Keyboard layout based on the QWERTY layout with extra symbols and diacritics so that typing both in French and English is easy and fast. It is also easy to learn!
👉 You can try this keyboard layout online without installing it!
This layout is entirely compatible with the QWERTY layout. All the keys of the QWERTY layout are kept in the same location. This means that anyone using a QWERTY layout can type on the QWERTY-fr layout without even knowing that they are not typing on a QWERTY layout.
In order to type special characters with diacritics, there are a few simple rules to know. AltGr corresponds to Option ⌥ on macOS, and Ctrl Alt on Windows (useful if you don't have the AltGr key):
| Diacritic | How to type it |
|---|---|
Grave accent ` |
Press AltGr + corresponding letter (works for letters e, u, i, o and a). |
Acute accent ´ |
Press AltGr + key left the corresponding letter (works for the letter e). |
Circumflex ^ |
Press AltGr + key above the corresponding letter (works for letters e, y, u, i, o and a). |
Diaeresis ¨ |
Press AltGr + key below the corresponding letter (works for letters e, y, u, i, o and a). |
Cedilla ¸ |
Press AltGr + corresponding letter (works for the letter c). |
Ligature œ/æ |
Press AltGr + key right the corresponding letter (works for letters o and a). |
Note: Unlike AZERTY, you can combine all the accentuated letters with Shift ⇧ and Caps Lock. So for example:
- AltGr Shift ⇧ C outputs
Ç. - AltGr Shift ⇧ W outputs
É.
These two letters are impossible to type with an AZERTY layout. But with QWERTY-fr they are easy to type!
Note 2: You can type a non-breaking space by pressing AltGr Space. And a narrow non-breaking space (fr) by pressing AltGr Shift ⇧ Space. Learn about when you should use them when typing French here (fr).
This keyboard layout is available Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Download the QWERTY-fr layout, extract it, and run setup.exe.
Download the QWERTY-fr layout and extract qwerty-fr.bundle to :
/Library/Keyboard Layouts/to install for all users.~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/for user-local installation.
You'll need to restart macOS before using it or otherwise you'll encounter bugs.
Protip: On Apple keyboards the right Option ⌥ key is often hard to access. You can use Karabiner-Elements to switch the right Option ⌥ key with the right Commmand ⌘ key. This makes it easier to type characters!
Download the Linux DEB file and install it.
Note: On Ubuntu and other GNOME-based distributions, you need to disable the Compose key functionality or typing characters with AltGr won't work at all.
There is a user package for this: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/xkb-qwerty-fr/
Use your favorite AUR helper to install it. Or in the directory containing the PKGBUILD file, run makepkg -si.
You can download the Linux ZIP file and then extract it at the root of your filesystem.
The easiest way to contribute to this project is to spread the word and the website qwerty-fr.org.
If you want to contribute by fixing issues with the layout, adding new keys, etc. we use the following software to edit the layouts:
- Windows: Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (mirror).
- Mac: Ukelele.
- Linux: manually editing files.