Graduate Guide for Japanese Studies

Mac OS

If you are running a Mac OS, typing with any accent mark is straight forward. Hold down any key on the keyboard and a selection of accent marks associated with that letter will appear.

Windows OS

Typing with diacritics in the Windows OS is complicated. However, there is a fairly simple work around that requires the installation of a program called AutoHotKey (AHK) and the associated macro file to allow you to quickly type in macrons above Latin vowels to represent the Japanese long vowel (chōon / 長音).

1. Download and install AutoHotKey. AHK is a program that allows users to create simple shortcut commands to automate often repetitive tasks.
2. Download the associated AHK file "romajiMacrons.ahk"
3. This .ahk file will allow users to type vowels with the macron diacritic by holding the right ALT key and typing the corresponding vowel. Use the right ALT key + SHIFT to type capital letters with macrons above them.
4. Store this file someplace like your "documents" folder.
5. Double click the file and an icon will appear in your task bar, a small green square with a white "H" this indicates the script is active.
6. Try it out! By using the right ALT key in tandem with a vowel, you can now instantly type letters with macrons above them.

• If you frequently use keyboard shortcuts, you will not be able to use the right ALT key while this script is active.
• To turn the script off, right click on the icon in the taskbar and select "Exit."