Method No. 1: Lexibar for French

Click here to download Lexibar for French

 

Click here to download Lexibar for French

Mehtod No. 2: Alt Keys 

The best way to type accents on a PC is by using the international keyboard, which requires a simple control panel configuration - there is no keyboard to purchase or software to download.

If you're really set against the international keyboard, you can type accented characters with ALT codes, which use the ALT key and a 3 or 4 digit code. However, ALT codes only work with the numeric keypad, not the row of numbers across the top of your keyboard. So they won't work on a laptop unless you hit number lock to activate the number pad "built into" the right-side of your keyboard, which is a big hassle because then the letters won't work. Bottom line, if you're on a laptop, choose a different keyboard rather than messing around with ALT codes.

To type accents with ALT codes, hold down the ALT key, then on the numeric keypad type the three or four digits listed here. When you release the ALT key, the character will appear.
a with grave accent

Hot Key	Number	Accented Letter
ALT	128	Ç
ALT	129	ü
ALT	130	é
ALT	131	â
ALT	132	ä
ALT	133	à
ALT	135	ç
ALT	136	ê
ALT	137	ë
ALT	138	è
ALT	139	ï
ALT	140	î
ALT	142	Ä
ALT	144	É
ALT	145	æ
ALT	146	Æ
ALT	147	ô
ALT	150	û
ALT	151	ù
ALT	154	Ü
ALT	0156	œ
ALT	0140	Œ
ALT	0192	À
ALT	0194	Â
ALT	0200	È
ALT	0202	Ê
ALT	0203	Ë
ALT	0206	Î
ALT	0207	Ï
ALT	0212	Ô
ALT	0217	Ù
ALT	0219	Û
ALT	174	«
ALT	175	»
ALT	0128	€

How to type special French letters by using their Alt Codes?

1. Make sure you switch on the NumLock,
2. Press and hold down the Alt key,
3. Type the Alt Code value of the special French letter, for example, for lowercase accent grave e, type 0232 on the numeric pad,
4. Release the Alt key and you got è.
    

** Above mentioned procedure is not aplicable for MacOS.

For Mac users:

Option Key and KeyCaps
To type accents on an Apple with the option key, hold down the option key while pressing the key(s) in bold in this list. For example, to type ê, hold the option key while typing i, then release both and type e. To type î, hold option, type i, release and type i again.?

Note: In these instructions, "and" means to keep holding the option key and the first key listed while typing the second. "Then" means to release the option key and the first key before typing the second.

acute accent  é   Hold option key and e then e
grave accent  à, è, ù   Hold option key and ` then a, e, or u
cedilla  ç   Hold option key and c
circumflex  â, ê, î, ô, û   Hold option key and i then a, e, i, o, or u
tréma  ë, ï, ü   Hold option key and u then e, i, or u
oe ligature  œ   Hold option key and q
To type any of the above as capital letters, add shift key to the first step. So for É, hold shift key, option key, and e, then e.
French quotation marks  «   Hold option key and \
»   Hold option key and shift key and \
Euro symbol  €   Hold option key and shift key and 2
KeyCaps (OS9 and below) is similar, but it gives you a keyboard to click.

Click on the apple on the top left of the screen
Open KeyCaps (a little keyboard will appear on the desktop)
Hold down the option key - the accents will appear and you can click on them with the mouse.
For example, to type ù, hold option, click `, type u. The accented character will appear.