Umlauts are a type of diacritical mark (two dots) placed over a letter to indicate a different vowel quality. These are very common in German and other languages.
Using these characters is often difficult for native speakers, but there are several ways to create and insert them on your keyboard. The most obvious way is to use the character map applet in Windows.
The other option is to create umlauts using a Unicode shortcut that is available in most Microsoft Office applications, including Word and Excel. You can also use the same method on a Mac, but you must press and hold Option+u to make it work.
For the Mac, you can find a list of umlaut keys that are used by Apple computers at the Apple Help Center website. There are also shortcuts for typing a, o, and u that are used in most programs on the Mac.
How to Make a Umlaut on Your Keyboard
One of the most difficult aspects of writing in German is generating umlauts, which are diacritical marks (two dots) placed over a letter that can change the sound of a vowel. If you are learning to write in German, it is helpful to know how to create these letters so that you can communicate efficiently.
You can use a combination of shortcuts to generate umlauts on your computer, depending on the operating system and keyboard layout you are using. You can also enter them using the character map in Windows or on the Character Viewer program on a Mac.
To use the shortcuts, open a document in any of the Microsoft Office applications, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Place your cursor at the point where you want to insert the umlaut.
Afterward, press and hold the Alt key on your keyboard. Then, enter the four-digit code for the character on the numerical keypad that is located on the right side of the keyboard. You can then release the Alt key and the character will appear in your document.
If you have a Windows PC, it is important to enable Num Lock on your computer. This will ensure that the character will appear when you type it on the numeric keypad. If you do not have this feature, it is still possible to type the character by copying and pasting it from the character map in Windows or by using the Charmap shortcut.
The shortcuts that are listed below will allow you to type a, o, and u on your keyboard quickly. You can also use the shortcuts for ss after a long vowel, which will make the ss character appear after a long press on the s.
To type a umlaut on your Windows PC, enable Num Lock and then hold down the Alt key. Type the four-digit code for the character on your numeric keypad and then release the Alt key. Alternatively, you can copy and paste accented characters from the Character Map in Windows or by using the Charmap program.