Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Here you can discuss all things Latin. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Latin, and more.
Post Reply
User avatar
Quin Firefrorefiddle
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:53 am

Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by Quin Firefrorefiddle »

Hey, so I saw the tutorial... er, somewhere... about how to change the options on the language bar so you can type in other languages, and I've got the Greek Poly and the Greek Latin keyboard setups added, and they work fine- only I can't seem to figure out what the dead key is for my keyboard. I'm using an EeePC and I think that might mean that my dead key isn't one of the usuals- I can get an accent grave just fine, but for macrons and the like neither Ctrl or Alt seem to work.

The tutorial didn't make it terribly clear which of the three keys should be pressed simultaneously, and which in sequence, or at least I remember being confused. But still, I tried several combinations and none work. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks!
Pax vobiscum!

adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by adrianus »

I don't really know but try this: press the [~`] tilde key (without SHIFT) then the [a] or whatever key.
Incertus sum sed conare hoc: titulum malleolum [~`] comprime, tunc vocalis [a] malleolum vel quodcunque.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... layLang=en
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

User avatar
Quin Firefrorefiddle
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:53 am

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by Quin Firefrorefiddle »

When I have my keyboard set to Greek Latin in the language bar, and I press ` followed by an a, I get: à (not in this window, but in Openoffice). Same thing happens if I press left-Alt at the same time as the tilde.

When I press Shift and ~ followed by an a, I get: ã.

When I press right-Alt and a at the same time, I get: á And I get several other characters when I use right-alt, but nothing with macrons. Some of the letters don't seem to have options for that, where would I go to mess around with keyboard shortcuts for my international setups?
Pax vobiscum!

adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by adrianus »

On Macs you have the Keyboard Viewer and the Character Palette floating windows with which you can scan all your possible options. I forget what's the equivalent on the PC. [*] In Word you have the "Symbol..." option in the Insert menu.

Cum Mac computatris fenestras natantes et characterum et ad seriem malleolorum videndam habes, per quas possibilitates optionis perlegare potes. Obliviscor eius quod simile est in PC computatro. [*] In Word programmate in "Insert" tabellâ "Symbol..." optionem habes.[/i]

Post Scriptum. [*] "Character Map" in PC (Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map)
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

User avatar
Smythe
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 99
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 2:31 pm
Location: Austin, Texas

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by Smythe »

Howdy ....

Adrianus has put forth some pretty good information.

I didn't respond at first because it seemed like you were going after Greek macrons at first.

If you are just going after Latin Macrons in either Windows or MacOS (( ĀĒĪŌŪ āēīōū -sorry, no "y"s)), then do as Adrianus said and shift your keyboard to Maori, and then use the tilde plus the vowel (upper or lower case). This works in MS Word, Note Pad, Word Pad and these forums, but not in everything. Make sure that when you change applications that you check your Language Bar. It will tend to put you back into English when going to different applications.

For a really comprehensive website dealing with this, go here: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/inte ... latin.html

adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by adrianus »

I didn't make it clear, Quin Firefrorefiddle, that the Character Map in Windows (Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map) indicates the available keyboard shortcuts (less nicely than on the Mac, though, in my opinion).

Hoc dicere omisi, Quin Firefrorefiddle: programma dictum in PC "Character Map" nomine (minùs scitè autem quàm in Mac, ut opinor) compendiarias praebitas in serie malleorum indicat.
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

User avatar
Lex
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 732
Joined: Thu Apr 24, 2003 6:34 pm
Location: A top-secret underground llama lair.

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by Lex »

Maori?! I never woulda thought to try Maori. Thanks for the tip. I've been trying to figure out a good way of doing macrons for a while now.
I, Lex Llama, super genius, will one day rule this planet! And then you'll rue the day you messed with me, you damned dirty apes!

adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by adrianus »

On the Mac too, you can switch keyboard to Maori and back (if you don't use the Maori one everyday) but it's faster to use the Character Palette since I use also the grave, acute and circumflex typically.

Ità, et in Mac inter series malleorum Maorianam et cotidianam (nisi quâque die Maorianâ uteris) permutare potes at citiùs est fenestrâ characterum uti, quià ego et gravem accentum et acutum et circumflectum adhibere soleo.

Vide etiam pro Mac praeter series malleorum fictas haec:
See these also for customized "Unicode Keyboards for Mac OS":
http://wordherd.com/keyboards/ and http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/ ... n2056.html.
Id facere nunquàm aggressus sum. // I've never tried this.

O dear, I missed this. Pity. // Quàm miserum! Hoc anteà non animadverti:
http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/technotes/tn2002/tn2056.html wrote:WARNING: Please note that in Mac OS X 10.5 and onward, /System/Library/Keyboard Layouts/Unicode.bundle has been replaced by AppleKeyboardLayouts.bundle, which does not contain any user-readable XML keyboard layouts.
I found this for Mac and will definitely check it out to try to make a Latin language keyboard:
Hoc pro Mac inveni quod certè explorabo ut seriem malleorum pro latinâ linguâ habeam:
http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page ... id=ukelele
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

User avatar
Hampie
Textkit Member
Posts: 176
Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2006 10:51 pm
Location: Holmia, Suecia
Contact:

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by Hampie »

The USA extended keyboard support more accent marks than one know exist! opt+a makes the macron, and then you just type the letter, and voila you’ve got a macroned letter. A lot more diacritical marks are available, just play around with the option-key and try them out :3.
Här kan jag i alla fall skriva på svenska, eller hur?

User avatar
Quin Firefrorefiddle
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 30
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2010 12:53 am

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by Quin Firefrorefiddle »

Hey everybody, thank you for the help. I had been using the character map- but with international keyboard options, I didn't see much point in memorizing the Unicode numbers for each macron and copy-pasting was getting annoying. I will try the Maori keyboard- I'm not sure what the point of the Greek Latin one is, in that case, but I'll probably just delete it from my options. I do think that having a netbook (and therefore, for example, no option key) makes this harder, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

Thanks again! (My Lingua Latina College Companion should arrive today or Monday, I'm very excited!)

ETA: The macrons work beautifully with the Maori keyboard, thank you!
Pax vobiscum!

adrianus
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 3270
Joined: Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:45 pm

Re: Typing Macrons w/Netbook

Post by adrianus »

àèìòùááéíóúâêîôûāēīōūĀĒĪŌŪăĕĭŏŭĂĔĬŎŬ

I made a new keyboard with Ukelele today and then discovered that all the accented characters we need for Latin (with acute, grave, circumflex or caret, macron, breve) are ALREADY in the USExtended keyboard layout on the Mac! The Ukelele tutorial uses USExtended in a tutorial!
I'm posting this and suddenly I read your note from yesterday, Hampie. That's incredible. I can't believe I've missed that for so long. Brilliant. And on PC! Ah, good old US of A! The pen not the sword, bytes before bombs!

Novam seriem malleorum pro Latino per Ukelele hodiè finxi. Tunc inveni omnes characteres cum accentis requisitis (acuto, grave, circumflecto, longo, breve) in compositione USExtended nomine in Mac computatro jam exstare! Exercitium in Ukelele eam seriem adhibet!
Hanc epistulam mitto et statìm tuam, Hampie, quod herì scripsisti lego. Quod tàm diù hoc praeterivi incredibile mihi est. Quàm mirum! Et in PC computatro! Et quàm boni U[niti] S[tatus] A[mericae] cari! Caput non capulum, bitos non bombas!
I'm writing in Latin hoping for correction, and not because I'm confident in how I express myself. Latinè scribo ut ab omnibus corrigar, non quod confidenter me exprimam.

Post Reply