Solved How can I disable SmartQuotes for Vista (as opposed to Windows Mail / Office etc)

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Paulustrious

Member
Somehow I have enabled smart quotes for my PC. And I do not mean just in Office or Windows Mail, but in Notepad, the 'start search' area, in this message - everywhere.

In case some are not aware of Smart Quotes, it is the system which allows 'European' characters to be typed on an American (or other) keyboard. So in notepad if I type a double quote it does not appear but waits for the next typed character. If it is an e the two keystrokes result in an e with an umlaut ... ë. Similar things happen with single-quote and left-quote. For example

'e ==> é
`a ==> à
'c ==> ç
etc.

I think this came about from installing Canadian multi-language support, which I subsequently removed. I can find nowhere to switch this off. A registry search on smartquotes turned up a single flag in Windows Mail.

Any idea where to go to switch off this option?
 

My Computer

System One

Hi Paulustrious,

I'm not certain the issue is Smart Quotes. From my research that's something a bit different and literally involves changing the appearance of quotes from straight to curly (or perhaps the reverse - I don't quite recall). I don't know what the process you're describing is called, but I believe I know where it is controlled and possibly how to turn it off.

Go to Start / Control Panel / Regional and Language Options / and check every setting in all four of the tabs to make sure it is all English (United States). Pay special attention to the Keyboard Tab, but do check all of them as I'm not sure where this is coming from - but I'm pretty sure this Control panel program is the key to resolving it.

The following tutorial may also be of assistance: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/103844-keyboard-input-language.html.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
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    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
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    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
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    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
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    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
I was searching for an answer even as Lorien was typing. My research led to the same answer. The only problem that I found was that the smart quotes is suppose to be limited to specific software, such as Word.
If the above solution does not work, try a system restore, from before the use of the Canadian software, if possible. If that is not possible, restore the software with System Restore, then we can discuss the proper way to uninstall.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html
Once again, this solution is the last resort after all else has been tried.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Thank you both for your considered replies. I removed all the 'foreign' keyboards and languages, and in hindsight that may have been the problem. I suspect I removed all the languages whilst my keyboard was set to some multi-lingual form, and then I had no way of reverting back to the good old US. I went through that section of control panel with a fine-tooth comb but to no avail. I have been having a few other funnies of late in explorer et al. So I eventually bit the bullet and completely rebuilt my machine, both hardware and software. Now there are no problems. Just a very late reply due to the length of time it took me to learn about SSDs, raid structures and the inadequacies of Western Digital backup software (and manuals) when trying to restore data onto another machine.

So many thanks.

Paul
 

My Computer

System One

Paul you are very welcome
Enjoy the computer and the Holidays
Take care.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hi Paul,

I'm glad things are back to normal, but sorry it took such a drastic step to get there. It was our pleasure - we we glad to assist however we could.

Thanks for the feedback - it is appreciated.

I will request that this thread be marked solved.

Good luck and best wishes (and happy holidays)!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01
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