> What do people do for this case? I'm using a US keyboard and I needed to have a "compose" key, thus I put this in .Xmodmap: keycode 113 = Multi_key clear mod3 add mod3 = Multi_key The keycode 113 was discovered using xev and it maps to the right alt key on my keyboard. To see which modifier is available, type xmodmap -pm at your prompt. Now, when I press the right Alt + " then a, I get ä.