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Short URL: https://scripts.sil.org/mac_kbd_FAQ

Keyboards troubleshooting - Mac OS X

Steph Smith, 2014-07-16


Table of Contents for this web page:

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: I have downloaded a keyboard but it's not working.

Answer: If you have downloaded a keyboard onto your Mac but it doesn't seem to be working as you expected, it may be that you have not fully installed it. Until the keyboard is correctly installed, nothing else that you do will make it work.

Once you have downloaded the keyboard, find the keyboard file in your downloads folder and open it. This will open up a new window called ‘Keyboard’ with two files in it. Select the one with the extension .keylayout.

Next, open up a new Finder window, go to your ‘Library’, and select ‘Keyboard Layouts’. Drag the .keylayout file over into your ‘Keyboard Layouts’.

Then, under the Apple menu, go into ‘System Preferences’ and select ‘Language and Text’ (this is called ‘International’ in some versions of the Mac OS). Click on ‘Input Sources’ (sometimes called ‘Input Menu’), scroll through the list of keyboards, and put a check mark next to the keyboard you have just downloaded.

Finally, you need to select the keyboard from the keyboard menu. This usually appears as a small icon of a flag or a little box containing the letters ‘U+’ in your menu bar. Click on this to see a list of key layouts on your machine, and select the one you need.

Once a keyboard has been successfuly installed on your machine, you need only to select it from this keyboard menu each time you need it; you don't have to go through the whole process every time. In the same way, once you are finished using your new keyboard and wish to switch back to a different one, use the keyboard menu to do this also.

Contact Us

As our fonts and utilities are distributed at no cost, we are unable to provide a commercial level of personal technical support. We will, however, try to resolve problems that are reported to us.

We do hope that you will report problems so they can be addressed in future releases. Even if you are not having any specific problems, but have an idea on how this system could be improved, we want to hear your ideas and suggestions.

Please note that our software products are intended for use by experienced computer users. Installing and using them is not a trivial matter. The most effective technical support is usually provided by an experienced computer user who can personally sit down with you at your computer to troubleshoot the problem.

General troubleshooting information, including frequently asked questions, can be found in the documentation. Additional information is also available on the FAQ pages. If that fails to answer your question, please contact us by starting a topic on the  Language Software Community site.

We also have an email contact form, however we will responding to those messages only as staff resources allow. Please use the new community site before using the form.


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