are used in combination with other keys to produce characters with accents. These keys are:

1) the single/double quote key
2) the 6/circumflex key
3) the grave/tilde key.

Acute - strike the single quote key (key just to left of Enter key) and then the vowel desired.
Example: strike single quote then a for á

Grave - strike the grave key (key just below the Esc key) and then the vowel desired.
Example: strike the grave key then e for è

Umlaut - hold down the Shift key and strike the double quote key (just left of Enter key), release these keys and then strike the vowel.
Example: strike Shift + double quote then u for ü

Circumflex - hold down the Shift key and strike circumflex (number 6 key), release these keys and then strike the vowel.
Example: strike Shift + circumflex then e for ê

Tilde - hold down the Shift key and strike the tilde key (key just below the Esc key), release these keys and strike the character desired.
Example: strike Shift + tilde then n for ñ

Special Characters

ç hold down the right ALT key and strike the comma key (use Shift + ALT for capital) - For Mac OS X: hold down Option key and press the C key.

ß hold down the right ALT key and strike the s key - For Mac OS X: hold down Option key and press the S key

¿ hold down the right ALT key and strike the forward slash/? key - For Mac OS X: hold down both the Shift and Option keys and press the ? key

¡ hold down the right ALT key and strike the number one/! key - For Mac OS X: hold down the Option key and press the ! key

Since the single/double quote key acts differently than on a standard keyboard, you must strike the space bar after these keys if you want the single or double quote rather than the accent.