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How do you do your French homework? Do you use characters that aren't on your keyboard? If instant, simple accents and special characters is what you want, wherever you are in Windows then AX is just the very thing you need. And it's free.
AX allows you to alter any character's accent always using the same key. This applies to symbols as well. For example 2 then F8 gives ², e then F8 gives é, pressing F8 again gives ê and again gives è and so on. There is no need to remember any key combinations or use different keys for doing what is basically the same thing for example à, È « and ì are all created by typing the base character then F8 as required
Simple - Quick - Easy
  • AX should work the same in any word processor or editor
  • AX works anywhere including windows explorer, spreadsheets, web...
  • AX is supplied with eighteen languages ready to use.
  • AX is customisable to suit your own accenting or symbol needs.
  • AX is free, open source and continually being improved by users.

Unfortunately AX only runs on Windows
The installer is 870Kb. Save to a temporary location then run it.
It's all very straightforward.
Some anti-virus programs report this as a trojan. No it isn't. (But it is easy to see why they say so ... AX 'hooks the keyboard' like a trojan might.)

Accenting as you type

  • Type e then F8 . Ha! the screen now shows é. Press F8 again and see what happens. And again. And again. Keep going until you return to plain e.
  • Type E and repeat the F8 trick
  • Try the same with 2, c, $, A and I. It is always F8 that goes to the next alternative.

Later corrections

Suppose you were writing about an early french film maker Georges Méliès but had made a muddle of the accents. For sake of argument you had typed [Cut and paste this to your word processor to try it out] Geôrges Mêliés. Here is how you can put it straight.
  • Move the cursor to after the ô then press F8. How simple!
  • Move to just after ê and press F8 as many times as required to reach é.
  • Move to the final é and do the same.

Let's have fun!

Assuming you've been playing with Georges Méliès in your word processor, how about saving that file - with accents in the file name. Simple:
  • File, SaveAs, then type MeF8lieF8F8F8s and the extension and there you are.
  • Search for him on the Internet in exactly the same way.
  • AX should work with all your programs.

FAQ

  • Can I use some key other than F8? Yes
  • Can I select which language and symbols to use? Yes
  • Can I alter the accenting to whatever I like that suits me? Yes
  • Can I switch between say a Swedish and French AX on the same computer? Yes
  • Does it work with Unicode? Yes
  • Why is this sometimes reported as malware? Because it reads the keyboard in the same way as a trojan might. Everybody panic!
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