I need to write some French in a current work, using the Mac system of holding a letter key down to get access to the popup chooser for accents (1 = grave 2 = acute etc) doesn’t work within Dorico in either lyrics, text pop-over, or naming instruments etc. It simply repeats the letter as long as it’s held.
So searching here I find the Alt + letter combinations. However using the combo to get a grave accented E, I get an acute accented E. Is there a better way without having to open another app and copy and paste?
If you’re using a Mac, the best solution is to add the French keyboard layout in your system preferences, and use it when you need to write in French. É should be 2 and È 5 (my brain is not sure but my fingers know).
I have used this trick extensively when working on Janacek and Tchaikovsky’s works…
To get a grave-accented è, you type Alt+` followed by E. An acute-accented é is produced by typing Alt+E followed by E.
Using French keyboard messes up so many other things as I’m often working with Pages at the same time for lyrics, Numbers for the spreadsheet action list etc so I prefer to just add accents as and when. I’m pretty used to a French keyboard but there are limitations, and re-learning where the shortcuts are for Dorico on a French keyboard - no thanks…!
Ah it was that tiny (to my myopic eyes) grave accent key that I probably didn’t spot when I looked at the guide, thanks Daniel!