US International Keyboard: Dead Keys, AltGr and the Layout

What changes when you switch from US to US International?

A few keys and one layer. We compared Microsoft's layout data for United States-International (opens in a new tab) with the plain US layout key by key on 2026-10-24. Without AltGr, every key carries the same character on both, but some no longer type it at once. The apostrophe and the grave key left of 1 wait, and so do the quotation mark, the tilde and the caret on Shift. They are dead keys: each holds its mark until you press a letter.

Everything else lives on AltGr, the right Alt key, a layer the US layout does not have. The AltGr layer holds the letters from å to þ listed further down, and signs such as € and ¿.

Microsoft's list of Windows keyboard layouts (opens in a new tab) gives United States-International the KLID 00020409 and dates it to before Windows XP. The US International keyboard layout is software, not hardware: you keep the keys printed on yours, and you can switch back to US in a second.

How do the dead keys of US International work?

Press the dead key, let go, then press the letter. The table is read from Microsoft's data for the layout. For a capital, hold Shift on the letter, not on the dead key: the apostrophe, then Shift and E, gives É.

The apostrophe does double work. It is the acute accent for vowels and y, and Microsoft maps it before c to ç, the letter of français and ação. A letter a dead key does not list comes out after the mark. On the Mac's U.S. International – PC we measured the apostrophe, then s, as 's, and the editor on this page does the same, so "don't" and "it's" survive.

Why do quotes and apostrophes wait for the next key?

Because on this layout they are accents first. That is the one habit to learn. Quoting a word that starts with a vowel is where it bites: the quotation mark, then a, gives ä, not "a. Type the quotation mark, then Space, then the word, and the mark stands on its own. The same goes for 'a, `e, ~o and ^u.

Code and chat are the other trap. Our Mac measurement shows both sides. The quotation mark, then x, stays "x, since x has no diaeresis in the table. The caret, then a, turns into â. Some people switch back to US for code and keep US International for prose.

Which letters need the right Alt key?

Some letters have no dead key on US International. AltGr is their only way in: AltGr+W types å, AltGr+Z æ, AltGr+L ø, AltGr+S ß, AltGr+D ð and AltGr+T þ. Add Shift for Å, Æ, Ø, Ð and Þ. Shift with AltGr and S gives the section sign §, not a capital ß.

The vowels are on AltGr as well, a second way to the same letters: AltGr+E types é and AltGr+Q ä. On a laptop without a right Alt key, Ctrl and Alt held together act as AltGr. Raymond Chen of Microsoft explains in a post on shortcut modifiers (opens in a new tab) why Windows avoids that pair for shortcuts.

Which languages does US International type completely?

We ran every letter of each alphabet on this site through Microsoft's data for the layout. A letter counts when one key, or a dead key and a letter, types it. The list below is measured when the page is built.

Some languages have a keyboard page of their own here. The French keyboard has œ on the Standard AZERTY. The German keyboard draws QWERTZ, and the Spanish keyboard puts ñ on its own key. The Italian, Portuguese and Swedish keyboards draw their own layouts too, and so do the Czech, Hungarian and Norwegian ones; US International has no double acute for the Hungarian ő. Without switching, the cards below give each letter's documented keys on any system.

How do you turn on US International on Windows, a Mac or a Chromebook?

Each system ships its own version, close to Windows but not identical. The names come from Microsoft's settings article (opens in a new tab), Apple's input source guide (opens in a new tab) and Google's Chromebook help (opens in a new tab). The Mac differences are our own run of its input source through UCKeyTranslate on macOS 26.6.2, on 2026-10-24.

System	Name to pick	Where	How it differs from Windows
Windows	United States-International	Time & language, then Add a keyboard	the reference
Mac	U.S. International – PC	Keyboard, then Text Input	no ý by the apostrophe; Option is not AltGr
Chromebook	English (US) with International keyboard	Keyboard, then Change input settings	a cedilla dead key on Shift, AltGr and 5

Switch between layouts with the Windows logo key and Space, Control and Space on a Mac, or Ctrl, Shift and Space on a Chromebook. The Windows guide and the Chromebook guide cover every other way to type accents on those systems.