Chapter 12: Keyboards, Mice, and Game Controllers

Configuring Your Keyboard

Configuring your keyboard can mean two subtly different things:

• Changing the way that your keyboard produces symbols, for example, how long you have to press a key before it repeats. Microsoft considers these to be keyboard properties, and you control them from the Keyboard Properties dialog box.
• Changing the way that symbols are mapped to keys, for example, choosing a different alphabet or a different keyboard layout. Microsoft considers these to be language properties, and you control them from the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box.

Changing Keyboard Properties

Opening the Keyboard icon from the Printers And Other Hardware category of the Control Panel (or from the Control Panel itself if you are not using the category view) produces the Keyboard Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 12-1. From here you can control these settings:

Setting Description Repeat delay Delay between starting to hold down a key and when the key begins repeating Repeat rate How fast the key repeats once it starts repeating Cursor blink rate How fast the cursor blinks

Figure 12-1: The Keyboard Properties dialog box contains settings for the keyboard and the cursor.

Additional keyboard settings are available if you have trouble using the keyboard.

Move the sliders on the Speed tab of the Keyboard Properties dialog box to set the repeat delay, repeat rate, or cursor blink rate. You can test how your keys repeat by clicking in the text box and holding down a key.

Changing Language Properties

You can also control which language layout the keyboard uses. Different languages use different letters and assign the letters to different locations on the keyboard. If you use more than one language, you can choose a key combination that switches between two keyboard layouts.

For some languages, Windows offers a selection of keyboard layouts, which define the physical organization of the keys on the keyboard. For example, if you choose U.S. English as your language, you can choose among layouts that include the standard 101-key layout, the Dvorak keyboard, and even the left-handed Dvorak keyboard.

These choices are controlled from the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box, shown in Figure 12-2.

Figure 12-2: You can switch among several languages and keyboard layouts.

Open this box as follows:

1. Open the Control Panel by selecting Start | Control Panel.
2. If you are displaying the Control Panel in the category view, open the Date, Time, Language, And Regional Options icon and click the Add Support For Additional Language link. If you are using the classic view of the Control Panel, open the Regional And Language Options icon. In either case, the Regional And Language Options dialog box appears with the Language tab on top.
3. Click the Details button on the Regional And Language Options dialog box.

Configuring Your Keyboard for Another Language or Keyboard Layout

The languages and keyboard layouts that are installed on your computer shown in the Installed Services box on the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box. If the Installed Services box doesn't show the language or keyboard layout you want, click the Add button. When the Add Input Language box appears, select the language you want from the Input Language drop-down list, or the keyboard layout you want from the Keyboard Layout/IME drop-down list and then click OK. The new service is added to the Installed Services box in the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box.

East Asian languages like Chinese or right-to-left languages like Hebrew might not appear, even in the Add Input Language box. In order to use these languages, you will have to do the following:

1. Open the Control Panel by selecting Start | Control Panel.
2. If you are displaying the Control Panel in the category view, open the Date, Time, Language, And Regional Options icon and click the Add Support For Additional Language link. If you are using the classic view of the Control Panel, open the Regional And Language Options icon. In either case, the Regional And Language Options dialog box appears. If the Language tab is not on top, click it.
3. Check one of the two check boxes on the Language tab, depending on the language you want to use--either the Install Files For Complex Script And Right-To-Left Languages check box or the Install Files For East Asian Languages check box. Then click OK.
4. A confirmation box appears, listing the languages that will be added and the quantity of disk space required. (East Asian languages require 230MB of disk space, right-to-left languages only 10MB.) Click OK both in the confirmation box and in the Regional and Language Options dialog box.
5. Windows installs the necessary files. This takes a few seconds and you might need to insert your Windows XP CD-ROM. When all the files have been installed, a new confirmation box appears, asking whether you want to restart your computer. Click Yes.
6. After the computer restarts, the added languages will appear in the drop-down list on the Add Input Language box. From there you can add them to the Default Input Language drop-down list on the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box, as described earlier in this section.

To delete a language or layout you no longer plan to use, select that language or layout from the Installed Services box on the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box and click the Remove button.

Switching Languages and Keyboard Layouts

If you install more than one language or keyboard layout on your computer, you can switch from one to another in several ways. If you switch very rarely, make the switch by choosing the language you want from the Default Input Language drop-down list on the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box. Click OK and restart your computer.

(4)Using the Language Bar

A quick way to change languages or keyboard layouts is to use the Language bar. You can display the Language bar on your desktop or a language icon on the taskbar as follows: Go to the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box (shown in Figure 12-2), and click the Language Bar button. When the Language Bar Settings dialog box appears uncheck the Turn Off Advanced Text Services check box and check the Show the Language Bar On The Desktop check box.

The Language bar is a small toolbar that sits just above the taskbar or can be dragged (by its left edge) anywhere on the desktop. (The Language bar that comes with Office XP works similarly to the one in Windows XP.) The Language bar has two buttons: one showing the keyboard's current language and the other its current layout. To change either, click the corresponding button and make a new choice from the menu that appears. The keyboard changes instantly; you do not need to restart the computer.

At the far right end of the Language bar is a small button to minimize the Language bar. If you click it, the bar disappears and is replaced by a small language icon on the taskbar next to the clock. Click the icon to change languages or restore the Language bar.

(4)Keyboard Shortcuts for Switching Languages

You can also set a key combination for switching among languages and keyboard layouts. Your options are LEFT ALT-SHIFT (that is, the left ALT key plus the SHIFT key), CTRL-SHIFT, or none. To set up such a key combination click the Key Settings button on the Text Services And Input Languages dialog box (shown in Figure 12-2). The Advanced Key Settings dialog box appears.

To set up or change a key combination for switching between languages or keyboard layouts, find the switching action on the Action list and select it. Then click the Change Key Sequence button. Use the Change Key Sequence box that appears to set up the desired key sequence.