How to Change the Keyboard Language in Mac OSX

Are you a translator needing to type in Hebrew, Thai or Arabic? Is your aunt who lives in Greece dying for you to send her an email in Greek so she can keep your language skills polished? You can easily switch between input languages using the "International" preferences pane in Mac OSX. Most languages have their own keyboard layout, but following these steps it's possible to type in a foreign language with the standard US English keyboard (or foreign-language keyboard if you have one).

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• An Apple Computer running Mac OSX
• Keyboard in the language you want to type in (optional)

1. Navigate to your computer's "System Preferences". (Click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner of the screen) & select "System Preferences"
2. Select "International" from the "System Preferences" screen.
3. Go to the "Input Menu" screen.
4. At the bottom of this screen, make sure that "Show input menu in menu bar" is checked.
5. To make the "Keyboard Viewer" viewable, check the box. The "Keyboard Viewer" will enable you to see what keys on your keyboard input which letter in the language you select. This is very helpful if you don't have access to your language's keyboard.
6. Check the boxes next to the language(s) you want available to you.
7. Click the flag icon (if you're in the US, it should be the US flag) to bring up the "Input Language Menu".
8. Click on the language you want to type in. The flag will change to the country flag (in this case, Greek), and you'll be able to type in that language. Most programs including web browsers and word processing programs support this automatically. To switch back, click the flag icon and select the appropriate language.
9. This menu also allows you access to the "Keyboard Viewer". If you don't have a keyboard in the language you wish to type in, you can see what character maps to which keys on your standard keyboard. This window floats on top of your applications so it's easily viewable.

Tips & Warnings

• From the "Input Menu" you can also access the "International" preferences pane
• You can buy foreign-language keyboards on the net - one link is in our "Resources" section