É
É, Ç, À are a struggle
Capital accented letters are required in proper French — but the traditional AZERTY gives you no key for them. With AZERTY Global, Caps Lock + é types É. Done.
Type French properly —
and your native language too
The improved French keyboard layout for everyone living in France.
Accented capitals
Smart Caps Lock
French typography
International accents
Dev-friendly symbols
Since 2017 · Free and open source · Windows, macOS, Linux · No new keyboard required
Sound familiar?
You live in France, you use a French AZERTY keyboard — and some things just don't work.
ñ ü ã
Your language is missing
No ñ, ü, ã, ì or ø on a French keyboard. AZERTY Global adds simple dead keys for the accents of Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian and many more languages.
A–Z
No time to relearn
You finally got used to AZERTY — switching to another layout is not an option. AZERTY Global keeps 99% of your keystrokes: same letters, same numbers, near-zero relearning.
What changes with AZERTY Global
Five practical improvements, without disrupting your habits.
| Character | With AZERTY Global | On the traditional AZERTY |
|---|---|---|
| É È Ç À (accented capitals) | Caps Lock + é | Alt codes or copy-paste |
| . (period) | . direct access | Shift + ; |
| @ (at sign) | @ top-left key | AltGr + 0 |
| á í ó (Spanish, Hungarian…) | ´ then the letter | Alt codes or copy-paste |
| ñ ã õ (Spanish, Portuguese) | ~ then the letter | Alt codes or copy-paste |
| { } (braces) | AltGr + D / F on the home row | AltGr + 4 / = |
| « » (French quotation marks) | AltGr + W / X | Special character menus |
| œ Œ (as in "cœur") | AltGr + O | Alt codes or copy-paste |
The 5 changes in detail — Smart Caps Lock, direct period access, @ and # on the top-left key, programming symbols on the home row, international accents: see the quick guide.
Your language too
One layout for French and the languages you actually live with.
ñ
Spanish
ñ, á, í, ó, ú, ¿, ¡ — acute accent and tilde as simple dead keys.
ü
German
ä, ö, ü with the diaeresis key you already know, plus ß.
ã
Portuguese
ã, õ with the tilde dead key, ç directly on its usual French key.
ì
Italian
à, è, ì, ò, ù — the grave accent works on every vowel.
ø
Nordic languages
ø, å, æ and more for Danish, Norwegian and Swedish.
+
And many more
Polish, Czech, Turkish, Wolof, Yoruba… AZERTY Global covers the characters of more than 200 languages.
Already adopted
1,500+
cumulative downloads since April 2026
Frequently asked questions
Will I have to relearn how to type?
No. AZERTY Global keeps 99% of your keystrokes: all the letters, the numbers and most symbols stay exactly where they are on a French AZERTY keyboard. Only 5 things change, and each one makes typing easier. A few hours are enough to memorize the main changes.
Do I need to buy a new keyboard?
No. AZERTY Global is a purely software keyboard layout: your current keyboard works as is. It only changes what the keys produce on screen. Printable reference cards are included in the download to help over the first few days.
Can I type in my native language with a French keyboard?
Yes. AZERTY Global adds dead keys for international accents: á, í, ó for Spanish, ñ and ã for Spanish and Portuguese, ü, ö, ä and ß for German, ì and ò for Italian, ø and å for Nordic languages, and many more — while keeping the French AZERTY base you already use in France.
A project run by a nonprofit
AZERTY Global is developed and distributed by the Association pour la Modernisation du Clavier Français (AMCF), a French nonprofit association under the loi 1901, founded in March 2026 in Clermont-Ferrand. It designs and distributes free and open-source keyboard layouts and typing tools, produces educational resources, and runs awareness work in schools, companies and public bodies. The association is entirely volunteer-run and nonprofit.