Tim
+Finder > Menu > Apple > System Preferences > Language & Text > Input & Sources > check Keyboard & Character Viewer+
A *flag icon* will appear at the right top of the MenuBar.
+Click on the flag > Show Keyboard Viewer+
When you hold down the
Shift,
Option and +Shift Option+ keys you will see what characters you get.
Clicking on the keyboard is the same as typing.
You will notice that holding down the option key shows some characters as orange. These are Dead Keys. You type them and it adds an accent to the following character:
option ` adds àèìòù etc
option e adds áéíóú etc
option i adds âêîôû etc
option u adds äëïöü etc
option n ãñõ etc
Peter