I just couldn’t complete an online language test because I couldn’t type the “umlaut”.
I realize this has been an issue for many years, but is there a solution available or in the making?
You can set a key as composition key. I use CTRL right for this purpose. In a terminal (as user), type this command:
$ setxkbmap -keycodes "evdev+aliases(qwerty)" -rules evdev -option terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp -option ctrl:nocaps** -option compose:rctrl**
The last option (in red in the code above) is the relevant one.
Press RCTRL (right control) + SHIFT + " (double quote)
Next press the vowel you need - In german this will be “a”, “o” or “u”, in french “e” or “i” - to get an umlaut (or tréma) on it.
ä ë ï ö ü
Notice that, in german, you can always write ae, oe or ue instead of ä, ö, ü.
- Of course, there ia an easier way to set a composition key in KDE. If you stay tuned, KDE users will explain you how (I don’t have that in mind right now).
It is a bit off topic, but it is not true. It is just an ugly by-pass. And wen these characters are used in proper names, nobody likes it wen her/his name is mutilated (and when addressed improperly you can decide that the tax bill is not yours and throw it away 
).
And to the OP: there are much more combinations that can be made in this way. Most are intuitive enough to get:
ç ş ¹ ⁸ é È â ß œ ṅ € ā å
I still have to find all of them rotfl!
On 04/03/2013 11:16 AM, hcvv wrote:
> addressed improperly you can decide
> that the tax bill is not yours and throw it away
great idea! i’m gonna change my name!
tax free here i come!!
–
ÐÐ
Well, it is for sure. It came from the time where Ä,Ö, Ü didn’t exist on typewritters, so people had to type AE, OE and UE.
For lowercase, it is actually mostly used while typing on computers and not finding the compose key. lol!
But every German will know what you mean … well at least every old guy like us. Who knows how young people write since the last spelling reform? lol!
I found using a compose key for umlauts too awkward, since umlauts appear quite often. So while I am using a layout with a compose key for letters in other languages, I changed my layout so that Alt+u provides ü and Alt+Shift+a provides Ä.
Let me know if you are interested in this alternative, but need more info.
OK I got it working.
SHIFT+RCTRL , then letgo, then the accent you want eg double quote, then the letter.
ë é ä á
thanks for the tips.