International Language Environments Guide

How to Use Compose and Dead Key Input

To insert characters with diacritical marks or special characters from Latin-1, Latin-2, Latin-4, Latin-5, and Latin-9, you must type a Compose key sequence, as described in the following examples.

To display the Ä character:

  1. Press and release the Compose key.

  2. Press Shift and the A key simultaneously. Release Shift-A.

  3. Press and release the ” key.

To display the ¿, character:

  1. Press and release the Compose key.

  2. Press and release the ? key.

  3. Press and release the ? key.

When there is no Compose key available on your keyboard, you can emulate its operation by simultaneously pressing the Control key and the Shift key.

For the input of the Euro currency symbol (Unicode value U+20AC) from the locale, you can use any one of following input sequences:

With these input sequences, you press both keys simultaneously. If no AltGraph key is available on your keyboard, you can use certain alternative euro sign input sequences such as Compose e = or Compose c =.

The following tables show the most commonly used compose sequences for Latin-1, Latin-2, Latin-3, Latin-4, Latin-5, and Latin-9 script input for the Oracle Solaris operating system.

The following table lists the common Latin-1 Compose key sequences.

Table A–1 Common Latin-1 Compose Key Sequences

Press Compose, then Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

spacebar 

spacebar 

no-break space 

superscripted 1 

2

superscripted 2 

3

superscripted 3 

!

inverted exclamation mark 

o

currency symbol ¤ 

!

paragraph symbol ¶ 

u

mu u 

"

acute accent ´ 

, (comma)

cedilla Ç 

"

diaeresis ¨ 

^

macron ¯ 

o

degree ° 

x

multiplication sign x 

-

plus-minus ± 

-

soft hyphen – 

:

division sign ÷ 

ordinal (feminine) ª 

ordinal (masculine) º 

, (comma) 

not sign ¬ 

middle dot · 

vulgar fraction ½ 

vulgar fraction ¼ 

vulgar fraction ¾ 

left double angle quotation mark « 

right double angle quotation mark » 

inverted question mark ¿ 

` (backquote) 

A grave À 

' (single quote) 

A acute Á 

A ring above Å 

A diaeresis Ä 

A circumflex  

A tilde à

AE diphthong Æ 

, (comma) 

C cedilla Ç 

copyright sign © 

Capital eth ð 

` (backquote) 

E grave È 

E acute É 

E diaeresis Ë 

E circumflex Ê 

` (backquote) 

I grave Ì 

'

I acute Í 

"

I diaeresis Ï 

^

I circumflex Π

-

pound sign £ 

~

N tilde Ñ 

` (backquote)

O grave Ò 

'

O acute Ó 

/

O slash Ø 

"

O diaeresis Ö 

^

O circumflex Ô 

~

O tilde Õ 

O

registered mark ® 

H

Thorn þ 

` (backquote)

U grave Ù 

U acute Ú 

U diaeresis Ü 

U circumflex Û 

Y acute ý 

yen sign ¥ 

` (backquote) 

a grave à 

a acute á 

a ring above å 

a diaeresis ä 

a tilde ã 

a circumflex â 

ae diphthong æ 

, (comma) 

c cedilla ç 

cent sign ¢ 

copyright sign © 

eth ð 

` (backquote) 

e grave è 

e acute é 

e diaeresis ë 

e circumflex ê 

` (backquote) 

i grave ì 

i acute í 

i diaeresis ï 

i circumflex î 

n tilde ñ 

` (backquote) 

o grave ò 

o acute ó 

o slash ø 

o diaeresis ö 

o circumflex ô 

o tilde õ 

German double s ß also known as sharp S 

thorn þ 

` (backquote) 

u grave ù 

u acute ú 

u diaeresis ü 

u circumflex û 

y acute y 

y diaeresis ÿ 

broken bar ¦ 

The following table lists the common Latin-2 Compose key sequences.

Table A–2 Common Latin-2 Compose Key Sequences

Press Compose, then Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

k

k

kra 

A

_

A macron 

E

_

E macron 

E

.

E dot above 

G

,

G cedilla 

I

_

I macron 

I

~

I tilde 

I

a

I ogonek 

K

,

K cedilla 

L

,

L cedilla 

N

,

N cedilla 

O

_

O macron 

R

,

R cedilla 

T

|

T stroke 

U

~

U tilde 

U

a

U ogonek 

U

_

U macron 

N

N

Eng 

a

_

a macron 

e

_

e macron 

e

.

e dot above 

g

,

g cedilla 

i

_

i macron 

i

~

i tilde 

i

a

i ogonek 

k

,

k cedilla 

l

,

l cedilla 

n

,

n cedilla 

o

_

o macron 

r

,

r cedilla 

t

|

t stroke 

u

~

u tilde 

u

a

u ogonek 

u

_

u macron 

n

n

eng 

     

The following table lists the common Latin-3 Compose key sequences.

Table A–3 Common Latin-3 Compose Key Sequences

Press Compose, then Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

C

>

C circumflex 

C

.

C dot above 

G

>

G circumflex 

G

.

G dot above 

H

>

H circumflex 

J

>

j circumflex 

S

>

S circumflex 

U

u

U breve 

c

>

c circumflex 

c

.

c dot above 

g

>

g circumflex 

g

.

g dot above 

h

>

h circumflex 

j

>

j circumflex 

s

>

s circumflex 

u

u

u breve 

The following table lists the common Latin-4 Compose key sequences.

Table A–4 Common Latin-4 Compose Key Sequences

Press Compose, then Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

kra 

A macron 

E macron 

E dot above 

G cedilla 

I macron 

I tilde 

I ogonek 

K cedilla 

L cedilla 

N cedilla 

O macron 

R cedilla 

T stroke 

U tilde 

U ogonek 

U macron 

Eng 

a macron 

e macron 

e dot above 

g cedilla 

i macron 

i tilde 

i ogonek 

k cedilla 

l cedilla 

n cedilla 

o macron 

r cedilla 

t stroke 

u tilde 

u ogonek 

u macron 

eng 

     

The following table lists the common Latin-5 Compose key sequences.

Table A–5 Common Latin-5 Compose Key Sequences

Press Compose, then Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

G breve 

I dot above 

g breve 

i dotless 

The following table lists the Common Latin-9 Compose key sequences.

Table A–6 Common Latin-9 Compose Key Sequences

Press Compose, then Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

Ligature oe 

Ligature OE 

“ 

Y diaeresis 

If you are using a keyboard that has accent dead keys, use the following compose key sequences. The dead_acute key name comes from the X11 registered keysym names of X_dead_acute as shown at /usr/openwin/include/X11/keysymdef.h. The SunFA_Circum and such key names come from X11 keysym names such as SunXK_FA_Circum shown at /usr/openwin/include/X11/Sunkeysym.h.

Table A–7 Compose Key Sequences Based on Accent Dead Keys

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

dead_grave 

spacebar 

grave accent 

dead_acute 

apostrophe 

acute accent 

dead_acute 

spacebar 

apostrophe 

dead_diaeresis 

double quote 

diaeresis 

dead_diaeresis 

spacebar 

diaeresis 

dead_circumflex 

spacebar 

circumflex accent 

dead_circumflex 

slash 

vertical line 

dead_circumflex 

degree sign 

dead_circumflex 

superscript one 

dead_circumflex 

superscript two 

dead_circumflex 

superscript three 

dead_circumflex 

period 

middle dot 

dead_circumflex 

exclamation point 

broken bar 

dead_circumflex 

minus 

macron 

dead_circumflex 

underscore 

macron 

dead_cedilla 

comma 

cedilla 

dead_cedilla 

minus 

not sign 

dead_tilde 

spacebar 

tilde 

dead_grave 

A with grave 

dead_acute 

A with acute 

dead_circumflex 

A with circumflex 

dead_tilde 

A with tilde 

dead_diaeresis 

A with diaeresis 

dead_grave 

a with grave 

dead_acute 

a with acute 

dead_circumflex 

a with circumflex 

dead_tilde 

a with tilde 

dead_diaeresis 

a with diaeresis 

dead_cedilla 

C with cedilla 

dead_cedilla 

c with cedilla 

dead_grave 

E with grave 

dead_acute 

E with acute 

dead_circumflex 

E with circumflex 

dead_diaeresis 

E with diaeresis 

dead_grave 

e with grave 

dead_acute 

e with acute 

dead_circumflex 

e with circumflex 

dead_diaeresis 

e with diaeresis 

dead_grave 

I with grave 

dead_acute 

I with acute 

dead_circumflex 

I with circumflex 

dead_diaeresis 

I with diaeresis 

dead_grave 

i with grave 

dead_acute 

i with acute 

dead_circumflex 

i with circumflex 

dead_diaeresis 

i with diaeresis 

dead_tilde 

N with tilde 

dead_tilde 

n with tilde 

dead_grave 

O with grave 

dead_acute 

O with acute 

dead_circumflex 

O with circumflex 

dead_tilde 

O with tilde 

dead_diaeresis 

O with diaeresis 

dead_grave 

o with grave 

dead_acute 

o with acute 

dead_circumflex 

o with circumflex 

dead_tilde 

o with tilde 

dead_diaeresis 

o with diaeresis 

dead_cedilla 

S with cedilla 

dead_cedilla 

s with cedilla 

dead_grave 

U with grave 

dead_acute 

U with acute 

dead_circumflex 

U with circumflex 

dead_diaeresis 

U with diaeresis 

dead_grave 

u with grave 

dead_acute 

u with acute 

dead_circumflex 

u with circumflex 

dead_diaeresis 

u with diaeresis 

dead_acute 

Y with acute 

dead_acute 

y with acute 

dead_diaeresis 

y with diaeresis 

SunFA_Grave 

spacebar 

grave accent 

SunFA_Grave 

A with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

a with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

E with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

e with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

I with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

i with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

O with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

o with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

U with grave 

SunFA_Grave 

u with grave 

SunFA_Acute 

apostrophe 

acute accent 

SunFA_Acute 

spacebar 

apostrophe 

SunFA_Acute 

A with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

a with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

C with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

c with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

E with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

e with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

I with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

i with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

L with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

l with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

N with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

n with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

O with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

o with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

R with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

r with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

S with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

s with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

U with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

u with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

Y with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

y with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

Z with acute 

SunFA_Acute 

z with acute 

SunFA_Cedilla 

comma 

cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

minus 

not sign 

SunFA_Cedilla 

C with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

c with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

G with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

g with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

K with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

k with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

L with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

l with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

N with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

n with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

R with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

r with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

S with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

s with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

T with cedilla 

SunFA_Cedilla 

t with cedilla 

SunFA_Circum 

spacebar 

circumflex accent 

SunFA_Circum 

degree sign 

SunFA_Circum 

superscript one 

SunFA_Circum 

superscript two 

SunFA_Circum 

superscript three 

SunFA_Circum 

exclamation point 

broken bar 

SunFA_Circum 

minus 

macron 

SunFA_Circum 

underscore 

macron 

SunFA_Circum 

period 

middle dot 

SunFA_Circum 

slash 

vertical line 

SunFA_Circum 

A with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

a with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

C with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

c with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

E with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

e with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

G with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

g with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

H with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

h with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

I with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

i with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

J with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

j with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

O with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

o with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

S with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

s with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

U with circumflex 

SunFA_Circum 

u with circumflex 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

double quote 

diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

spacebar 

diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

A with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

a with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

E with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

e with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

I with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

i with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

O with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

o with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

U with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

u with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

y with diaeresis 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Y with diaeresis 

SunFA_Tilde 

spacebar 

tilde 

SunFA_Tilde 

A with tilde 

SunFA_Tilde 

a with tilde 

SunFA_Tilde 

N with tilde 

SunFA_Tilde 

n with tilde 

SunFA_Tilde 

O with tilde 

SunFA_Tilde 

o with tilde 

The following compose key sequences are supported in the Greek input mode. Some compose key sequences start with accent dead keys. The abbreviation “ordfemenine” stands for feminine ordinal indicator key.

Table A–8 Compose Key Sequences in Greek Input Mode

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_eta with tonos 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_iota with tonos 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_omega with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_eta with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_iota with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

semicolon 

uppercase Greek_omega with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_alpha 

lowercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_epsilon 

lowercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_eta 

lowercase Greek_eta with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_omicron 

lowercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_omega 

lowercase Greek_omega with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_ALPHA 

uppercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_EPSILON 

uppercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_ETA 

uppercase Greek_eta with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_IOTA 

uppercase Greek_iota with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_OMICRON 

uppercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_UPSILON 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

Greek_OMEGA 

uppercase Greek_omega with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_eta with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_iota with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_omega with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_eta with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_iota with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

dead_acute 

uppercase Greek_omega with tonos 

colon 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

colon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

colon 

uppercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

colon 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

uppercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

Greek_IOTA 

uppercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

dead_diaeresis 

Greek_UPSILON 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

semicolon 

semicolon 

Greek tonos 

colon 

colon 

diaeresis/dialytika 

ordfeminine 

plus-minus sign 

ordfeminine 

section sign 

ordfeminine 

superscript two 

ordfeminine 

superscript three 

ordfeminine 

broken bar 

ordfeminine 

copyright sign 

ordfeminine 

not sign 

ordfeminine 

soft hyphen 

ordfeminine 

degree sign 

ordfeminine 

hyphen 

vulgar fraction one half 

ordfeminine 

backslash 

pound sign 

ordfeminine 

braceleft 

modifier letter reversed comma 

ordfeminine 

braceright 

modifier letter apostrophe 

ordfeminine 

bracketleft 

left-pointing double angle quotation mark 

ordfeminine 

bracketright 

right-pointing double angle quotation mark 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_eta with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_iota with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_omega with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_eta with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_iota with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

uppercase Greek_omega with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_alpha 

lowercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_epsilon 

lowercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_eta 

lowercase Greek_eta with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_omega 

lowercase Greek_omega with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_omicron 

lowercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_ALPHA 

uppercase Greek_alpha with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_EPSILON 

uppercase Greek_epsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_ETA 

uppercase Greek_eta with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_IOTA 

uppercase Greek_iota with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_OMICRON 

uppercase Greek_omicron with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_UPSILON 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_OMEGA 

uppercase Greek_omega with tonos 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

uppercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Greek_IOTA 

uppercase Greek_iota with dialytika 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Greek_UPSILON 

uppercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika 

Table A–9 Compose Key Sequences in Greek Input Mode With Three Keys

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

semicolon 

colon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

colon 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

semicolon 

colon 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

colon 

semicolon 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

dead_acute 

dead_diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

dead_diaeresis 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

dead_acute 

dead_diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

dead_diaeresis 

dead_acute 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

dead_acute 

dead_diaeresis 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

dead_diaeresis 

dead_acute 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

dead_acute 

dead_diaeresis 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

dead_diaeresis 

dead_acute 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

SunFA_Acute 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_iota 

lowercase Greek_iota with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Acute 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

SunFA_Diaeresis 

SunFA_Acute 

Greek_upsilon 

lowercase Greek_upsilon with dialytika and tonos 

Table A–10 Compose Key Sequences in Greek Input Mode With Four Keys

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Press and Release 

Result 

semicolon 

colon 

colon 

semicolon 

semicolon 

colon 

colon 

semicolon 

Greek dialytika tonos 

Greek dialytika tonos