Archive
Character Input Methods for SLA (Western)
For studying (typing) Western Languages (= need for diacritics only; whether you have a US keyboard hardware or UK which is pretty similar), we recommend the MS Windows US International Keyboard layout which is based on “dead keys”.
Currently installed in the LLC are the Language Bar (floating on top of screen or accessible from the taskbar) with these keyboard layouts:
Keyboard layout settings are application/window specific, and “US” (non-international) is still the default for new applications/windows, so prepare to switch after you start a new application;
There are keyboard shortcuts for switching, however, “Key settings”: “switch between input languages” , using LEFT ALT + SHIFT, does not work. Workaround: use the language bar for switching:
Windows keyboard layout settings can be temperamental – if you find you cannot switch to a certain layout anymore, you may have to restart the computer.
Use the following keyboard shortcuts to enter diacritics more easily:
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Press (together, then release) |
then press |
Example Result |
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` (accent grave) |
any letter that can have this accent, e.g. "a”, also cedilla ç |
à |
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‘ (apostrophe) |
á |
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^ (caret)- |
â |
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~ (tilde) |
ã |
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” (double quotation marks) |
ä |
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CTRL+& |
Z or z |
æ |
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rightALT+ |
X or x |
œ |
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rightAlt+n |
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ñ |
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ALT+CTRL+? |
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¿ |
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rightAlt+? |
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ALT+CTRL+! |
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¡ |
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rightAlt+1 |
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rightAlt+s |
S |
ß |
To access the original, now dead keys, press space bar after pressing the dead key.
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Modifiers(blue)/Layout |
Note the new modifier = “dead” keys, indicated by light blue color (click to enlarge) |
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Normal |
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Shift |
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US International |
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Screencast of US International in action here: deadkeys.wmv
Interactive Demo of installation procedure (personal computers outside of the LLC) here: keyboard_usinternational.swf
Planned improvements:
- Use LEFT ALT+Shift to switch to (Software) “Keyboard Layout” “United-States International”.
- Use other keyboard short cuts to access a desired keyboard layout directly
- Dock the “Language Bar” in the Taskbar, then hover over it to make sure you selected the proper “Keyboard Layout”.
Protected: Meet the Resource Attendants and their Scheduling Assistants– or Who are these people, anyway?
How users can change their time zone in OWA
You know: You just have to know what to look for – considerably easier than knowing *when* to look for pretty much anything once you have been put in the wrong time zone… ![]()
Refine your pronunciation by operating the LRC Windows 7 PCs using voice commands
- No speech recognition assignment, and only a bit of spare time to practice the language you study in the LRC? Try the Command mode with these Try the Command mode with these voice commands that Windows 7 speech recognition recognizes
- Note there are some hoops to jump through, including some one-time setup: We have them/you covered in this step-by-step guide on using speech-recognition in the LRC
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Foreign language support in LRC MS-Office 2010
- A full set of proofing tools is available, thanks to MS-Office Language Packs installed on the Windows 7 computers, for all non-classical languages studied here:
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Language Native name Arabic العربية Chinese (Simplified) 中文(简体) Chinese (Traditional) 中文 (繁體) English English French français German Deutsch Greek Ελληνικά Hebrew עברית Hindi हिंदी Italian italiano Japanese 日本語 Korean 한국어 Polish polski Portuguese (Brazil) Português Portuguese (Portugal) português Russian Русский Spanish español - Some languages have only limited features provided by the MS-Language Interface Pack:
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KiSwahili Kiswahili Persian (Farsi) فارسی Yoruba ede Yorùbá
Keyboard layouts and IME’s on LRC Windows 7 PCs
You can change the input language using the language toolbar which appears next to the notification area in the lower right of the task bar.
Note that many languages need not be listed since their characters can be typed, Windows-wide, using keyboard shortcuts of the English-US (international extended) keyboard layout.
Some installed input methods benefit from having keyboard overlays which have been installed on some computer. Other input methods allow for drawing characters, e.g. in Japanese or Mandarin, which works better with the Wacom tablet installed on PC01 and PC02 than with a mice.
Many languages have more than one keyboard/input method. After changing to your language on the language toolbar, you can switch from the language’s default keyboard layout to another by clicking on keyboard icon behind the 2-letter language abbreviation.
Below is a comprehensive list of all layouts that are available to you:







