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It's worth noting that the concept of a "Compose" key seems to have originated on DEC's specialized word-processors (physical machines which just did text editi

It's worth noting that the concept of a "Compose" key seems to have originated on DEC's specialized word-processors (physical machines which just did text editing), and that when Windows came on the scene, someone at DEC created "COMPOSE.EXE" which brought that functionality to Windows --- it continued working up through very late Windows 95 betas, then was broken and never updated. There was a replacement in "AllChars" which is still on Sourceforge: https://sourceforge.net/projects/allchars/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/allchars/ but hasn't been updated for a while. Looks like: https://wincompose.info/ https://wincompose.info/ is up-to-date, and if I wrote more, would definitely try out, but these days, either I write the accented character w/ a stylus, type out the LaTeX command, or use the on-screen keyboard via touchscreen.

teo_zero 10mo ago
I can confirm that wincompose works like a charm with Windows 11. I map it to the Insert key, whose original purpose still evades me. I also want to say that once you try the Compose way, you begin laughing at the disproportionate efforts so many people have dedicated to the chimera of finding the perfect layout.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 10mo ago
  Yep, I use compose key and originally used Italian keyboards, but that was very annoying for coding. I use US keyboard layouts now and compose key. My only annoyance is that Symless Synergy for some reason doesn't trigger the Compose key on Windows when using it as secondary computer
  - teo_zero 10mo ago
    How do you cope with parentheses being just one key off between US and most European layouts (above 9 and 0 vs. 8 and 9)? I mean, I can retrain my muscle memory to a completely new position, but just one key to the side is unbearable!
    - Fire-Dragon-DoL 10mo ago
      It was terrible, that's why I switched to US keyboards. But the biggest problems are shortcuts. All applications assume you have a US keyboard layout, some shortcuts are impossible on the Italian layout. And even with the Italian layout, I still have no idea how to type an uppercase accented E (È). With compose key, that's trivial!

teo_zero 10mo ago

I can confirm that wincompose works like a charm with Windows 11. I map it to the Insert key, whose original purpose still evades me. I also want to say that once you try the Compose way, you begin laughing at the disproportionate efforts so many people have dedicated to the chimera of finding the perfect layout.

Fire-Dragon-DoL 10mo ago
Yep, I use compose key and originally used Italian keyboards, but that was very annoying for coding. I use US keyboard layouts now and compose key. My only annoyance is that Symless Synergy for some reason doesn't trigger the Compose key on Windows when using it as secondary computer
- teo_zero 10mo ago
  How do you cope with parentheses being just one key off between US and most European layouts (above 9 and 0 vs. 8 and 9)? I mean, I can retrain my muscle memory to a completely new position, but just one key to the side is unbearable!
  - Fire-Dragon-DoL 10mo ago
    It was terrible, that's why I switched to US keyboards. But the biggest problems are shortcuts. All applications assume you have a US keyboard layout, some shortcuts are impossible on the Italian layout. And even with the Italian layout, I still have no idea how to type an uppercase accented E (È). With compose key, that's trivial!