How to Configure Your Computer for a Different Language

These instructions are general and should work for any language that is provided for in your operating system. All of our stock foreign language keyboards are supported by Windows XP; if you are using a different operating system you should confirm that the language you need is supported by your operating system before purchasing a keyboard.

Note: You may also need to get fonts for the language you want to use.

Select the operating system you are using for instructions on using your keyboard with other languages.

• Choose Start > Control Panel.
• Select Date, Time, Language & Regional Options.
• Click Add other languages.
• Click on the Languages tab.
  • Check Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages (e.g. Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, etc).
  • Check Install files for East Asian Languages (for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc).
• Click Apply (the files will install).
• When asked to restart, click Yes.
• When the computer restarts choose Start > Control Panel.
• Select Date, Time, Language & Regional Options.
• Click on Add other languages (this will open the Regional and Language Options Control Panel).
• In the Text Services and Input section click Details.
  • Click on the Settings tab and then click Add.
  • In the Input Language menu choose the language you want to add.
  • In the Keyboard layout menu choose the keyboard you want to add.
  • Note: for Japanese, keep the default IME keyboards or Japanese will not work.

• Click OK and then Apply.
• Click on the Language Bar button.
• Check Show language bar on desktop.
• Check Show text-labels on language bar.
• Check Show additional language bar icons in the task bar.
• Click OK.
• Click OK again.
• Restart the computer.

When the computer restarts:

• You can change the language toolbar settings by right-clicking on the EN button in the system tray at the bottom right of your desktop.
• You can change languages by left-clicking on the EN and choosing a different language.

• Choose Start > Control Panel.
• Select Regional and Languages Options.
• Click on the Languages tab
  • Check Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages (e.g. Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, etc)
  • Check Install files for East Asian Languages (for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc).
• Click Apply (the files will install)
• When asked to restart, click Yes.
• When the computer restarts choose Start > Control Panel.
• Select Regional and Languages Options.
• Click on Add other languages (this will open the Regional and Language Options Control Panel)
• In the Text Services and Input section click Details.
  • Click on the Settings tab and then click Add.
  • In the Input Language menu choose the language you want to add.
  • In the Keyboard layout menu choose the keyboard you want to add
  • Note: for Japanese, keep the default IME keyboards or Japanese will not work

• Click OK and then Apply.
• Click on the Language Bar button.
• Check Show language bar on desktop
• Check Show text-labels on language bar
• Check Show additional language bar icons in the task bar
• Click OK
• Click OK again
• Restart the computer

When the computer restarts:

• You can change the language toolbar settings by right-clicking on the EN button in the system tray at the bottom right of your desktop
• You can change languages by left-clicking on the EN and choosing a different language

Notes:

• For East Asian languages you will need to adjust the size of the toolbar to see all options. To do this, right-click on the toolbar and select Adjust Language Band Position. You can do this after you switch back to English to shrink the toolbar again
• To use Japanese Kanji you must click on the Input Mode button in the toolbar to select which character style you want to type in. Direct input will give you English

To Install Language support:

• Choose Start > Settings > Control Panels
• Open the Regional Options control panel
• On the General tab, under Language settings for the system, check the language that you would like to set up. (Uncheck *everything* else. Scroll down to find more languages in that menu.)
• Click OK
• Click No to avoid restarting

To add Language Keyboard:

• Choose Start > Settings > Control Panels > Keyboard
• Select the Input Locales tab and click Add
• An Add Input Locale window will pop up
• From the Add Input Language pull-down menu, choose the language that you would like to set up
• Make sure that the Keyboard Layout/IME (Input Method Editor) is set to that language
• Click OK
• In the Input Locales Menu, check the box next to "Enable indicator on task bar."
• Press OK
• Restart

When the computer restarts:

• You can change the language toolbar settings by right-clicking on the EN button in the system tray at the bottom right of your desktop
• You can change languages by left-clicking on the EN and choosing a different language

Note:

• To use Japanese Kanji you must click on the Input Mode button in the toolbar to select which character style you want to type in. Direct input will give you English

To Install Language Support:

• Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel
• Double-click Add/Remove Programs
• Click the Windows Setup tab
• In the Components list, check the Multi language Support checkbox, and then click on the Details button
• Select the check boxes next to the languages that you want to use and click OK
• In the Add/Remove Programs Window, click OK
• Click no to avoid restarting

To add Language Keyboard:

• Go to windows Start > Settings > Control Panel
• Double-click Keyboard
• Click the Language tab
• Click Add and select languages (Make sure you leave the default at English.)
• Click OK
• In the Keyboard Properties Menu, click OK
• Restart

When the computer restarts:

• You can change the language toolbar settings by right-clicking on the EN button in the system tray at the bottom right of your desktop
• You can change languages by left-clicking on the EN and choosing a different language

Notes:

• Windows 95: For Slavic Languages, you will also need to add a new keyboard driver so that the keyboard layout will work. Click here for to download the Slavic keyboard drivers
• Windows 95, 98, ME: To use Japanese Kanji you must click on the Input Mode button in the toolbar to select which character style you want to type in. Direct input will give you English

Using additional languages:

• From the Apple menu choose System Preferences
• Double-click on International
• Select the Input Menu tab
• Check the language that you would like to set up
  • Note: Some languages offer more than one keyboard. We suggest selecting both keyboards and trying them out to determine which you prefer
• If you would like to have a map of the keyboard (so you know which keys produce which characters) check the box for Keyboard Viewer as well as the language you would like to set up
• If you would like a palette of all of the characters available at a given time, check the box for Character Palette, or for Japanese, the Japanese Kana Palette

• Click on the Options button
• Uncheck both checkboxes
• Click OK
• Close the International Window
• Quit out of the System Preferences

A flag icon will now appear next to the speaker icon at the top of your desktop. Click on this icon to display a drop menu and select a different keyboard. When you want to change back to English, just select the American flag.

If you would like to see the keyboard map, choose Keyboard Viewer from this menu.

If the language you would like to use is not selectable from this menu, it means the application you are using does not support typing in this language.

A flag icon will now appear next to the Help menu on your desktop. Click on this icon to display a drop menu and select a different keyboard. When you want to change back to English, just select the American flag.

Installing additional languages:

• Insert your Mac OS software install CD
• Double-click on the Mac OS Install icon (you are not going to install the entire OS again, just an extra component)
• In the Install Macintosh Software window, click Continue
• In the Select Destination window, make sure that the Macintosh HD (or the name of your hard drive with the operating system) is selected and click Select
• A pop-up window will appear. Click Add/Remove
• In the Custom Installation and Removal window UNCHECK all the boxes that have check-marks. If you leave any of these checked other things will be installed, or rewritten onto you computer
• CHECK only the box that says Language Kits
• Click on the pull-down menu on the right next to the Language Kits option, and choose Customized Installation
• A window will appear asking you to Select Language Kits features to install. Check the box for the language software that you want to install. All of the other boxes should not be checked
• Click OK
• You will be brought back to the Custom Installation and Removal Window. Make sure that the Language Kits is the only option that is checked off and then click Start
• You will be warned that your computer will automatically restart after the install. Click Continue
• The software will install and your computer will restart automatically. When the computer has restarted, take the CD out of the computer
• You should see a flag in the menu bar at the top of your screen. The flag offers a drop menu from which you can select the language you want to use for your keyboard. When you want to toggle back to English, just select the American flag