How can I type macrons?

Question

I'd like to type macrons on (OS X | Windows | Ubuntu | other), but my keyboard doesn't have an ā key. How can I add macrons to my vowels?

I don't want to copy them from this strangely convenient list: ā ē ī ō ū ȳ.

Answer 1

On OS X, it's easy. Just hold down the vowel you want and select the macron-ized version: ā.

If you're typing a lot of these, I'd recommend adding "ABC Extended" as a keyboard layout (in System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources. Now you can type alta, then the vowel: ā ē ī

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Or, if you like, you can copy them from here: ā ē ī ō ū ȳ.

Answer 2

I use HTML entities:

ā ā
ē ē
ī ī
ō ō
ū ū

Oddly, you can't just substitute y into any of the above. You'll need

ȳ ȳ

Which is unfortunately not so easy.

Answer 3

The most convenient way I've ever seen happens on Linux. You can use the compose key. Then you simply type Compose, -, o to get an ō. Or you type Compose, ^, o to get an ô.

Beautiful in its simplicity.

Besides, should you be learning Greek, you can setup your own .XCompose so as to be able to denote the vowel length in the Greek alphabet (not sure if it's enabled by default)

Answer 4

For Windows users, the Maori (New Zealand) keyboard allows easy addition of macrons to all vowels except y.

From the Control Panel, go to Region and Language, then click Change Keyboards..., then Add. Then select Maori's keyboard:

Enabling this keyboard modifies the behavior of the ` key:

Tap ` + a to get ā. Tap ` + ` to get the grave accent itself.

Answer 5

The most convenient way to type macra in Windows is by using the marvellous programme Autohotkey. If you install Autohotkey and run the following script at startup, you can easily type macros by typing e-=- etc. Advantages:

• Easily adjustable to your preferences.
• You don't need to reach for faraway or unusual keys on your keyboard to type a special character.
• You don't need to hold down any modifier keys.
• You can add the macron after you have already typed the vowel. So you type para, then you think, oh, I wanted a macron on that a, so you type -=- (or whichever characters you have set up) and it appears. You can also type parare, then backspace twice, then -=- and it will appear on the a you typed earlier.
• You can do this for any character you often type. I also have e.g. e\/ set up to turn into ĕ, etc. I can give you my full script in case you're interested.

You can of course change the -=- into anything you want. Just make sure it is a combination you don't normally type. Just to be sure, you can make the hotkeys work only in certain windows, for example:

SetTitleMatchMode 2

#If Winactive("Firefox Latin Language Stack Exchange")
or Winactive("the title of some other window")

:*?:a-=-::ā
:*?:e-=-::ē
:*?:i-=-::ī
:*?:o-=-::ō
:*?:u-=-::ū
:*?:y-=-::ȳ

Copy-paste this code into a text file, then save the file as a unicode file (the format should probably be UTF-8) with an extension .ahk and have it run on startup.

You can also make it type words or sentences by adding lines like this:

:*?:tllqq::Thesaurus Linguae Latinae

Answer 6

On Windows, there does not seem to be a simple way for direct entry of macron vowels that is enabled by default. Matt Gutting's HTML entities are a pretty good option for questions and answers, but they appear not to work in comments.

The "most straightforward" method for direct insertion of Unicode characters appears to be the second approach described here, which involves modifying the registry (not for the faint of heart!) and then logging out and back in (or rebooting).

1. Press Win+R to open the "Run..." dialog
2. Enter regedit and press Enter to load the registry editor

_{Click images here and below for larger versions}

3. In Registry Editor, browse to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Input Method

4. Right-click and select New > String Value

5. Name the new string value EnableHexNumpad

6. Double-click the new value, enter 1 as the value, and click OK
7. Close the Registry Editor
8. Log out and back in, or reboot.

The Unicode characters can then be entered by holding Alt, pressing the following key sequences, then releasing Alt. The leading + is the keypad 'plus' in all cases, and letters are entered using the regular keyboard keys:

Ā: +0100
Ē: +0112
Ī: +012a
Ō: +014c
Ū: +016a
Ȳ: +0232

ā: +0101
ē: +0113
ī: +012b
ō: +014d (this one messes up because Alt+D activates the address bar :-/ )
ū: +016b
ȳ: +0233

Answer 7

in emacs

M-x set-input-method latin-alt-postfix

type

ama-re, amo-, ama-s, amat, ama-mus, ama-tis, amant

get

amāre, amō, amās, amat, amāmus, amātis, amant

Answer 8

On Android there is a actual Latīna keyboard:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=klye.plugin.la&hl=en_US

It's a plugin for the multiling-O keyboard app, which you also need to install.

It's a bit 'busy' by default, but if you fiddle with the settings you can cut it all down to a nice qwerty+macrons arrangement.

Answer 9

There is a HTML entity that puts a macron on the preceding character: ̄ (also ̄). For example, Ā becomes Ā and ȳ becomes ȳ. It is hard to remember, but on the other hand it works with any letter.

The breve counterpart is ̆ (also ̆). With these you can easily speak about vowel length in general: V̄ is longer than V̆.