These instructions assumes you are using Windows 95/98/Me or Windows 2000/XP OS -- If are using MAC OS X, enable the Italian keyboard in System Preferences. As for MAC OS 9 or earlier, Good Luck! - Use your own computer knowledge.
MS Word
MS Office 2000, XP and 2003 for Windows have proofing tools for Italian, but the languages Proofing Tools must be purchased separately for about $75. Once installed. Word will automatically recognize the language you are using. Microsoft Office X for Mac has proofing tools included and can be installed from the ValuePack folder of the installation CD.
How do I assign vowel with accents to keyboard keys in MS Word?
1. Go to "Insert" on the Menu Bar.
2. Go to "Symbol"
3. Select the Font: "(normal text)"
4. Select the Subset: "Basic Latin"
5. Click on the character you want to assign (the character will be highlighted)
6. Click on "Shortcut Key"
7. On the keyboard, type the key combination you want to assign to the character. (ex. à = ALT+A)
8. Click "Assign" then "Close"
9. Repeat, starting at step 5, to assign other characters.
10. When finished, close the "Insert Symbol" dialog box"
11. Close the dialogue boxes - Your accented vowels are available on the keys you assigned.
WordPerfect
Note: WordPerfect includes proofing tools (spell check and thesaurus) for Italian, but they must be installed by running SETUP, Custom. When you get to Proofing Tools, scroll down to find "Italian" and select it. You may also install other languages if you need them. Note that the Academic and OEM versions greater than 9 do not include proofing tools for Italian.
When you work with a document in Italian, you have to set the Italian language by clicking: <Tools> <Setting> <Language> In the dialogue box that appears, type <IT> and press <OK>.
How do I assign vowel with accents to keyboard keys in WordPerfect? (I tested this in WordPerfect 6.1, 7, 8 and WordPerfect 2000 and 2002)
1. Go to "Tools" on the Menu Bar
2. Go to "Settings" ("settings" is found under "Format" in WP 7, under "Edit" in WP6.1)
3. Double-click the keyboard symbol with the word "Customize"
4. Click the "keyboard" tab
5. Only in WP 6.1, and 7: Click "create" (in WordPerfect 8 and 2000, you may edit the standard keyboard -- skip steps 5 & 6)
6. Only in WP 6, and 7 -- Type any name in the space provided
7. In the left window scroll down to the key where you want to assign the character (e.g. <ALT+A>
8. Click the "keystroke" tab on the left side of the dialogue box
9. In the white space, insert the character you need for the international characters provided by WordPerfect. You can get the international characters by pressing <CTRL+W>
10. In the Characters dialogue box go to "Multinational"
11. Scroll down until you find the character you need (e.g.. <à>
12. Click "Insert and close" - the character appears in the white area
13. Click "Assign keystroke to key (e.g. <ALT A>)
14. Repeat steps 7 to 14 to assign other characters to keys
15. When you finish, for WordPerfect 6.1 and 7, highlight your new keyboard, end click "select"
16. Close the dialogue boxes - Your accented vowels are available on the keys you assigned.
Here is a good alternative if you have no access to Microsoft Proofing Tools:
Open Office -- free download from its web site: http://www.openoffice.org/
This is an excellent alternative to both Word and WordPerfect, and it is a must if you only have MS Works. This application includes the spell check in Italian (as well as in most other languages), although it is a little tricky to find it. If you need help, let me know and I will give you the directions.
To insert vowels that require accents, follow the Windows directions.
If you are using MS Works, or any other word processor, you may copy each character from the Windows Character Map, available under <Start> <Programs> <Accessories> <Character map> in Window START menu.
Also you can install an Italian keyboard in Windows by going to Control Panel -- Keyboard -- Language (however, the Italian keyboard will change the position of some keys. Unless you have a good visual memory, stay away from this).