Foreign Language for the on-screen keyboard

[Zal]

Can somebody advise me on the following:
In Windows 7 I would like to load a Foreign Language (Cyrilic) onto the on-screen keyboard, and then to be able to switch between the regular and on-screen keyboards by pressing some two-keys combination (maybe ALT-K). I could not find any info on this in the Windows 7 help.
Thank you.
Appreciate your help.

 

[fishnbanjo]

From the Control Panel (Start -> Control Panel) double click on the 'Regional and Language Options' icon, then 'Format', then 'Change Keyboard' to 'Russian'. Hit "App;y" then "OK" and your keyboard should be good.

The following link will give some hints on Cyrillic Cyrillic fonts for MS Windows

 

[Kari]

Hello Zal, welcome to the Seven Forums.

If you want to use two keyboard layouts and switch between them when needed, the post above gives you a perfect answer.

If you want to use two layouts simultaneously, one layout in on-screen keyboard and another from normal keyboard, it's not possible. On-screen keyboard is always using the current keyboard layout. I'm normally using a Finnish layout, so my on-screen keyboard is also using that layout:



As soon as I open the language bar and change the layout, for instance to German which I also use quite often, the on-screen layout is also changed:



Also if you change the input language from on-screen keyboards menu, it's changed in the language bar. Those two selections are always the same.

Did you know the Windows input language selection for each application is remembered as long as the application is not closed? An example: if you need sometimes type in Russian but normally in English, you could set input language to English in your main word processor (Word, OpenOffice etc.) and Russian as input language in WordPad. Now every time you open WordPad, the input language (i.e. keyboard layout) is automatically switched to Russian. When you go back to that other word processor, the input language is once again changed. Annoying thing with this is, that input language selection is reverted to default always when application is closed.

A clumsier but working solution would be to use for instance XP Mode virtual machine and set its input language to another language, then switch to XP Mode whenever you want to use that language for input.

However, my recommendation is to accept two additional mouse clicks and change the input language when needed, from language bar or from on-screen keyboards menu.



Kari

 

[Grimmjow]

in addition, you can use and alt+shift, на пример: Здраво (eg: Hello) for switching, nice and fast.
cheers

 

[mnguyen36]

Hello Zal, welcome to the Seven Forums.

If you want to use two keyboard layouts and switch between them when needed, the post above gives you a perfect answer.

If you want to use two layouts simultaneously, one layout in on-screen keyboard and another from normal keyboard, it's not possible. On-screen keyboard is always using the current keyboard layout. I'm normally using a Finnish layout, so my on-screen keyboard is also using that layout:

View attachment 79129

As soon as I open the language bar and change the layout, for instance to German which I also use quite often, the on-screen layout is also changed:

View attachment 79135

Also if you change the input language from on-screen keyboards menu, it's changed in the language bar. Those two selections are always the same.

Did you know the Windows input language selection for each application is remembered as long as the application is not closed? An example: if you need sometimes type in Russian but normally in English, you could set input language to English in your main word processor (Word, OpenOffice etc.) and Russian as input language in WordPad. Now every time you open WordPad, the input language (i.e. keyboard layout) is automatically switched to Russian. When you go back to that other word processor, the input language is once again changed. Annoying thing with this is, that input language selection is reverted to default always when application is closed.

A clumsier but working solution would be to use for instance XP Mode virtual machine and set its input language to another language, then switch to XP Mode whenever you want to use that language for input.

However, my recommendation is to accept two additional mouse clicks and change the input language when needed, from language bar or from on-screen keyboards menu.

View attachment 79136

Kari

Kari, how do I get that online keyboard like yours? I got it once, but I can't find it again. The normal on-screen keyboard just closes when you close it, but that one you have just goes to the side...i want that! please and thank you

 

[Kari]

Hi Mnguyen36, welcome to the Seven Forums.

As you correctly noticed, Seven has two differently behaving on-screen keyboards. To open the one I'm using, the one which instead of closing when Close button is clicked hides itself on the left edge of the display, you need to add a Tablet PC Input Panel to your Taskbar. Right click an empty spot on your Taskbar, select Toolbars > Tablet PC Input Panel:



Notice please: If the context menu described above does not list Tablet PC Input Panel, open Control Panel > Programs and Features, select Turn Windows features on or off, and enable Tablet PC Components:



Now when you need on-screen keyboard, just click Tablet PC icon on Taskbar. Here's how the icon looks on my vertical Taskbar:



And here on the normal horizontal Taskbar:



Kari