I try to be as accurate as possible when writing things in blogs and forums online. One of the problems I’ve always had has been typing accented letters correctly. English doesn’t really have any accented letters, but there are plenty of words you can use in an English sentence that do. Think words like “cliché”, “fiancé”, “français”, and “el niño”. Lots of people don’t bother figuring out how to type those characters and will just write “cliche” without the accent. Normally it doesn’t matter, and it sure is faster to just ignore it, but I really like to be as correct and accurate as possible.

The first time I remember learning how to actually get a computer to type those characters was back in high school French class. We were using some French teaching software and if you didn’t type the word in spelled correctly including the accent, it wouldn’t accept it. Back then, at least on Windows, the best way to do it across any program was to hold the “alt” key and then type in the number of the accent you wanted. I don’t know if those numbers were unicode (I don’t think they were), but this was a really arcane process. I still remember getting an “é” required holding “alt” and pressing “1” “3” “0”.

The good news is that Apple has your back if you want to be cool like me and type accented letters correctly. I knew that in iOS you could hold down a letter on the onscreen keyboard and any accented variations would pop up above the letter. Want an “é”? Just tap and hold the “e” key and you’ll get all the different possible accented “e” characters. That’s really easy, but I’m not typically doing a lot of typing on my iPad. I’m also pretty sure that my brother isn’t going to notice or care that I accurately spelled “cliché” in Messages.

In OSX the only way to type these accented characters used to be using a method that was similar to the arcane Windows method. Up until Mountain Lion you had to hold down “option” while pressing a letter indicating the type of accent you wanted and then typing the letter to be accented. So if you wanted “é” you would hold “option”+”e”, release both keys and press “e”. Gross! Fret no more though. If you have Mountain Lion or newer, you can simply hold down the “e” key just like on your iOS device. A little popup will show up with all of the available accented letters. While still holding the “e” key, press the number of the one you want! So easy!

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Now when I want to tell someone that I’m listening to a new band called “**Moodoïd**”:http://moodoid.com I can show off my sophistication by spelling it correctly with ease. Sadly, if you want to be even cooler and write foreign words using a different alphabet entirely, you have to add an international keyboard layout in System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources. Even that isn’t too hard though: маленькая собака электроника

Keyboard shortcuts are handy ways of using simple keyboard commands to handle tasks that might require multiple clicks of your mouse or trackpad. Sometimes using these shortcuts can save time and make your work flow easier. As an example, from time to time I grab screen shots to include in Kibbles or to send to customers. I can launch the Grab app to capture these screen shots but I can also hit ⇧⌘3 (shift/command/3) to capture the screen. Easier yet, if I frequently use that key combination I can customize the keys I use or make one of my function keys do the screen grab. Here’s how you would do that:

# Choose System Preferences -> Keyboard->Shortcuts
# You will see a bunch of shortcuts that are already there
# Select Screen Shots
# Pick the one you want – i.e. Save Picture of screen as a file and select it
# Click on the existing key combination until it is highlighted
# Enter your new key combination

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You will get a warning triangle if you choose a key combination (or function key) that is already in use.

You can also add key combination shortcuts that are specific to an App. Selecting the App Shortcuts will take you there. Unless you have already set up some shortcuts, you will see only the key combination for “Show Help Menu” for all applications. To add a new shortcut to your favorite application you hit the + sign and a dialog box will pop up to allow you to select an app. From there you can set up the new shortcut:

# Choose your App – or select all Apps if you want to set the key combination for the same menu command that appears in many Apps.
# Type in the menu command for which you want to create a shortcut. VERY IMPORTANT – You must type the command exactly as it appears in the Application menu, including ellipses and any other punctuation. To type an ellipse, use three periods without spaces.
# Click in the Keyboard Shortcut box and type the key combination or function key you wish to use and click “Add”.
# Quit and restart any Apps that are open for the new keyboard command to take effect.

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If you assign a shortcut that already exists for another command or another App, your new shortcut will not work and you will have to find the menu command that is using that shortcut and change it.

$49.99 New Low Price on Belkin WeMo Insight Switch

_Dear Friends,_

The big Warren, VT 4th of July parade was a huge success and once again the Prickly Mountain float was the hit of the parade. It was a gigantic Bernie puppet rocking the SS. Status Quo. We had our traditional strawberry daiquiri party and my hands were stained red from cutting berries. It was great to see family and friends celebrating the birthday of the USA.

I am beginning to like Apple Music a lot. I might be the only one at the office that isn’t that impressed with Beats 1 but I do like the new paradigm of dealing with music. I have access to Apple’s entire library and get some pretty good suggestions for new music and playlists the match my tastes. I think that I will make out fine with the $14.99 family plan because I tend to buy more than that each month in music and now I can just download whatever I want. It will broaden my musical experience, too, as I will try a lot more music if it doesn’t have a dollar sign next to it. Now that the 3rd beta of iOS 9 is out I can enjoy it on my iPhone, too.

The latest beta versions of El Capitan and iOS 9 were released this week and aside from the normal bug fixes the first two things I have noticed is that this latest version of iOS 9 includes the News app which allows you to customize your news feed. I started playing around with that and can see how that will easily become one of my most used apps. Also, this version activates Apple Music for iOS, too. There is a new setting in Settings that allows Apple Music to stream high quality over cellular – but watch your data plan if you activate this!

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive is a home automation special. I use Kevo Bluetooth locks on my homes and I love them. Opening and locking the door is as easy as touching the lock. No more fumbling for keys. As long as you have your iPhone on you the lock will open and close when you touch it. Installation is simple, especially if you already have a deadbolt lock on your door. Better yet, you have electronic keys that you can send via email. You can send an eKey to anyone and enable or disable that key remotely. You can also pre-set when that key is going to work and when it stops working so if you have someone that needs to get in to your house to fix something, you can send them an eKey to let them in and when they leave that key is no longer active. The Kwikset Kevo also works in conjunction with the Nest thermostat for even greater home automation it senses when you come home and asks if you want to adjust the thermostat. Normally $219.99, these locks come in polished brass, satin nickel or Venetian bronze. This week for Kibbles & Bytes readers you can “**get this simple and versatile lock**”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001889 for only $189.99!