Period .
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Direct
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ Shift + ;
- US International QWERTY
- ✅ Direct
Which layout for typing French?
AZERTY Global • Traditional AZERTY • US International QWERTY
| Criterion | AZERTY Global | Traditional AZERTY | US International QWERTY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period . | ✅ Direct | ❌ Shift + ; | ✅ Direct |
| At sign @ | ✅ Direct (top left) | ❌ AltGr + 0 | ✅ Shift + 2 |
| Apostrophe ' and quotes " | ✅ Direct | ✅ Direct | ❌ Dead keys (extra keystroke in don't, it's…) |
| Accented capitals É È Ç À | ✅ Caps Lock + é è ç à | ❌ Alt + number codes | ⚠️ Dead keys (' + E, ` + A…) |
| Smart Caps Lock | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Braces { } | ✅ AltGr + D / F (home row) | ❌ AltGr + 4 / = | ✅ Shift + [ / ] |
| Brackets [ ] | ✅ AltGr + J / K (home row) | ❌ AltGr + 5 / ) | ✅ Direct |
| French quotation marks « » | ✅ AltGr + W / X | ❌ Alt + number codes | ⚠️ AltGr + [ / ] (little known) |
| œ ligature (œ Œ) | ✅ AltGr + O | ❌ Alt + number codes | ❌ Not available |
| International accents (á, ñ, ø) | ✅ Dead keys | ❌ Alt + number codes | ✅ Dead keys |
| Matches French (AZERTY) keyboards | ✅ Yes — same letters | ✅ Yes (baseline) | ❌ No — printed keycaps don't match |
| Transition from the Windows AZERTY | ✅ Smooth (5 changes) | — (baseline) | ❌ Full relearning (QWERTY letters) |
At sign @
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Direct (top left)
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ AltGr + 0
- US International QWERTY
- ✅ Shift + 2
Apostrophe ' and quotes "
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Direct
- Traditional AZERTY
- ✅ Direct
- US International QWERTY
- ❌ Dead keys (extra keystroke in don't, it's…)
Accented capitals É È Ç À
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Caps Lock + é è ç à
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ Alt + number codes
- US International QWERTY
- ⚠️ Dead keys (' + E, ` + A…)
Smart Caps Lock
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Yes
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ No
- US International QWERTY
- ❌ No
Braces { }
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ AltGr + D / F (home row)
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ AltGr + 4 / =
- US International QWERTY
- ✅ Shift + [ / ]
Brackets [ ]
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ AltGr + J / K (home row)
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ AltGr + 5 / )
- US International QWERTY
- ✅ Direct
French quotation marks « »
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ AltGr + W / X
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ Alt + number codes
- US International QWERTY
- ⚠️ AltGr + [ / ] (little known)
œ ligature (œ Œ)
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ AltGr + O
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ Alt + number codes
- US International QWERTY
- ❌ Not available
International accents (á, ñ, ø)
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Dead keys
- Traditional AZERTY
- ❌ Alt + number codes
- US International QWERTY
- ✅ Dead keys
Matches French (AZERTY) keyboards
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Yes — same letters
- Traditional AZERTY
- ✅ Yes (baseline)
- US International QWERTY
- ❌ No — printed keycaps don't match
Transition from the Windows AZERTY
- AZERTY Global
- ✅ Smooth (5 changes)
- Traditional AZERTY
- — (baseline)
- US International QWERTY
- ❌ Full relearning (QWERTY letters)
📊 In summary
Traditional AZERTY (Windows)
The default layout since 1984. Outdated for modern French: no accented capitals, missing several French characters, developer symbols very hard to access.
US International QWERTY
The classic workaround for English speakers: good programming symbols and dead-key accents for Western European languages. But no œ, apostrophe and quotes become dead keys, and nothing matches the keys printed on French keyboards.
AZERTY Global ✨
Proper French and your own language too, on the keyboard France actually uses: accented capitals with Caps Lock, œ and « » built in, home-row programming symbols — with 99% of AZERTY habits preserved.
📊 A transition you can measure
Compared with the traditional AZERTY, AZERTY Global moves only 8.3% of characters, which affects less than 1% of real-world keystrokes (character-frequency analysis on a French reference corpus). If you already type on AZERTY, the switch takes hours, not weeks.
Coming from a US layout is a bigger step — you are relearning the letter positions of the keyboard France actually uses. But it is a one-time investment that pays off on every French computer you will ever touch.
💡 Why AZERTY Global rather than the US International QWERTY?
The US International layout is the go-to answer for English speakers who need é and ñ. It works — until you write French for real.
On US International, every apostrophe costs an extra keystroke: ' is a dead key, so don't and it's require ' + space, dozens of times a day. French pushes it further: no œ ligature at all (cœur, sœur, œuvre), and the French quotation marks « » hide behind shortcuts almost nobody knows.
Then there is the hardware: keyboards in France are physically AZERTY — your office computer, shared machines, your French laptop. Running US International means the printed keycaps lie to you on every one of them.
AZERTY Global keeps the AZERTY base France uses and fixes its real flaws: accented capitals with Caps Lock, programming symbols on the home row, a direct period — plus dead-key accents for Spanish, German, Portuguese, Polish and 200+ other languages.
🎯 Our vision
Our goal: to offer a pragmatic layout that works for as many people as possible.
The Windows AZERTY is 40 years old and was never designed for proper French writing — let alone for everyone else's language. AZERTY Global offers a pragmatic evolution that respects the habits of everyone who types on French keyboards, whatever language they write.
Convinced?
Try AZERTY Global and adopt a modern French keyboard.