How to type the bar symbol on a French 6128+

[endangermice]

This may sound like a completely retarded question but I can't get my new French 6128 Plus to type the bar command. I see it's printed on a key by return but when I press shift I get an a with an accent. I thought at first there was a keyboard problem since there is another key that produces an a with an accent also. However both keys produce a different symbol when shift isn't pressed suggesting they are connecting different circuits. So how do I get a bar symbol is it some sort of dark art...?

[MacDeath]

ù


so you type ùCPM to run a |cpm  or perhaps ùgame too instead of |game, and so on...






Not sure for other usage.




Yep, the AZERTY keyboard is such a failure.


As Sir Alan Sugar told so often : "fuck you french peoples!" (but he liked our money anyway)

[endangermice]

You're absolutely right, I meant an accented u not an a - the cost of not being near the machine when I write a post! Thanks for the reply, I literally just found out that the u with an accent works as the bar before you answered - when I posted I simply assumed it wouldn't work, looks like they have redefined the symbol in the ROM which is a bit confusing but I'll get used to it. The good news is that the disc drive works perfectly (which is what I expected) but seeing as this is the first time I've been able to use the machine, I'm delighted .

[TotO]

The joke was that the "|" key exist on the keyboard, and you just have to hit it.
But, it print "ù" instead... (like the "ù" key... poor french cpc keymap)

[MacDeath]

The funniest part is that "ù" is actually used in only one word in French...


to differanciate "ou" (=where) and "où" (= or).


So yeay, it is totally almost useless.

[TotO]

Exactly.
The worst is that we may use "ou / oû" instead, like used in "du / dû", "mur / mûr", ...
Ironically, the today french PC keyboard own the "`" ghost key!
That may avoid to have the "à" and "ù" dedicated keys... So stupid. 


And better to not speak about the poor layout on CPC... So clever to put ( [ ) ] "here" ... 
I definitively love my QWERTY french CPC !!!

[Gryzor]

Maybe I'm wrong but I remember seeing French manuals using the u symbol instead of the pipe one, that's how I found how the AZERTY keyboard works in such cases. Still, very silly especially since the pipe symbol is printed on the key, dammit!

[MacDeath]

I quite liked spanish keyboards compared to french keyboard while at Madrid (on a modern PC).


the only problem with the Spanish keyboard is the slight waste on the Ñ key...


but otherwise the accents are betterly managed than on the French AZERTY.


è, é, ê, ç... ë... ñ... all those could be donne with generic "accent" keys.
alongside the few other nordic or Polish letter mods (or even Türkish, but they have a lot of those).
Would just need actually 4 keys dedicated to this (2 accents/mods on each, then press another letter...), but hey, Brition/English speakers cannot into accents...


what's the point with è and ù and à keys while we also have a proper  [ `] key to also do the ò or ì.

Ironically, the today french PC keyboard own the "`" ghost key! 

just place it in place of the ù and get those ù, è, à removed...


I bet the Académie Française screwed this at one point...

Computer is supposed to be logic, but this aspect wasn't done by logical persons.
Some say those keyboards were designed that way because with alphabetical order, the poeples would type too fast for those old mecanical writing machines.
Then it stuck on when computers needed proper keyboards.
ergggggg.....


This ruins everyone's life because those stupid conceptors are stupids.


Also, France insisted on having a "µ" symbol on the standard AZERTY... which is almost good to write greek or Math.


What was the limitation so the CPC keyboard don't have that many "3 characters per key" keys ?

[TotO]

the "è" character must stay a  dedicated key (as well as "é") because it's too much frequent to use them.

[SyX]

The same with Ñ in spanish, W for example is less used here

[MacDeath]

W is certainly used because gotta remember most coding langages are in English...


But for text edition/printing/PCW related apps, of course you more use your nacioñal lingua.

[SyX]

My surname has one, the spanish basketball team is called ÑBA, ... but W except for coding and a few strange names, is not used at all

[OCT]

The funniest part is that "ù" is actually used in only one word in French...
to differanciate "ou" (=where) and "où" (= or).
So yeay, it is totally almost useless.

And you are sure you put the accent grave on the right one above?

[TotO]

It's a shame! 

[MacDeath]

or the opposite/réciproque/other way...




ow com'on... I'm french, I'm better than you (at french)*.






*ok, more a britain stuff to claim being better than...**
**damned Britons UK... they manage to get more medal thx to cheats...***
***olympic is all about organization after all.****
****I still Love those UK britons anyway... we are bros too after all, but ok, germany, you are too, yet more in the Kraut department... and so spaÑia (Chorizo sausage is huge and red), and so Polskaya (for me I guess, I love my Babsha) and.... Europe*****.
*****get off Aussies, (not Östrich but Australia) nobody likes you, not even Euméricannes******.
******I love being a prick jerk racist scum. but not for serious.


Needless to say, many red wine glasses or Pastis Glasses were sacrified to my stomach (and liver)(and brain)(and sanity)(and... ok let's puck this out) this night to get me writing such nonsenses in this forum.

[00WReX]

I think my AZERTY 6128 is pretty cool, just for the novelty factor.
Probably not many AZERTY keyboard's in Australia.
But it totally screws me when I forget I'm using it and look at the screen and realise I've typed a whole heap of crap.
Hahaha @ MacDeath...maybe you should have "many" red wines more often...that's the best post you've ever done 

[MacDeath]

My good old CPC6128 was/is QWERTY anyway.


We had a few of those in France too, when Amstrad used to sell too much CPCs in France and not enough eslwhere/UK...
So they rebranded QWERTY CPC to sell them in France.
My Daddy got us this CPC6128 right the year when they were released actually.


To me it was also a surprise when some friends got a CPC6128 AZERTY like 1-2 year later to find this ÙCPM thing.

[TotO]

We had a few of those in France too, when Amstrad used to sell too much CPCs in France and not enough eslwhere/UK... So they rebranded QWERTY CPC to sell them in France.

It look to be false...

I got a 6128 when it was out in France (preordered) and the Keyboard was already QWERTY (1986).
My cousin and some friends close to 1 year later, and a QWERTY too. Then, I only saw AZERTY models...
Probably because AMSTRAD France want a french Keyboard on it's popular computer.

[MacDeath]

Perhaps you are true considering amstrad Espania prefered to glue a useless 8K chip on the motherboard instead to get proper Ñ equipped keyboards...

[Kris]

The funniest part is that "ù" is actually used in only one word in French...


to differanciate "ou" (=where) and "où" (= or).


So yeay, it is totally almost useless.

@Mc Death: Are you really French ? What you wrote above is totally inversed !!! 
"ou" means "or" and "où" means "where"


Too much [size=78%] apero ?[/size]

[MacDeath]

où l'inverse... je ne sais plus ou j'ai vù ça déjà...