Frequently Asked Questions

Depictions are available in our Reference section: Windows Keyboard Layouts.

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. Click Keyboard, and then click the Input Locales tab.
3. Click Add... button.
4. Select the input locale and keyboard layout/IM you want.
5. Make sure the Enable indicator on the taskbar is checked and click OK.

You can click the indicator located on the right side of the taskbar to switch among installed keyboard layouts/IMEs.

Note: In Windows XP, some keyboard layouts are available only when required language collections are installed. In Windows 2000, some keyboard layouts are available only when required language groups are installed. To learn more, go to Frequently Asked Questions: Locales and Languages.

The European Commission prefers the use of the AltGR+e key combination for the Euro currency symbol. We have also added it to some AltGR+5 key combination positions for ease of use.

The highlighted keys are traditionally called dead keys and are used in combination with other keys to create accented combination characters. These combinations are shown by the text box when you mouse over the key on the screen. The dead key functions as follows: When you hit the key nothing happens initially but then you hit the key that wants to wear that accent and a combination appears; if you hit a key that doesn't combine with the accent then you get the accent followed by the character; if you hit the dead key and a space bar, the accent on the dead key appears alone.

After adding new input locales or keyboard layouts mentioned above, you can click the indicator located on the right side of the taskbar to switch among installed keyboard layouts/IMEs. Or you can use hot keys as listed in Control Panel/Keyboard/Input Locales/Hot keys for input locale.