How to change keyboardlanguage, when it is Not preinstalled

[Faergen]

This is Not a question, this is a tutorial, which is based on a question from March last year.

I hate when I cannot find easy tutorials, and have to guess what I need to do, to fix problems. I searched for over an hour, to find all the bits and pieces and even after finding what I thought was some answers I had to guess half of it anyway. That really annoyed me, and so, here is how you do, if you have a "special" windows, that does not support you particular keyboard layout as a default:

Firstly, you need to know what the .dll file fitting your keyboard layout is called. I'm a Dane, so mine is called kbddk.dll (the last two letters "dk" is of course my country's code.) If you are from England it is kbduk.dll and most likely, it is as such with the rest of the countries (which Microsoft supports of course). If you don't know your country code :P, or the .dll file does not exist, then here is a short list (we will use this page later again): http://www.easydesksoftware.com/keyboard.htm

To download Your particular .dll file go to: www.driverskit.com

I had my luck there, but there is plenty of .dll download sites.

Now unzip your .dll file and put it into this directory: C:\WINDOWS\system32\

(I'm guessing your version is an english version, not supporting some exotic keyboardlanguage, but beware, that it might not be the correct drive that I've chosen. It could be D:\ or E:\ but I'm guessing, that if you are smart enough to install on a different drive/partition, you can propably figure this out. :P)

This was the easy part, though there is not really any hard ones when you know how. I had to guess half of it, so lucky you :P

Open commandprompt. The easiest way is just to press "windowsbutton + r" which opens the run menu, and in here you type cmd. But while reading this, you of course have wasted the same amount of time as if you just pressed: Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Command prompt

Now, this looks scary to a newbie, but just don't type format c: or something like that, and you will be quite fine.

instead type: regedt32

This opens the Registry Editor, which is also fairly harmless, if you do approximately what I tell you to.

Move through the directories: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEMS -> Controls -> Keyboard Layouts

(Notice it is not Layout but Layouts)

Now right click on "Keyboard Layout" and make a new key.

Name this key, as it is named on this site: http://www.easydesksoftware.com/keyboard.htm

See the "Key Name" list.

If you cannot find the name of your key, make up a number, that is not already there, a couple of zeroes and some random numbers, approximately the same lenght as the other Keys in "Keybord Layouts". (I don't know if that works, but I see no reason why it wouldn't, though I am of course no expert.)

Now move to the key you have just created, In it you see only a REG_SZ file called default, leave that be. Right click on some empty space and create Two new String Values:

One called "Layout file" and the other called "Layout text".

Right click on "Layout file" and press modify

In Value Data write the name of your particular .dll file in capital letters. I wrote KBDDA.DLL, which was my file.

Then do the same to Layout text except in the Data Value, write the name of you language. I wrote Danish, but you can write Uptheshutf*ck as long as you know that name.

I rebooted my computer, but I don't know if that is even necessary. Do it anyway, and then, go to:

Control Panel -> Date,Time,Language and Regional Options -> Add Other Languages -> Details -> Add

And then you will see in the Keyboard Layout IME, that you language is now supported. (It will be there, but it will not be "danish" if you wrote Uptheshutf'*ck it will of course be that, but it is just the same.

Wuptidoo, I hope it helps someone, I tried to write it so that Everyone could understand it. (Because I myself need tutorials like that)

Enjoy

-BT

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

Welcome to the Windows Forum, and thank you for posting your tutorial.

However, I don't think changing the keyboard layout is any longer that complicated (it was for Win 9x!). All keyboard layout DLLs are already part of Windows; they don't need to be downloaded from 3rd-party sites (but the language may need to be installed via Regional and Language Options).

The keyboard layout itself can also be changed from Regional and Language Options | tab Languages | Text services and input languages.

[Faergen]

The keyboard layout itself can also be changed from Regional and Language Options | tab Languages | Text services and input languages.

That is true, if your windows already has the .dll file in it's system, however my windows didn't. It had american, and that was it. Probably sounds strange, but that's a fact. In March 2007 there was another one, with the exact same problem.

I know it is suppose to be simple, but when you are a special kind of person, with a special kind of windows, this tutorial is necessary.

-BT

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

I don't know how come you had only the US keyboard layout; I have the US-English version of Windows XP, and I have 120 kbd*.dll files in my system32 folder (including kbdda.dll).

Anyway, thank you for publishing your method; maybe someone else finds it useful some day.