The Danish layout on the picture
Danish keyboards are ISO boards with the Windows Danish layout. Å sits right of P, and Æ then Ø right of L; ’ and * share the key beside Enter, < and > the key beside left Shift. The key left of 1 types ½ and §, the key right of 0 types + and ?, and the one before Backspace holds the dead accents ´ and `, with | on AltGr.
The other dead keys, ¨ ^ and ~, share the key right of Å. A dead key waits for the next letter (´ then e gives é); Space after it types the mark alone. AltGr gives @ £ $ € on 2 to 5, { [ ] } on 7 to 0, \ on <, and µ on M. The table under this text lists every key that differs from a US keyboard and marks the dead ones.
Switching to Danish
- Windows: Settings, Time & language, Language & region, Add a language, Dansk. Switch with Win+Space.
- macOS: System Settings, Keyboard, Text Input, Edit, +, Danish. Apple’s Danish keyboards place a few symbols differently.
- Linux (GNOME): Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, +, Danish.
Testing it
Press every key once. Each lights up under its Danish legend, including the dead keys that type nothing on their own. If Æ and Ø come out the wrong way round, the computer is set to Norwegian; if ; and ’ appear instead, it’s on English. In Chrome and Edge the line under the picture says when the computer isn’t on Danish. A key that never lights up has a fault, and the chatter detector catches keys that type twice.
The Danish keys at a glance
These keys differ from a US keyboard. The browser code is the name the key sends in the event log, taken from the US key in the same place. AltGr is the right Alt key; on Windows, Ctrl+Alt does the same. Keys marked "dead" type nothing on their own: press one, then a letter, for an accented letter (or Space for the mark itself).
| Key | Shift | AltGr | Browser code | US keyboard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ | § | Backquote | ` | |
| 2 | " | @ | Digit2 | 2 |
| 3 | # | £ | Digit3 | 3 |
| 4 | ¤ | $ | Digit4 | 4 |
| 5 | % | € | Digit5 | 5 |
| 6 | & | Digit6 | 6 | |
| 7 | / | { | Digit7 | 7 |
| 8 | ( | [ | Digit8 | 8 |
| 9 | ) | ] | Digit9 | 9 |
| 0 | = | } | Digit0 | 0 |
| + | ? | Minus | - | |
| ´ dead | ` dead | | | Equal | = |
| E | € | KeyE | E | |
| Å | BracketLeft | [ | ||
| ¨ dead | ^ dead | ~ dead | BracketRight | ] |
| Æ | Semicolon | ; | ||
| Ø | Quote | ' | ||
| ' | * | Backslash | \ | |
| < | > | \ | IntlBackslash | none (ISO only) |
| M | µ | KeyM | M | |
| , | ; | Comma | , | |
| . | : | Period | . | |
| - | _ | Slash | / |