Accent Menu Missing on Mac? Here’s How to Fix It
Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you ever pressed and held a key on your Mac keyboard, expecting the accent menu to pop up, only to realize it’s not working? The accent menu is a handy feature on macOS that lets you easily type special characters and accented letters, perfect for writing in multiple languages. If this menu has suddenly disappeared, it can be frustrating—especially if you’re used to relying on it. Don’t worry; this issue is usually caused by a simple setting or system tweak, and I’ll walk you through how to get it back.
What is Accent Menu
The Accent Menu on macOS is a feature that allows you to easily type special characters or accented versions of a letter. This is particularly helpful for users typing in languages that use accents, like French, Spanish, or German. You may wan to use Accent Menu when:
- Typing in languages that require accented characters.
- Avoiding complex keyboard shortcuts or character map tools for special characters.
How It Works:
- Press and Hold a Key:
- When you press and hold a key (e.g.,
a,e,i,o,u, etc.), a small menu pops up showing alternate characters with accents or diacritical marks (likeá,à,â, etc.).
- When you press and hold a key (e.g.,
- Select an Accent:
- Use your mouse, trackpad, or the number keys to select the desired accented character from the menu.
- Release or Confirm:
- The selected character will replace the key you originally held down.
Example:
- Press and hold the
ekey on your keyboard. - A menu appears with options like
è,é,ê,ë, etc. - Type the number corresponding to the character you want (or click on it) to insert it.
Steps to Fix the Missing Accent Menu on Mac
Please try each steps in this order until your issue is gone:
1. Check Your Keyboard Settings: Ensure that your keyboard settings support the press-and-hold feature.
- Go to System Settings > Keyboard.
- Look for any settings related to key repeat or character behavior. Ensure there’s no custom configuration overriding the default behavior.
- Adjust the Key Repeat and Delay Until Repeat sliders if necessary, as extreme settings might interfere. Ensure that Key Repeat is not set to “Off” and that Delay Until Repeat is not set to an excessively long duration.
2. Webroot: Webroot SecureAnywhere, developed by Webroot Inc., can sometimes interfere with the Accent Menu on Mac. To resolve this issue, you can either uninstall the application or temporarily adjust its settings:
- Click the Webroot SecureAnywhere icon in the menu bar.
- Select Pause Secure Keyboard Entry from the dropdown menu.
This should restore the Accent Menu functionality. Apple acknowledges this issue.
3. Check the Press-and-Hold Setting: The accent menu relies on the ApplePressAndHoldEnabled setting. If it’s disabled, the menu won’t appear. Thus, let us make sure it is enabled.
- Open Terminal (search for it using Spotlight with
Command + Space). - Type the following command (this command enables the press-and-hold feature for keys on macOS) and press
Enter:
defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool true- Restart your Mac or log out and back in to apply the change.
- Test by pressing and holding a key like
eto see if the menu appears.
4. Restart the Affected Application: Sometimes, the accent menu may stop working in a specific app. To fix this:
- Quit the application where the issue occurs (e.g., Safari, Word, Notes).
- Relaunch the application and test the accent menu again.
5. Test with Another Keyboard: If you’re using an external keyboard:
- Disconnect it and test with your Mac’s built-in keyboard.
- Reconnect the external keyboard and test again. Some third-party keyboards may not fully support macOS features.
6. Check for macOS Updates: An outdated system may cause unexpected issues with features like the accent menu.
- Go to System Settings > General > Software Update.
- Install any available updates and restart your Mac.
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