PC with French Keyboard

[ZansGirl 0]

ok...So when I am in Montreal I will using a PC with a French keyboard......could someone who is computer savvy let me know how I would send an email?? I get that the QWERTY will be different...so typing in English would be a bit trickier, but would I be able to change the settings or is everything gonna be in French??

Has anyone encountered this?? I know someone posted a review and mentioned the 'french keyboard is weird and it took her a few times to sign in' but I cannot seem to find that post.....Thanks!!

Edited January 30, 2010 by ZansGirl

[kizza 1]

ok...So when I am in Montreal I will using a PC with a French keyboard......could someone who is computer savvy let me know how I would send an email?? I get that the QWERTY will be different...so typing in English would be a bit trickier, but would I be able to change the settings or is everything gonna be in French??

Has anyone encountered this?? I know someone posted a review and mentioned the 'french keyboard is weird and it took her a few times to sign in' but I cannot seem to find that post.....Thanks!!

hmmm.... Im not sure I understand....

Here is how I do it. I work mainly in French but also type in English... I have the different keyboards installed through Windows, and i can switch from one to another by the click of a button (or by doing Alt + Shift).

Does that help?

The problem might be finding the @... which is hard to find in the french keyboard... so I switch to the English when I need it.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Is the operating system going to be in French as well?

You're question about 'how am I going to send an email' isn't clear. You'll still go to say...hotmail using your browser just as you normally would Frenchness won't change that

[Sam and Ben 2]

Most laptops sold in Canada have what you would call a "French" or "Bi-lingual" keyboard... It is no different, except for the fact that you may find other symbols on each of the keys that can be triggered by the same way you would use the shift or FN key, so that you might be able to add accents to your letters.

You would use it no differently than your normal keyboard. If you've bought a laptop in Canada or have seen such a laptop in Canada, you'd noticed symbols in perhaps muted colours above some of your keys... that's the only difference.

Example:

You've got nothing to worry about!

[ZansGirl 0]

i guess that was the question....i have no idea if the operating system is French or not.....all it said was PC with French keyboard. Guess I need to call...if the operating system is in French....can it toggle back and forth to English???

[Udella&Wiz 325]

i guess that was the question....i have no idea if the operating system is French or not.....all it said was PC with French keyboard. Guess I need to call...if the operating system is in French....can it toggle back and forth to English???

No - a French OS is always a French OS - it's a different install and comes that way - there is no toggling between English and French.

[ashenflowers 5]

I think I know what you're talking about. I encountered a French computer when I stayed in Montreal. You'll be able to figure it out. It will still type in English. You may have to change a few settings in order for it to be a little clearer, but if you have ANY French knowledge at all, and basic computer skillz (which you do obviously), you'll be able to figure it out. Don't worry.

[ZansGirl 0]

I think I know what you're talking about. I encountered a French computer when I stayed in Montreal. You'll be able to figure it out. It will still type in English. You may have to change a few settings in order for it to be a little clearer, but if you have ANY French knowledge at all, and basic computer skillz (which you do obviously), you'll be able to figure it out. Don't worry.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

I remember trying to navigate the computers in Italy when I was there on a student exchange in high school. The keyboard was basically the same, minus a bunch of strange symbols and random accents, but the operating system was in Italian. Thankfully Microsoft operating systems are virtually identical everywhere, so if you know where the key buttons are on your computer now, they will be in the same place despite not being able to read the words.

[ashenflowers 5]

No problem. Sam posted a great example of what the keyboard kinda looks like. It's a bit hard to figure out some things, and I never really got all of the features... lol But it's still usable!