The special German characters, also referred to as “Umlauts”, can be accessed in different ways. Please note that these special characters are essential. When you write in German, you have to use the “Umlauts” (Ä, ä, Ö, ö, Ü, ü) and the “special s” (ß) . You cannot substitute these special characters by spelling them differently. You must use them also in tests, exams and assignments. Failure to do so will result in lower marks.
The simplest way is to install a German keyboard on your device. Below are links to sites that explain how to do that on different devices.
Windows Desktop or Laptop Computer
You can also simply cut and paste from a yellow bar with the special German characters:
This bar will appear on pages where you will have to access special characters in order to complete an exercise.
Finally, you can also use Alt key combinations (Windows) or Option keys (Mac). Go to the special characters menu item under “Resources” for a complete list of keystrokes for both Windows and Mac environments. When you need to type a special character in an exercise or when you write a German text, you can always pull down the shortcuts from the “Resources” tab. You can also print the shortcuts and have them handy while you type.