67How do I type accents without a number pad?
If you have an
‘embedded’
number pad,
hold down the
Function (Fn)
key (left) in
conjunction with
the keys around
J, K and L for
accent options.
Alternatively,
use Windows’
touch keyboard
feature (below)Q
I frequently need to include
accented letters. My old laptop
had a separate number pad, so
it was no problem. Unfortunately, my
new laptop does not. I feel sure there
must be a simple workaround, but so
far I have not discovered it. Please help!
Patrick ShepherdA
There are a few options here.
It sounds like up until now
you’ve been using what are
known as Alt codes to type accented
characters. This involves holding down
Alt and then tapping some digits on the
number pad. First, then, are you sure
your new laptop doesn’t have an
‘embedded’ number pad? This is where
some keys, typically in a ‘square’
around J, K and L, have secondary
functions as number pad keys. If yours
has one, you can hold down the
Function (Fn) key to use these keys as
you do a real number pad (pictured
above right).
If not, then you might be able to type
the accents you need using other
keyboard shortcuts. For example, to
type an acute accent you can hold
down Control (Ctrl)+’ (the apostrophe
key), and then type the letter. There arefar too many of these shortcuts to detail
here, but Microsoft has published a
comprehensive list at http://www.snipca.
com/41537.
Alternatively, you could use the touch
keyboard feature in Windows. Right-click
a blank part of the taskbar and then click
to tick ‘Show touch keyboard button’.
Now, when you need to type an accented
letter, first click the touch keyboard icon
in the notification area, at the far
right-hand side of the taskbar. Then, on
the touch keyboard that appears, click
and hold on the letter for which you wantto see a panel of accent options – and
then insert the one you want by
clicking it (see screenshot above).Can I move my
Windows drive?
Q
I’m going to be changing my
6th-generation processor to an
11th-generation Intel Core i5,
and get a more modern motherboard. I
have Windows 10 installed on an NVMe
SSD and storage is on two separate hard
drives. My question is, when I install the
NVMe in the new motherboard will it
automatically pick up the Windows
installation and installed programs?
Or will I have to do a clean install of
Windows? I can’t remember seeing
this being asked before, although it
probably has.
Andy Cowley
A
It’s a good question. The answer
isn’t necessarily simple, because
it comes down to what type of
Windows licence you have. If it’s a ‘retail’
licence – meaning you purchased
Windows 10 (or Windows 8 or 7 before it)
from a physical or online store – then you
can probably just plug in and go. Well,
more or less: it is likely that the
significant hardware changes will prompt
a demand for Windows to be activated
afresh, but, as long as you have the
product key, that should be plain sailing.
However, if your Windows licence isfrom an original equipment
manufacturer (OEM), meaning it was
pre-installed on the computer when you
bought it, then forget it: this type of
licence is not transferable.
To check your licence type, click Start,
type cmd and then click Command
Prompt. Now type slmgr /dli and press
Enter. The box that appears will reveal
your licence type.Type ‘slmgr /dli’ in Command
Prompt (1); press Enter to see which
Windows licence you have (2)Issue 631 • 11 – 24 May 20221
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