German keyboard layout

If the entered combination is not encoded in Unicode by a single code point (precomposed character), most current implementations cause the display of a free-standing (spacing) version of the accent followed by the unaccented base letter.

For users with insufficient typing skills this behaviour (which is explicitly not compliant with the current DIN 2137-1:2012-06) leads to mistype a spacing accent instead of an apostrophe (e.g., it´s instead of correctly it's).

The "T2" layout newly defined in DIN 2137-1:2012-06 was designed to overcome such restrictions, but firstly to enable typing of other languages written in the Latin script.

The characters shown at the right border of a keytop are accessed by first pressing a dead key sequence of AltGr plus the × multiplication sign.

Thus, it enables to write several minority languages (e.g. Sami) and transliterations, but is more difficult to comprehend than the "T2" layout, and therefore not expected to be accepted by a broad audience beyond experts who need this functionality.

The current DIN 2137-1:2012-06 simply requests the presence of a "capitals lock" key (which is the name used in the ISO/IEC 9995 series), without any description of its function.

Most Linux distributions include a keymap for German in Germany that extends the T1 layout with a set of characters and dead keys similar, but not identical to the "Outdated common secondary group" of ISO/IEC 9995-3:2002.

Computer keyboard with German keyboard layout T2 according to DIN 2137-1:2012-06
German keyboard layout "T1" according to DIN 2137-1:2012-06
Degree symbol Circumflex accent Multiplication sign Exclamation mark 1 (number) Apostrophe Quotation mark 2 (number) Square (algebra) Section sign 3 (number) Cube (algebra) Dollar sign 4 (number) Dash#Em dash Percent sign 5 (number) Inverted question and exclamation marks Ampersand 6 (number) Inverted question and exclamation marks Slash (punctuation) 7 (number) Braces (punctuation) Parentheses 8 (number) Bracket Parentheses 9 (number) Bracket Quals sign 0 (number) Braces (punctuation) Question mark ß Backslash Grave accent Acute accent Dot (diacritic) Backspace Tab key Q At sign W Caron E Euro sign Œ R Diaeresis (diacritic) T Macron (diacritic) Z Double acute accent U Breve I Tilde Dotless I O Ring (diacritic) Ø P Hook above Þ Ü Horn (diacritic) Long s Asterisk Plus and minus signs#Plus sign Tilde Return key Caps lock A Less than or equal to Æ S Greater than or equal to D Diameter#Diameter symbol Ð F Prime (symbol) G Double prime H Capital ẞ J Cedilla K Comma#Diacritical usage L Ogonek Ł Ö Dot below Ä Bar (diacritic) Apostrophe#Computing Number sign Registered trademark symbol Ə Return key Shift key Greater-than sign Less-than sign Vertical bar Y Guillemet X Guillemet Quotation mark Quotation mark C Copyright symbol V Guillemet Quotation mark Quotation mark B Guillemet Quotation mark Quotation mark N Dash#En dash M Micro- Semicolon Comma ʻOkina Ellipsis Colon (punctuation) Full stop Zero-width non-joiner Interpunct Underscore Hyphen Soft hyphen Shift key Control key Fn key Windows key Alt key Space (punctuation) Non-breaking space Thin space AltGr key ISO/IEC 9995#Level and group selection Windows key Menu key Control key
German keyboard layout "T2" according to DIN 2137-1:2012-06.
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German keyboard layout in modern Linux systems
Keyboard of an Adler typewriter Modell No. 7 , produced about 1899–1920 in Frankfurt
Keyboard of a mechanical typewriter Olympia SM3 , produced 1954 by Olympia-Werke , Germany.
Keyboard of a mechanical typewriter Olympia SM9 , produced 1964 by Olympia-Werke , Germany. This layout was defined by DIN 2112 (1956, with revisions 1967 and 1976). The location of the punctuation marks on the upper numerical row is different from modern computer keyboards. The key with ∷ four dots is the margin release. [ 4 ] The arrow key under TAB is the ↣ Backspace key, [ 5 ] which is pointing in the direction the paper would move rather than the way a cursor would move (as on a modern computer keyboard).
Detail of a keyboard of a German IBM Portable PC 5155 , produced about 1984–85