I find a compose key (see Wikipedia) quite helpful for diacritics, em dashes, &c.—once you get the hang of it, it’s really quite fast and intuitive. One can even add new combinations.
I recently left the linux world and with it the compose key... the most similar (native) thing windows offers are dead keys which I find deeply abhorring.
I settled on switching keyboard layouts with Windows+space.
I was more curious about the why than the how in a sense.
I use Windows, and haven't used Linux for years. It's probably just a matter of time before I go back, and when I do I know I'll love the compose key.
However, the workaround I use on Windows is Alt key combinations: I memorized the dozen or so patterns [1] I use the most. For example, `Alt + 0160` for non-breaking space, `Alt + 0150` for en dash, `Alt + 26` (and a few more) for arrows and `Alt + 0133` for ellipsis. It must seem crazy when you're used to the compose key.
I haven't heard of dead keys as a workaround. How does it compare? (Wow, this is getting very far from the original topic…)
[1] An important key to memorizing them is to see them as patterns on the numpad, rather than a sequence of digits.
dead keys are an hack that implement a feature of old typewriters. On a computer it simply disables the keys for accents and combine the accent with the next letter, the catch is that if you want to write the accent character (',`,^," etc.) you have to press the key twice, as the first press does nothing.
I settled on switching keyboard layouts with Windows+space.
I was more curious about the why than the how in a sense.