The Swiss layout on the picture
Swiss keyboards are ISO QWERTZ boards: Z and Y are swapped compared with a US keyboard, as in Germany. The keycaps carry two letters on each of three keys: ü and è right of P, ö and é right of L, ä and à after that. The picture shows the Swiss German layout, which types the umlauts on their own and the French accents with Shift.
The number row is Switzerland’s own: § and ° left of 1, then + “ * ç % & / ( ) = on Shift+1 to 0, with ’ ? and ^ ` ~ (dead) before Backspace. $ and £ sit beside Enter, ¨ and ! right of ü. The table under this text lists every key that differs from a US keyboard and marks the dead keys.
Swiss French
Swiss French uses the same keyboard with each accent pair the other way round: è, é and à on their own, ü, ö and ä with Shift. Test a Swiss French setup here too: the keys and their codes are identical, only what they type changes. The picture keeps the Swiss German legends; the event log shows what each key types on your setup.
Switching layouts
- Windows: Settings, Time & language, Language & region, add German (Switzerland) or French (Switzerland), whose keyboards are Swiss German and Swiss French. Switch with Win+Space.
- macOS: System Settings, Keyboard, Text Input, Edit, +, Swiss German or Swiss French.
- Linux (GNOME): Settings, Keyboard, Input Sources, +, German (Switzerland) or French (Switzerland).
The Swiss German 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| § | ° | Backquote | ` | |
| 1 | + | ¦ | Digit1 | 1 |
| 2 | " | @ | Digit2 | 2 |
| 3 | * | # | Digit3 | 3 |
| 4 | ç | ° | Digit4 | 4 |
| 5 | % | § | Digit5 | 5 |
| 6 | & | ¬ | Digit6 | 6 |
| 7 | / | | | Digit7 | 7 |
| 8 | ( | ¢ | Digit8 | 8 |
| 9 | ) | Digit9 | 9 | |
| 0 | = | Digit0 | 0 | |
| ' | ? | ´ dead | Minus | - |
| ^ dead | ` dead | ~ dead | Equal | = |
| E | € | KeyE | E | |
| Z | KeyY | Y | ||
| ü | è | [ | BracketLeft | [ |
| ¨ dead | ! | ] | BracketRight | ] |
| ö | é | Semicolon | ; | |
| ä | à | { | Quote | ' |
| $ | £ | } | Backslash | \ |
| < | > | \ | IntlBackslash | none (ISO only) |
| Y | KeyZ | Z | ||
| , | ; | Comma | , | |
| . | : | Period | . | |
| - | _ | Slash | / |