Whenever I type the symbol for a quotation mark (’) the @ symbol appears, and vice-versa. How can I rectify this transposition? The computer is running Windows 98.

This problem is related to the incorrect keyboard layout being selected. The keyboard layout tells Windows which keys on the physical keyboard are mapped to which on-screen characters. For example: the keyboard layout tells Windows when the T key is pressed on the keyboard, the letter T should be printed on-screen.

Other international keyboard layouts have keys in different arrangements on the physical keyboard. Relevant to your case, some international layouts (e.g. UK keyboard layout) have the quotation mark (’) key and the @ symbol key switched. Because Windows has been configured to use one of these international layouts, when you press the quotation mark key Windows thinks that key is the @ symbol key (and vice-versa) and, in turn, prints the @ symbol on screen.

In Australia, our keyboards use the US keyboard layout. Therefore, Windows must be configured to use the US keyboard layout so the keys on the physical keyboard match the characters which will be printed on-screen.

So, we must configure Windows to use the US keyboard layout. Go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Settings’ > ‘Control Panel’ and open the ‘Keyboard’ control panel. In the window that appears, click the ‘Language’ tab. If the ‘English (United States)’ keyboard layout is installed, select that option and click ‘Set as default’ then click OK to close and save. Should ‘English (United States)’ not be currently installed, click the ‘Add’ button and add the ‘English (United States)’ language. Once the language has been added, make sure you enable it as the default language.