The following instructions describe how to set-up international and specific language keyboards for typing in and using accents and characters of a non-English language.
Mac OS X
Set-up Instructions
French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish (10.4 & 10.5)
Specific Concerns
I want accent marks but don’t need another language keyboard
Keyboard viewer in Office 2004 in 10.4.x
Keyboard Layout Images
How to use the keyboard viewer
Opening the keyboard viewer allows you to see the selected keyboard layout.
Frequently Asked Questions
10.4: Coming soon
10.5: Coming soon
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
- Go to your Start menu
- Select “Control Panel.” If “Control Panel” is not part of your Start Menu, you will have to highlight “Settings” first and then select “Control Panel” from the “Settings” menu.
- Open “Regional and Language Options;” the list should be alphabetized so look under “R.”
- Click on the “Languages” tab near the top of the window.
- Click on “Details” which will be a button on the right side of the window, near the top; this will open a new window.
- Click on “Add,” a button on the right side of the window. This will open another window.
- In the new window, check the white box titled “Keyboard layout/IME.” This will allow you to select from a drop-down menu. Open the menu and select “United States - International;” the languages are alphabetized so look under “U.”
- After “United States - International” is selected, hit “OK” at the bottom of that window. (Note: it is not necessary to click “Apply” before hitting “OK.”)
- Click “OK” in the “Text Services and Input Language” window. (Again, there is no need to click “Apply.”)
- Click “OK” at the bottom of the “Regional and Language Options” window.
- A small keyboard symbol will appear in the bottom right of your screen. This allows you to choose which keyboard layout you would like to use. Click on it and select “United States - International” to use the international keyboard setting. You can switch back to “English (United States)” at any time.
- It is important to note that in Windows, you must select the international keyboard for each program in which you would like to use it. For example, if you need to type a document in Word using the international keyboard, select “United States - International” from the keyboard icon at the bottom of your screen. If you then use the Internet, you must reselect “United States - International” to use that layout on the Internet.
Return to the International and Language Specific Keyboard Guide
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
- Go to your Start menu.
- Select “Control Panel.” If “Control Panel” is not part of your Start Menu, you will have to highlight “Settings” first and then select “Control Panel” from the “Settings” menu.
- Open “Regional and Language Options;” the list should be alphabetized so look under “R.”
- Click on the “Keyboards and Languages” tab near the top of the window.
- Click on “Change keyboards” which will be a button on the right side of the window, near the top; this will open new window.
- Click on “Add,” which will be a button on the right side of the window.
- In the Add Input Language window, scroll down to English, under which there will be a list of U.S. keyboard options. (If it is not open, click the plus sign to the right of English; this will open your keyboard options.) Check the box next to “United States - International.”
- After “United States - International” is selected, hit “OK” at the bottom of that window. (Note: it is not necessary to click “Apply” before clicking “OK.”)
- Click “OK” in the “Text Services and Input Language” window. (Again, there is no need to click “Apply.”)
- Click “OK” at the bottom of the “Regional and Language Options” window.
- A small keyboard symbol will appear in the bottom right of your screen. This allows you to choose which keyboard you would like to use. Click on it and select “United States - International” to use the international keyboard setting. You can switch back to “English (United States)” at any time.
- It is important to note that in Windows, you must select the international keyboard for each program in which you would like to use it. For example, if you need to type a document in Word using the international keyboard, select “United States - International” from the keyboard icon at the bottom of your screen. If you then use the Internet, you must reselect “United States - International” to use that layout on the Internet.
Return to the International and Language Specific Keyboard Guide
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
Enabling a specific language keyboard: French, German, Italian, Spanish, etc.
- If you wish to select a specific language keyboard, in ‘Step 7′ of the XP or Vista instructions, simply choose the language in which you would like to type (i.e: Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, etc.) instead of “United States - International.”This will change the layout of your keyboard. Choosing a specific language keyboard over the International Keyboard may be a good choice for those typing in a language that uses uncommon accent marks or marks that are not found on the international keyboard.
Using the quotation mark and apostrophe keys with the International Keyboard…
- In the International Keyboard setting, the quotation mark and apostrophe keys are affected. They become what are called “dead keys,” which means that when you type them nothing appears because the computer is waiting for you to type another letter so that it can place the accent over it.If you want to make a quotation mark or an apostrophe, and not an accented letter, simply hit the space bar after tying those keys. The quotation mark or apostrophe will appear, and you can continue typing as usual.
Return to the International and Language Specific Keyboard Guide
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
- Click on the apple in the top left corner of your screen; select “System Preferences” from the drop-down menu.
- Click and open “International,” which is located under the heading “Personal.”
- Click “Input Menu,” located towards the top of the window; after clicking this you will see a list of languages.
- Check the box(es) to the left of the language(s) in which you need to type. It is necessary only to select the basic language format, i.e. choose “Italian” not “Italian Pro.”
- Once you have selected all the languages you need and they are checked, you may close the window.
- An American flag will appear in the top right corner of your screen. Clicking on this icon will produce a drop-down menu. Select the language keyboard in which you want to type. Changing the language changes your keyboard in all programs, from Word to iTunes to Safari and Firefox.
Return to the International and Language Specific Keyboard Guide
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
- Click on the apple in the top left corner of your screen; select “System Preferences” from the drop-down menu.
- Click and open “International,” which is located under the heading “Personal.”
- Click “Input Menu,” located towards the top of the window; after clicking this you will see a list of languages.
- Above the languages, at the top of the menu, check “Keyboard Viewer.” Once it is selected, you may close the window.
- Returning to the drop-down menu below the American flag, you can now select “Show Keyboard Viewer.” An image of the keyboard you are using will appear on the screen, and should stay on top of any program you are using, so that you can see it and type at the same time.
- To close the Keyboard Viewer, you may select “Hide Keyboard Viewer” from the drop-down menu under the flag, or you may simply click the red ‘X’ at the top left corner of the Keyboard Viewer.
- You can make it reappear at any time by selecting “Show Keyboard Viewer” from the drop-down menu under the flag.
Return to the International and Language Specific Keyboard Guide
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
I want accent marks but don’t need another language keyboard/Using the International Keyboard on OSX…
- If you do not wish to change your keyboard layout, you can type most of the common accent marks using the Alt keys in the standard United States keyboard layout. To see where the accent marks are placed on the keyboard, press either Alt key while using the “Keyboard Viewer” program. This method is Mac’s closest equivalent to the PC ‘United States-International’ keyboard.
Keyboard viewer in Office 2004 in 10.4.x…
- If you have Mac 10.5, the Keyboard Viewer will work at all times. Unfortunately, in Mac 10.4, there is an error in Microsoft Word that prevents the Keyboard Viewer from showing the correct layout when in Word. This does not affect users with Microsoft Word 2008. If you are using an older version of Word, the Keyboard Viewer only shows the U.S. layout while using Word. When using a different keyboard layout, the correct layout can be seen in all other programs, or by clicking on the desktop. For more information, see Frequently Asked Questions—Mac. (Gary, maybe we could make this a link that goes directly to the FAQs?)
Return to the International and Language Specific Keyboard Guide
Topics: email, faculty, languages, learn, lms, myslc, staff, student
