Frequently asked questions about AZERTY Global

Two ways to do it:

• turn on Caps Lock, then type the accented letter: é → É, è → È, à → À, ç → Ç;
• or type ^ then the accented letter.

In AZERTY Global, Caps Lock puts accents in capitals by itself; punctuation and digits are not affected. On the traditional Windows AZERTY, É and Ç need an Alt code or a copy and paste; È and À go through AltGr + 7 then Shift + the vowel. None can be typed in one keystroke.

Detailed guides: Capital É (in French) · Capital È (in French) · Capital Ç (in French) · Capital À (in French)

Careful French typography uses the quotation marks « », nonbreaking spaces, accented capitals, the apostrophe ’, the dashes – and —, and the ligatures œ and æ. AZERTY Global gives you all of these:

• « »: AltGr + W / X;
• — (em dash): AltGr + Shift + T; – (en dash): AltGr + T;
• narrow nonbreaking space: AltGr + Space; nonbreaking space: AltGr + Shift + Space;
• ’: AltGr + 4;
• œ: AltGr + O; æ: AltGr + A.

Writing correct French details the rules, the francophone variants and professional uses, with the exact characters.

• @ (in French): direct access on the former ² key, at the top left, next to the 1.
• #: Shift + @ on the same key, or AltGr + :.
• ^: AltGr + I, as a live circumflex (typed directly, not a dead key).
• ù: AltGr + U, or ´ then V. For Ù: AltGr + Shift + U.
• %: Shift + ), the key to the right of the 0.
• °: AltGr + ), same key.
• ²: ^ then 2. All superscripts follow: ^ then a digit gives ⁰¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹.

The ² key was reassigned to the at sign. The ù and the % moved to free the key to the right of the M, which now carries three dead-key accents: acute, grave and tilde.

Yes, without switching layouts. AZERTY Global lets you write nearly 300 languages in Latin, Greek or Cyrillic script, including:

• Spanish: ñ, ¿, ¡
• German: ä, ö, ü, ß
• Portuguese: ã, õ, ç
• Italian: à, è, ì, ò, ù
• Nordic languages: þ, ø, å
• and Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Turkish.

The quick guide shows the complete cheat sheet, layer by layer, and it prints.

AZERTY Global natively gives more than 120 characters of African Latin-script languages, capitals included, that the traditional Windows AZERTY does not. No Keyman, no WinCompose, no copy and paste: everything goes through three dead keys, Extended Latin (AltGr + 6), Hook above (AltGr + 1) and Dot below (AltGr + 3).

For tonal languages such as Bambara, Yoruba or Ewe, the acute, grave, circumflex, caron, tilde and macron accents can go on all these letters: type the letter, then the accent’s dead key twice (´ ´ for the acute).

Country by country: what it changes in Africa (in French).

The symbols that structure code form the code belt: grouped on the home row, within reach without moving your hands with AltGr.

• { } (in French): AltGr + D and F
• [ ] (in French): AltGr + J and K
• \: AltGr + G
• |: AltGr + H

The others follow, close by:

• #: Shift + @, or AltGr + :
• ^: AltGr + I, live circumflex
• `: AltGr + L, live grave accent
• ~: AltGr + N, live tilde

All the symbols for developers (in French).

Through dead keys, which open hundreds of characters.

With AltGr

• ≤: AltGr + <
• ≥: AltGr + Shift + <

Scientific symbols dead key: AltGr + =

• ±: then Space
• ≠: then =
• ×: then X

Miscellaneous symbols dead key: AltGr + @

• →: then D, or Space
• ©: then C
• ½: then 2

Punctuation symbols dead key: Shift + !

• • the bullet: then :

A French keyboard layout that fixes the flaws of the traditional Windows AZERTY without replacing it: the letters A to Z, é, è, à and ç stay in place, and only the ù is moved.

• accented capitals É, È, À, Ç in one keystroke, with Caps Lock on;
• French quotation marks « » with no detour;
• œ, æ and the missing characters built in.

The five changes in two minutes · The comparison, with figures

AZERTY Global changes only five things. They are quick to memorize; the reflexes finish settling in after a few days of use.

99% of keystrokes are unchanged: the share of keystrokes affected is 1.01%, measured on the frequencies of the AFNOR corpus (half formal, half informal text, method). The letters and digits stay in place.

No. AZERTY Global is purely software: your current keyboard works. There is, incidentally, no physical keyboard engraved with AZERTY Global yet.

The letters and digits stay in place. For the few new characters, muscle memory settles in quickly; stickers can help during the first days, but are not necessary.

What exists today

• To print at home: PDFs are included in the download, to print on sticker paper.
• Ready-to-apply stickers: no set is currently on sale. If a ready-to-apply set or an engraved keyboard interests you, ask to be notified (in French).

Both fix the Windows AZERTY, with two opposite logics.

• AZERTY Global: five improvements, smooth transition, a Caps Lock that accents, code symbols on the home row. Free, open source, for Windows, macOS and Linux.
• AFNOR, the NF Z71-300 standard: shipped with Windows 11 since 24H2 as “French (Standard, AZERTY)”. It repositions 33 characters that are already present, 31 of which change key, across 22 keys. Accented capitals there are typed with AltGr + Shift.

The count does not tell the whole story: twelve moves that follow a rule cost less than isolated positions to learn one by one. AZERTY Global values continuity with what you already know; the AFNOR layout reorganizes the signs other than letters and digits more systematically, at the price of broader relearning.

The comparison, row by row and with figures.

No. The tester translates your keystrokes within the page: nothing you type is sent or recorded, and nothing is written to your device. Closing the tab erases everything.

Audience measurement only counts the steps of the course reached, never the text. The details are in the privacy policy (in French).

For ZQSD movement, yes. The letters A to Z stay in place: the physical keys stay where they are, and so do your controls.

Some games, however, depend on the console key, a shortcut or an anti-cheat system. The compatibility page lists the known cases and their solutions.

Microsoft Store app

Right-click the AG icon in the taskbar, then Launch at Windows startup.

EXE installer

If Windows goes back to your old keyboard after a restart:

• The simplest way: remove the keyboards you no longer need, in Settings → Time & language → Language & region → French (…) → Language options → Keyboards.
• If you need to keep several: Settings → Time & language → Typing → Advanced keyboard settings → “Override for default input method”, and choose AZERTY Global.

macOS

Once added in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input (before macOS 13: System Preferences → Keyboard → Input Sources), it stays available after a restart. Remove the other keyboards so that it is the only one active.

Linux

The installation script sets it up permanently; it survives a restart.

Yes: Windows, macOS 10.12 or later, and Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch).

On Windows, the Microsoft Store app targets Windows 10 version 1809 or later and Windows 11. The EXE installer remains the channel for computers without the Store.

Download for your platform.

Without risk: you can reinstall AZERTY Global at any time.

Microsoft Store app

Win + I → Apps → Installed apps → search for “AZERTY Global” → Uninstall (Windows 10: Apps → Apps & features).

EXE installer

1. Remove the keyboard: Settings → Time & language → Language & region → French (…) → Language options → AZERTY Global → Remove.
2. Run the EXE installer again to finish the uninstallation.

macOS

1. Remove the keyboard in System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input (before macOS 13: System Preferences → Keyboard → Input Sources).
2. Delete AZERTY Global.keylayout from ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/, or from /Library/Keyboard Layouts/ if you installed it for all users.
3. Restart your session.

Linux

1. Remove AZERTY Global from your input sources.
2. Delete the file: sudo rm /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/azerty_global
3. Restore your previous ~/.XCompose if needed: the installation saved it as ~/.XCompose.backup. followed by the date and time.
4. Restart your session.

Yes. Which channel to use depends on your IT rules: the channel depends on your IT rules.

• Microsoft Store allowed: the app installs without administrator rights and without a SmartScreen warning, with a virtual keyboard, character search and lessons.
• Microsoft Store blocked: the AMCF-signed MSIX installs directly or is deployed outside the Store by the IT department.
• EXE installer: classic installation in Windows, for computers without the Store; administrator rights required, SmartScreen possible.

With the app (Microsoft Store or MSIX), Ctrl + Shift + Caps Lock suspends and re-enables AZERTY Global instantly, with no effect on your shortcuts; with the EXE installer, you go back to your usual AZERTY in the language settings.

For companies (in French) · For schools (in French)