"@" button problems with laptop... help!!!!
"@" button problems with laptop... help!!!!
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Discussion

blueyes

Original Poster:

4,799 posts

282 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
My niece is in france with an Acer laptop and can't get her "@" button to print an @. I don't often use a laptop so I'm stuck. Tried on my Acer by pressing "shift" and "@" and it works.

Any ideas please?

Ta.

TheLemming

4,319 posts

295 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
I've seen this one before, try the " on the 2 key. (shift plus 2).
If that doesnt work try the other keys to find out where its been mapped to...

IIRC the keymap is set incorrectly, its a software setting change thats pretty simple, search for "keyboard map" in the help option and follow instructions.

Edited to add, I had to use a Dell laptop at work some time ago that was similarly buggered. For some reason most of the shift+whatever button combos produced something utterly different, many of them the same thing. The only solution then was to copy and paste it...

>> Edited by TheLemming on Monday 9th January 18:10

Liszt

4,337 posts

300 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
Try Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Accessability -> On screen keyboard.

SS2.

14,712 posts

268 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
Its likely that the keyboard will be set to US rather than UK configuration..

As above, shift and 2 should do the bizz..

>> Edited by SS2. on Monday 9th January 18:06

Trooper2

6,676 posts

261 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
SS2. said:
Its likely that the keyboard will be set to US rather than UK configuration..

As above, shift and 2 should do the bizz..

>> Edited by SS2. on Monday 9th January 18:06



Shift + 2 gives @ on a U.S. keyboard as well.

MarkBarton

428 posts

293 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
Shift+2 should work but just in case, click Start, Run, type charmap and click OK. You can select any character, copy it to the clipboard and paste it into whatever.

_dobbo_

14,619 posts

278 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
Assuming Shift+2 does fix it, for a "proper" solution, go to

Control panel->Regional options->input locales and choose English (united kingdom) then set this as the default.

Should then find the keys are correct.

m1spw

5,999 posts

255 months

Monday 9th January 2006
quotequote all
I had this problem on an older laptop. It was horrible trying to remember which way round the keys were.

blueyes

Original Poster:

4,799 posts

282 months

Tuesday 10th January 2006
quotequote all
Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

I'll call her today, try them all and let you know.

r988

7,496 posts

259 months

Wednesday 11th January 2006
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I get this on my work dell sometimes, just change the language back to English, I put a little icon next to the task bar to do this easily.

Since my laptop uses a US style keyboard its never been much of a problem though since I know where it is without thinking anyway, why the Uk didnt keep the same layout and put the pound sign as a ctrl alt number command like the Euro symbol I dont know.