AZERTY keyboards

I don't think there is such a thing as a "European" keyboard. I've used German keyboards at cybercafes in Germany, but they have German specific keyboards, with characters like ß, Ü, and Ö which I wouldn't expect to see on a French keyboard.

On a German keyboard, the @ symbol is <alt gr>Q.

A bigger problem with the German keyboard is that 'Z' appears in German far more often than 'Y', so those keys are interchanged. Drives me CRAYZ!

If you're using an AZERTY keyboard, then you must be going to France. Keyboards are quite different from country to country. A pretty good explanation of the different language layouts, including French, can be found here
The basic difference is that many foreign keyboards have an AltGr key, which is usually the Alt key to the right of the spacebar. This allows these keyboards to introduce a third set of characters, mainly along the top "number" row and down the right-hand side. These are usually indicated in blue, but will almost certainly be the right-hand of the three characters listed on the key.
Here's an example. On a standard US keyboard, if you hit the "Zero" key along the top, you get the numeral 0. If you hit shift-0, you get the close parenthesis.
However, on an AZERTY keyboard, if you hit the same key, you will get the accented à (the lower symbol indicated) while if you hold down shift, you will get the numeral zero (the upper symbol.)
Here's where the third function comes in. If you hold down the AltGr key instead of Shift, you will get the @ sign (the symbol indicated on the right side of the key.)
The bottom line...you'll be hunting and pecking...don't expect to touch type.
The French and Belgian AZERTY keyboards are the only ones I'm aware of that put their number keys along the top in the Shift position.

On a British keyboard the @ symbol is shift + ' (apostrophe). We have " as shift + 2 basically reversing the US layout.

As said there is no European keyboard, wikipedia has a page detailing the layouts out there: Keyboard layouts.

Alice,

I've found that the keyboards in Europe differ according to country. The most difficult (for me) are the French keyboards, and that's precisely why I'll be taking a Netbook along on the next trip.

From what I remember, the keyboards in Switzerland and Germany are also different. Even keyboards in the U.K. can be a bit different. I've seen a few cases where Internet Cafés and a few Hotels have configured at least a couple of their computers with a North American keyboard.

Cheers!

Lee and Peter,

Thanks for giving me the specific information on the @ sign, and also for pointing out that each country has its own keyboard. I guess I have been e-mailing from France more exclusively than I realized.

Ken,

I did find a North American keyboard in Autun; it meant I could type a lot faster and send a LONG e-mail. I know I could probably change some settings, but it seems easier to just adapt to the individual keyboard. Sometimes I just touch type as if at home, and then go back and replace the q's with a's!

Norm,

I did look at the Wikipedia pages, but your example and explanation gave me the key to understanding those pages. They were a little overwhelming to me on first look, and I was being a little lazy about figuring them out.

Thanks, guys.

Alice

A German/Swiss/Austrian keyboard is a QWERTZ-one... But you'll find all keyboards well labeled. "@" is Alt Gr + Q, "€" is the same with E... the only funny thing about a German keyboard is that it does have the "$" key on it but none for the British Pound, even though the UK is geographically closer than the US... Or does the computer industry already know the GBP will soon be history ;-)?