Keyboard Layout - Change

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    Keyboard Layout - Change

    Keyboard Layout - Change

    How to Change the Keyboard Layout in Windows 7
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    Designer Media Ltd


    How to Change the Keyboard Layout in Windows 7

       Information
    This will show you how to change the keyboard layout to customize your keyboard for a specific input language or format. The keyboard layout controls which characters appear on the screen when you press the keys on your keyboard. Some input languages have several keyboard layouts; others have only one. This can make it easier to enter text or edit documents in multiple languages.

       Warning

    Before you will be able to change the Keyboard layout, you must add a input language and keyboard layout that you want to use first.






    OPTION ONE

    To Change Default Input Language and Keyboard Layout


    NOTE: This will allow you to select an added input language and keyboard layout to use as the default for all input fields in Windows 7.
    1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on the Region and Language icon.

    2. Click on the Keyboards and Languages tab, then click on the Change keyboards button. (see screenshot below)
    Keyboard Layout - Change-change_default.jpg
    3. In the Defualt input language section, click on the drop box and select a added input language and keyboard layout. (see screenshots below)
    Keyboard Layout - Change-change_default-1.jpgKeyboard Layout - Change-change_default-2.jpg
    4. Click on OK. (see screenshots above)

    5. Click on OK. (see screenshot below step 2)



    OPTION TWO

    To Change Keyboard Layout from Language Bar


    NOTE: The input language you select in this option will only stay set until you log out, shut down, or restart the computer. Afterwards, it will reset to the default input method set in OPTION ONE until changed.
    1. Click on the Language bar (on taskbar (default) or desktop), then select (check) a input language with the keyboard layout you want to use. (see screenshots below)
    Keyboard Layout - Change-change-1_taskbar.jpgKeyboard Layout - Change-change-1_desktop.jpg



    OPTION THREE

    To Change Keyboard Layout from the Welcome Screen


    NOTE: For example, on the CTRL+ALT+DELETE screen. The input language you select in this option will only stay set until you log out, shut down, or restart the computer. Afterwards, it will reset to the default input method set in OPTION ONE until changed.
    1. On the Welcome screen, click the Keyboard layout button Keyboard Layout - Change-getcontent.jpg, and then select a input language with the keyboard layout you want to use. (see screenshot below)
    Keyboard Layout - Change-change_lock-2.jpg
    That's it,
    Shawn






  1. Posts : 4,772
    Windows 7 Ultimate - 64-bit | Windows 8 Pro - 64-bit
       #1

    Good one Shawn !!
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  2. Posts : 71,977
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Thank you Shyam. :)
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  3. Posts : 1
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #3

    tks so much
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 96
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #4

    OK. So I did all of that and I don't think it's helping me. See here's the deal. I write a lot in French. What I've been doing so far is like a circus acrobatic routine. Let's say I want to get é. I have to press and hold Alt. Then using the Numeric Keypad (the numbers across the top row of the keyboard don't work) type 130. Alt+130 = é. Alt+0201 = É. See? Sometimes it's a 3-digit code, sometimes 4. I am getting to know many of them because I've used them a lot.

    Now here's where it gets complicated. Some of the keys in the Numeric Keypad have a second function if you turn on NumLock. For example, the 4 key in the Numeric Keypad isn't actually a 4 unless you turn on NumLock. If you are trying to enter one of these key sequences for an accented letter and 4 is in your sequence and you forget to turn on NumLock, then you accidentally type Alt+LeftArrow. That, as we all know, navigates to the previous page in your browser. Which is not very nice when you're trying to type French stuff into a text form on a web page. So, sometimes I have to turn on NumLock, and after that, Alt+0249 = ù. NumLock;Alt+136 = ê. But you have to remember to turn NumLock off to restore the Insert and Delete keys in the Numeric Keypad, keys which are crucial for the Cut/Copy/Paste operations.

    So. I have turned on the French Canadian keyboard. First off, the keyboard layout preview screen is pretty useless because it doesn't actually show you what all the keys do. Like what do you get if you modify keys with Shift? Or Alt? Or . . . something else? The only "foreign" character that shows is é where ? used to be. Actually, the preview shows É but what you get is é. If you modify the key with Shift, you get É: That's not a whole lot of help. There's so many other characters with accents in French: âàêôûùî and I'm just scratching the surface. It's actually much worse because what I type in Metapad is not the same results as what I get in the browser. I experimented a little while composing this post and it's really not pretty.

    Well, here I thought turning on an alternate keyboard would simplify my life. I changed to the Frecnh Canadian keyboard, went into Notepad (actually Metapad), and hit every key on the keyboard, shifted and unshifted. I even ran through the keyboard modifying keys with Alt. I'm not getting all the accented letters that I need. It's not any simplification over the cumbersome Alt+digits approach.

    What I really want to be able to do is tell the system that when I'm in alternate keyboard mode, I want certain characters to result when I use key sequences of my own choosing. Truly customize my keyboard. Like maybe Alt+e is é and Alt+E is É, and Ctrl+Alt+e is è, stuff like that. A user-defined keyboard map.

    Help?
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  5. Posts : 96
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #5

    In Brink's list of FREE Great Programs for Windows 7 I found a program called KeyTweak. It looks like it has potential but I think it just maps one key to another. I need something a little more than that: map a key sequence to a key. I guess you could call that mapping a macro to a key. Anybody have any experience with KeyTweak (or any other product) that might help?
    Last edited by WildWilly; 06 Dec 2014 at 11:11. Reason: Fix hyperlink reference to other page
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  6. Posts : 96
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #6

    Never mind


    After several further abortive attempts to make heads or tails of the keyboards I had activated using the instructions in this tutorial, I began, somewhat in desperation, to search Google for freeware that might help me. Along the way, I stumbled upon this. Now all I have to say is this . . . .

    DUH!!!!
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  7. Posts : 71,977
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #7

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  8. Posts : 96
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #8

    Not so fast . . .


    OK so the international keyboard works, as they say, à la merveille. Except . . . Why else would I be posting except for an except? So here's what my "Text Services and Input Languages" dialog shows on the General tab:

    Keyboard Layout - Change-general.jpg

    I would show you what is in the drop down list of selectable languages but the Snipping Tool makes the list collapse as soon as I try to snip something. So you can see that my only language is English US and there's just the 2 keyboards defined, which are the only 2 entries hiding in that drop down list.

    Now here's what I've got on the Advanced Key Settings tab:

    Keyboard Layout - Change-keys.jpg

    This confirms I have NO key sequences defined for switching languages, keyboards, nothing, zip, zilch, nada, rien.

    So riddle me this, Batman. How come my system keeps applying the International keyboard when I haven't asked for it? It seems to happen every few minutes. I keep setting it back to the US keyboard but the International keyboard keeps hijacking my system. What's up with this?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Keyboard Layout - Change-general.jpg   Keyboard Layout - Change-keys.jpg  
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  9. Posts : 71,977
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #9

    In your first screenshot, are you able to select and remove the "United States-International" input language to stop it from somehow being set as default?
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