Compose Key on Windows

My last name is Stüvel, and it causes all kinds of issues on various systems. Since in the Netherlands people typically use a keyboard with US layout, there is no ü key. So how do I type my name? Compose key to the rescue.

On Linux I type the ü by using the Compose key. Since modern keyboards don’t have such a key, I’ve configured my right-hand Alt key to become Compose. To type ü, I press Compose, ", u. One after the other, I don’t have to keep three keys pressed at the same time.

I can hear you think: isn’t what US International layout is for? Yes, and no. With that layout I can shave off a key, and type ", u instead. However, every time I want to have just single or double quotes, I have to type ", <space>, doubling the number of keys necessary. As a software developer, this is unacceptable to me, because I have to type these quotes so often.

Additionally, the Compose key expands far beyond accented Latin characters:

Now, most Linux systems have built-in support for the Compose key, but Windows does not. Fortunately I recently found WinCompose, which fills in that gap pretty well. It’ll now get installed by default on any of my Windows machines!