Add comprehensive character mapping documentation to PowerToys QuickAccent

Co-authored-by: alvinashcraft <[email protected]>

Author: Copilot

hub/powertoys/quick-accent.md

@@ -23,6 +23,31 @@ For example: If you want "à", press and hold <kbd>A</kbd> and press <kbd>Space<
 
 With the dialog enabled, keep pressing your activation key.
 
+## Character discovery
+
+Quick Accent maps accented characters to their base letter keys. To find a specific character:
+
+1. **Hold the base letter key** (like A, E, I, O, U, C, N, S, Z, etc.) that the accented character is based on
+2. **Press your activation key** (Space or arrow keys) while holding the base key
+3. **Browse available characters** using your activation key to cycle through options
+4. **Release both keys** when the desired character is highlighted
+
+### Supported base keys
+
+Most alphabetic keys support accented characters, including:
+- **Vowels**: A, E, I, O, U (most accented variations)
+- **Consonants**: C, D, G, H, J, K, L, N, R, S, T, W, Y, Z (language-specific accents)
+- **Special keys**: Some punctuation and symbol keys for currency and mathematical symbols
+
+### Unsupported keys
+
+The following keys do **not** trigger Quick Accent overlays:
+- **Semicolon (;)** - No accented variations available
+- **Most numbers (0-9)** - Limited special character support
+- **Function keys (F1-F12)** - Not supported
+- **Modifier keys** (Ctrl, Alt, Shift) - Used for activation only
+- **Space bar** - Used as activation key only
+
 ## Character sets
 
 You can limit the available characters by selecting character sets from the settings menu. Available character sets are:
@@ -63,6 +88,49 @@ You can limit the available characters by selecting character sets from the sett
 - Vietnamese
 - Welsh
 
+### Common character mappings
+
+Here are examples of character mappings for popular character sets:
+
+#### French character set
+- **A key**: à, á, â, ä, ā, ă, ą
+- **E key**: è, é, ê, ë, ē, ĕ, ė, ę, ě
+- **C key**: ç, ć, ĉ, ċ, č
+- **O key**: ò, ó, ô, ö, ō, ŏ, ő, ø, œ
+
+#### German character set  
+- **A key**: ä, á, à, â, ā, ă, ą
+- **O key**: ö, ó, ò, ô, ō, ŏ, ő, ø
+- **U key**: ü, ú, ù, û, ū, ŭ, ů, ű, ų
+- **S key**: ß (eszett), ś, ŝ, ş, š
+
+#### Spanish character set
+- **A key**: á, à, â, ä, ā, ă, ą
+- **E key**: é, è, ê, ë, ē, ĕ, ė, ę, ě
+- **N key**: ñ, ń, ņ, ň, ŋ
+- **U key**: ú, ù, û, ü, ū, ŭ, ů, ű, ų
+
+#### Currency character set
+- **S key**: $, £, ¥, ₹, ₽, ₩, ₴, ₦, ₡, ₨, ₪, ₫, ₵, ₶, ₷, ₸, ₹, ₺, ₻, ₼, ₽, ₾, ₿, ﷼
+- **E key**: €, ₤, ₧, ₨, ₩, ₫
+- **C key**: ¢, ₡, ₵
+- **F key**: ₣, ₦
+- **L key**: £, ₤, ₦, ₧, ₨, ₩, ₫, €, ₯, ₰, ₱, ₲, ₳, ₴, ₵, ₶, ₷, ₸, ₹, ₺, ₻, ₼, ₽, ₾, ₿
+
+### International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) characters
+
+IPA symbols are available across multiple character sets. Common IPA characters include:
+
+- **Vowel symbols**: Available through vowel keys (A, E, I, O, U) in various character sets
+- **Consonant symbols**: Available through consonant keys in language-specific character sets  
+- **Special IPA symbols**: Some available through Greek character set
+- **Length markers**: The vowel length/gemination marker **ː** (triangular colon) may be available through colon (:) key in certain character sets, or through T key in some language sets
+
+> **Note**: If you cannot find a specific IPA symbol like ː (vowel length marker), try:
+> 1. Enable multiple character sets (Greek, Hebrew, or language sets that use similar symbols)
+> 2. Try different base keys (colon, T, or vowel keys)
+> 3. Use the "Show Unicode code and name" setting to identify available characters
+
 ## Settings
 
 From the Settings menu, the following options can be configured:
@@ -78,4 +146,37 @@ From the Settings menu, the following options can be configured:
 | Input delay | The delay in milliseconds before the dialog appears. |
 | Excluded apps | Add an application's name, or part of the name, one per line (e.g. adding `Notepad` will match both `Notepad.exe` and `Notepad++.exe`; to match only `Notepad.exe` add the `.exe` extension). |
 
+## Troubleshooting character discovery
+
+If you cannot find a specific character you need:
+
+### Enable relevant character sets
+1. **Multiple character sets**: Enable several character sets that might contain your character
+2. **Language-specific sets**: Choose character sets for languages that use similar symbols
+3. **Specialized sets**: Try Currency, Greek, or Hebrew sets for special symbols
+
+### Try different base keys
+1. **Phonetic similarity**: Try keys that sound similar to your target character
+2. **Visual similarity**: Try keys that look similar to your target character  
+3. **Related characters**: Try base keys of characters in the same family
+
+### Use Unicode information
+1. **Enable Unicode display**: Turn on "Show the Unicode code and name of the currently selected character" in settings
+2. **Character identification**: Use this to identify what characters are available on each key
+3. **Character lookup**: Search online for the Unicode name if you know the character you need
+
+### Common troubleshooting examples
+- **ñ (Spanish n with tilde)**: Try N key with Spanish character set enabled
+- **ß (German eszett)**: Try S key with German character set enabled  
+- **œ (Latin small ligature oe)**: Try O key or E key with French character set enabled
+- **ø (Latin small letter o with stroke)**: Try O key with Danish or Norwegian character set enabled
+- **ː (IPA triangular colon)**: Try colon (:) key, T key, or vowel keys with Greek or Hebrew character sets enabled
+
+### Alternative solutions
+If Quick Accent doesn't have the character you need:
+1. **Windows Character Map**: Use Windows built-in Character Map utility
+2. **Alt codes**: Use numeric Alt codes for specific characters
+3. **Unicode input**: Use Windows Unicode input method (Alt + numeric keypad)
+4. **Copy-paste**: Copy characters from online Unicode references
+
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