For all it's worth (this thread appears to be about windows, so I can't help per se) - I'm using Linux, with the US intl keyboard layout w/o deadkeys. This allows me to use CapsLock (when would I actually EVER :D wan to use all caps, right?) as a "compose key", so special characters and accented letters become a sequence.

e.g. to get an á I type Caps-' + a

Sounds tedious, but works quite well and I can do that fairly quickly these days ...

Å ñ 10°C ¥ £ € ı č ç ... all fairly straight forward.

Thank you so much again, Tano. It works perfectly now. =]

I may have needed to relearn where certain symbols are, but using the German layout is far easier for me. On my main computer I have a German keyboard, while on the laptop and the iPad I use a normal US keyboard with the German layout. I learned to touch type, so I generally don't need to look at the keys if I choose not to do so. Because I've used the layout for so long, even the symbols don't generally cause me any confusion if I am looking at the US keyboard.

Sorry, I meant altgr and s at the same time, you don't have to press the plus key

Thank you so much, tano. I can type letter ß now. But it turns out not only the letter, it always comes with a cross or the equal sign, like the below: