Shaun McCance
shaunm@gnome.org
Make your keyboard behave like a keyboard for another language.
David Aguilera
david.aguilera.moncusi@gmail.com 2011

# Use alternate keyboard layouts

Keyboards come in hundreds of different layouts for different languages. Even for a single language, there are often multiple keyboard layouts, such as the Dvorak layout for English. You can make your keyboard behave like a keyboard with a different layout, regardless of the letters and symbols printed on the keys. This is useful if you often switch between multiple languages.

Feu clic al vostre nom a la barra superior i seleccioneu Paràmetres de l'ordinador.

Open Region and Language and select the Layouts tab.

Click the + button, select a layout, and click Add. You can add at most four layouts.

You can preview an image of any layout by selecting it in the list and clicking preview, or by clicking Preview in the pop-up window when adding a layout.

When you add multiple layouts, you can quickly switch between them using the keyboard layout icon on the top bar. The top bar will display a short identifier for the current layout, such as en for the standard English layout. Click the layout indicator and select the layout you want to use from the menu.

When you use multiple layouts, you can choose to have all windows use the same layout or to set a different layout for each window. Using a different layout for each window is useful, for example, if you're writing an article in another language in a word processor window. Your keyboard selection will be remembered for each window as you switch between windows.

By default, new windows will use the default keyboard layout. You can instead choose to have them use the layout of the window you were last using. The default layout is the layout at the top of the list. Use the ↑ and ↓ buttons to move layouts up and down in the list.

shaunm

We're totally copping out on the custom options. That dialog is a monster, and needs a reference. Note that the options in there are dynamic from the X server. We might not get a definitive reference of everything ever, but let's do our best. Make a separate page. Don't clutter this page with that crap.

Also, we should identify common uses of those options and create task pages for them.

# Custom options

You may want to add certain symbols to specific keys or adjust custom option and behaviors. You can do this by clicking Options.

# Change the system keyboard

When you change your keyboard layout, you only change it for your account after you log in. You can also change the system layouts, the keyboard layouts used in places like the login screen.

Change your keyboard layout, as described above.

Select the System tab.

Click Copy Settings.

Administrative privileges are required. Enter your password, or the password for the requested administrator account.

The layouts are shown next to the Input source label.

If you use multiple layouts, the login screen will present the keyboard layout menu on the top bar.